Madinat Jumeirah becomes world’s first mixed-use hospitality destination to gain renowned Green Globe Certification

Entire luxury resort receives Green Globe seal of approval

Madinat Jumeirah, the luxurious Arabian resort of Dubai, has become the world’s first mixed-use hospitality destination to gain the internationally renowned Green Globe certification.

Mina A’Salam, Al Qasr, Dar al Masyaf, the conference centre and souk have all been recognised for outstanding environmental efforts following a comprehensive sustainability audit conducted by Dubai-based consultancy Farnek, Green Globe’s preferred partner in the Middle East.

Margaret Paul, General Manager at Madinat Jumeirah, said: “We are proud to show leadership in sustainable practices and are delighted to share this responsibility with our colleagues and guests.

“We work daily to ensure we create harmony at the resort, enhance the knowledge of our local culture and preserve our environment. In addition, we ensure our colleagues are valued and engaged, our customers have exhilarating experiences and our local community wellbeing is increased.”

The successful certification includes two firsts for the Middle East and Africa region. The Madinat Conference Centre became the first of its kind to be Green Globe certified and Souk Madinat became the first shopping centre to be certified.

“We were very impressed by the resort’s established track record of both employee and guest engagement and its associated achievements in the area of sustainability. Change and innovation are a cornerstone of Madinat Jumeirah’s corporate philosophy and this was a key driver in supporting the efforts of all five hospitality-related units in integrating a remarkable collection of environmental technologies over the past year, with the resort as a whole aiming for a 3% year-on-year increase in Green Globe sustainability criteria,” said Sandrine Le Biavant, Director Consultancy for Farnek, Green Globe’s Middle East partner and authorised auditor.

Madinat Jumeirah achieved extremely high scores across all areas of the operational audit with a host of ground-breaking initiatives that positively impacted its performance. These include the Madinat Conference Centre’s successful Green Meetings programme that covers both back and front-of-house operations addressing waste reduction, paperless event planning and food donation initiatives.

The trio of hotels has also been active in the area of waste management, investing in a composting machine with Al Qasr one of the first UAE properties to implement the Bokashi Digester Compost Programme. Around 2.1 tonnes of composted waste per month are used to fertilise the resort’s gardens with the hotel also introducing a glass-crushing machine earlier this year.

Each individual operating unit within the resort also undergoes monthly monitoring and benchmarking using Farnek’s Hotel Optimizer programme to maximise performance and support further energy enhancement initiatives.

In addition, a new room management system at Dar Al Masyaf allows customers to control their own energy consumption using an iPad and Souk Madinat has implemented a new automatic door system in order to effectively partition specific areas of the operation to make further energy savings.

These examples, combined with other ongoing energy management practices have shown a 14% annual saving since 2008.

The group’s Dubai Turtle Rehabilitation Project, one of its flagship initiatives, has seen the release of over 700 rehabilitated turtles back into their natural habitat over the last 10 years where, after initial treatment at the Burj Al Arab aquarium, they are accommodated at the Mina A’Salam rehabilitation pen prior to release. The resort also showcases its natural flora and fauna with a nature trail experience for guests.