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Chiva-Som Environmental & Sustainability Approach

written by Admin July 12, 2019
Chiva-Som Environmental & Sustainability Approach

This month Chiva Som is focusing on  planet Earth, as they believe personal wellness goes hand in hand with environmental wellness. Their commitment to nurturing a healthy, safe and vibrant community helps to sustain the organisation and grow in the future through their socially responsible and environmentally conscious approaches.

Chiva-Som International Health Resort has been awarded the Best Sustainable Travel and Tourism Initiative – Coast, Coastal Business/Operation at the inaugural Travel & Tourism Sustainability Awards presented by Travel Daily at a ceremony held at Primus Hotel on 30 April.

Believing that personal wellness goes hand-in-hand with environmental wellness, Chiva-Som has long maintained a strong commitment to developing and upholding sustainable initiatives aimed at protecting the environment and giving back to the local community.

Chiva-Som has been the environmental preservation steward of the last remaining mangrove forest in Hua Hin, Thailand since 2007. Over 5,000 trees have been planted to reforest the Krailart Niwate mangrove and Chiva-Som funded the construction of a 1,000 meter elevated boardwalk throughout the forest to raise awareness on the importance of mangrove ecosystems and promote eco-spiritual tourism in the region.

The resort employs a holistic approach to sustainability with a range of initiatives such as resource recovery practices where waste water is collected and treated onsite. This water is then reused for landscape irrigation and maintaining resort lake levels.

Plastic, glass, metal, wood and paper go to a recycling facility, while perishable food items are distributed to local livestock farmers for animal feed. Plant waste from garden maintenance is converted into nutrient-rich compost for use at Chiva-Som’s two IFOAM-accredited organic farms.

Energy efficiency, conservation and management are also part of Chiva-Som’s collective mission. The resort decreases usage and dependency on non-renewable fossil fuels and electricity through energy-saving technologies and practices.

With a focus on nurturing the local community, Chiva-Som supports social welfare programmes, hiring local staff and, whenever possible, purchasing local fresh food, products and services. The resort has thrown its support behind Preserve Hua Hin Group with all proceeds generated from sponsored events going to funding environmental awareness, education and preservation activities.

Chiva-Som Approach

  • Organic Agriculture
Their Organic Farms. on plots of fertile land, nurtures the growth of a variety of herbs, vegetables and fruit used in our Wellness Cuisine. The IFOAM-accredited Organic Farms also serve as the perfect place to explore and understand their culinary philosophy, and to appreciate Earth’s abundance.
  • Resource Saving Elephant
Less laundry helps to preserve the environment. If guests require a fresh set of linens, we ask them to place Resource Saving Elephant on the bed. Otherwise, bed linens and towels are replaced every three days in guest rooms.
  • Reusing Waste Water
Through resource conservation and recovery practices, the Resort waste water is collected and treated onsite in a multi-stage treatment process utilising sand and carbon filtration. This water is then reused for landscape irrigation and maintaining the Resort lake level.

 

  • Preserving & Optimising Our Ecosystem
We strive to preserve and optimise our ecosystem without harming it. The Resort was designed to adapt to the biodiversity and contour of the terrain, and built with minimal impact. By propagating indigenous plant species, Chiva-Som blends traditional Thai architecture with nature to provide a luxuriant sanctuary for our guests to enjoy.

 

  • Decreasing Greenhouse Gas Emissions
Through environmental stewardship, we aim to continually decrease our greenhouse gas emissions. We achieve carbon reduction through energy efficiency and conservation technologies, and reforestation activities at ‘Krailart Niwate’, our mangrove ecosystem preservation project.

Chiva Som believes personal wellness goes hand-in-hand with environmental wellness and that companies should conduct themselves using responsible and ethical business practices, policies and initiatives. That’s why, since opening in 1995, they have nurtured a healthy, safe and vibrant community, operated as an integral part of Hua Hin and played their part in protecting the Earth.

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