PHILIPSBURG:--- On the 1st of June, the foundation Environmental Protection in the Caribbean (EPIC) and the Sint Maarten Hospitality and Trade Association (SHTA) celebrated the Green Key Award for the achievements of Holland House Beach Hotel and Princess Heights Luxury Boutique Condo Hotel.
The event, hosted at Holland House, was a celebration of sustainability on St. Maarten, the importance of preserving our tourism product, and profiting from it in a sustainable way. The Green Key is an internationally recognized eco-label awarded to tourism and leisure establishments which meet high environmental standards.
“The Green Key program is not just a set of guidelines to follow, it is a comprehensive program that ensures a reduction of waste and energy, which not only benefits the environment but it is beneficial to the cost of our business as well. It educates our staff, it educates our management and it drives a spirit into your organization. Going green for us it’s a rewarded investment and that we attempt to keep up “said Paul Boetekees, General Manager of Holland House.
Princess Heights is the ground-breaking establishment which became the island’s first Green Key Hotel. Mr. Arnaldo Phelipa, General Manager of Princess Heights, congratulated Holland House for their achievements and urged other businesses to move towards a greener and more sustainable business attitude for the benefits of the community, the environment and the business itself.
In light of recent events regarding the Paris Climate Accord, it is ever more important to recognize those corporations and citizens leading the way toward improving and protecting our environment. Our island nation is solely dependent on the environment for its livelihood and all efforts must be made to reduce waste, improve environmental education and increase sustainability.
The event was well attended by many trade and tourism businesses as well as EPIC representatives Laura Bijnsdorp, Elisa Oldani and Kippy Gilders and SHTA Board Members Lorraine Talmi, Ricardo Perez and Paul Henriquez.
