In the past two years, the Life Cycle Initiative has built a strong collaboration with the Sustainable Tourism Programme of One Planet Network, to provide hotspot analysis and develop low-carbon and resource-efficient solutions for the Dominican Republic, the Philippines, Saint Lucia and Mauritius. We are delighted to share the outcome from the Dominican Republic.
The Dominican Republic, one of the world’s top tourist destinations, has set the country’s tourism sector on a path to sustainability. The new tourism plan, developed in collaboration with UN Environment, includes ways to measure and reduce food waste, increase energy efficiency and promote the use of renewable energy in hotels and other accommodation options.
It builds on two years of research, data collection and analysis, which helped identify hotspots of greenhouse gas emissions and low efficiency in the use of natural resources in hotel value chains.
The resulting Roadmap for Low Carbon and Resource Efficient Accommodation in the Dominican Republic was launched by UN Environment in May 2019, in Punta Cana. The event was attended by 75 representatives from the tourism sector.
The roadmap sets five targets for the accommodation sector in the Dominican Republic: to reduce by 25 per cent greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 (from a 2020 baseline), reduce food waste by half, a 25 per cent of reduction in non-renewable energy use, the complete elimination of single-use plastics and the creation of a sustainability certification for hotels.
“This roadmap would not have been possible without strong cooperation between the public and the private sector,” says Olga Rosario, Director of the Sustainable Production and Consumption Department in the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources. “It’s the first time they have collaborated to establish clear targets to achieve sustainable development for the tourism sector.”
The analysis revealed that many environmental impacts related to tourism happen outside hotels. For example, 57 per cent of greenhouse gas emissions are associated with farming for food served by the hotels. Energy used in hotel cooling and air conditioning is the most significant source of greenhouse gas emissions.
Hotels will be required to eliminate single-use plastics in products and packaging by procuring more sustainable alternatives such as banana leaves, while chefs and hotel managers will be encouraged to adopt sustainable procurement practices when buying food. Sixty per cent of hotels have already reduced single use plastic containers by using refilling systems.
New regulations and incentives
In parallel, the government will enforce and enhance regulatory frameworks, create financial incentives for reducing pollution and improve waste management and recycling systems.
Through UN Environment’s Caribbean cooling initiative, a new mechanism has been launched to help hotels and other major users of air conditioning and refrigeration adopt much more energy-efficient solutions.
Another aspect of the roadmap includes a regulatory framework with standards and certification schemes (such as energy audits and rating schemes), the identification of energy-efficient products and services to encourage the procurement of energy-efficient equipment by tourism businesses, and the implementation of training and awareness-raising programmes in energy management and renewable energy.
“The roadmap will help the tourism sector to become a guardian of the natural beauty of the country, on which it relies, and showcase the hospitality of its people, their diversity and their culture,” says UN Environment’s resource efficiency expert Helena de Rey Assis.
The Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources, together with the Ministry of Tourism, the Hotel Association of Playa Dorada, the National Council on Climate Change and the Ministry of Industry and Commerce confirm their commitment to reducing greenhouse gas emissions and developing a sustainable and resilient tourism sector.
For further information, please contact Helena de Rey de Assis.
