Beachcomber

leading the way to sustainable tourism development 

With petrol prices hitting record highs, challenges associated with greenhouse gas emissions and global warming, the management of energy resources has become vital. Faced with these challenges, the Mauritian Government has reacted with a series of measures for all future hotels and IRS developments.
As a leader in corporate social responsibility, Beachcomber Hotels was the first group in Mauritius to take steps towards sustainable development with unique strategies designed to save energy and involve the community:
- Creation of infrastructures to save and recycle water
- Creation of a Non Governmental Organisation (NGO) to help the community
- Implementation of technologies and policies to save energy

Saving water

Waste water plants

Aware of the need for water conservation, Beachcomber Hotels was the first company in Mauritius to invest in waste water plants. Each hotel is equipped with its own waste water plant. Those located on the Peninsula generate between 600m3 to 800 m3 of water a day, 60% of which is used to maintain the gardens and golf course.

Managing water supply

Setting the example is the Paradis Hotel & Golf Club which gives priority to the daily management of the water consumption in order to directly pinpoint the leaks.
This strategy has already started to bear fruit : last year, the 5-star resort reduced its water consumption by 15% per guest night and 22% per room night.

Desalination plant

Long before the Mauritian authorities started talking about desalination, Beachcomber Hotels had long implemented the concept. It was the first Mauritian group to invest in desalination plants with one built in 2002 on the island of Sainte Anne and attached to the resort bearing the same name. A second one was built on the Morne Peninsula in 2007 and generates approximately 800 m3 of water per day, which is enough to cover all the needs of both Dinarobin and Paradis. 650 m3 of water is used for domestic use and consumption while 150 m3 goes into the maintenance of the gardens and golf course.

Helping the community

Creation of an NGO (Non Governmental Organization) : the FED

In April 1999, Beachcomber Hotels reaffirmed its role as a socially conscious corporation with the creation of the FED (Fondation Espoir et Développement – literally “Foundation of Hope and Development” in English).
The FED provides substantial support to the NGO’s (Non Governmental Organizations) while teaching the underprivileged to become self-sufficient. To better address the specific needs of each region in Mauritius, the FED has a decentralised structure organised into 4 regional committees regrouping employees of Beachcomber Hotels: the South-West, South-East, North and Plaines-Wilhems committees.
The role of each committee includes promoting the participation of Beachcomber’s hotels and employees to the activities of the FED, analyzing the social needs of the regions, proposing and implementing projects on a regional scale and assessing requests for funding taking into consideration the philosophy and priorities of the FED.
Different projects are currently in the pipeline. This year, the North Committee focuses on creating youth awareness on drugs, alcohol and AIDS while the South Committee has created the “Value Project” to promote self-respect and respect of others.

Saving energy

Air-conditioning

An absolute must for visitors, the in-room air-conditioning is one of the most energy-consuming processes in the hotels.
To save energy and better manage costs associated with the air-conditioning of rooms, 5 out of 9 Beachcomber hotels have already installed speed variators on the cold water pumps that feed the air-conditioning systems. This material regulates the distribution of cold water taking into consideration the humidity levels, the exterior temperature and the occupancy rate of the resort. This helps to reduce energy costs while optimizing the comfort of rooms.
Beachcomber Hotels has also invested in “intelligent thermostats” for in-room air-conditioning. As soon as the room temperature reaches a certain level, the air-conditioning machine automatically switches off.
Building on this sustainable approach, Le Canonnier has also acquired a cold water unit absorption system which allows production of cold water from the steam.
These technologies facilitate the reduction of electricity costs and are likely to be implemented in all Beachcomber hotels.

Forthcoming Projects

Solar energy

One of Beachcomber Hotels’ main projects for 2008 is to invest in solar energy. The objective is to replace the traditional boilers by solar power to allow the hotels to save a significant amount of energy.
In compliance with this, a special unit has been operational at Le Mauricia since January 2008 to convert solar energy to heat, thus ensuring the resort’s entire supply in hot water.
Gradually, all other Beachcomber Hotels will also use solar energy to produce hot water.

Cogeneration *

Another big project in the pipeline in terms of energy saving is the building of a cogeneration plant at the Shandrani Resort & Spa and on Le Morne Peninsula.
Cogeneration is defined as the production of electricity and useful thermal energy - either heat or cold - simultaneously from a primary energy (fuel source); it is therefore compatible with sustainable development.
On a long-term basis this new system will allow Beachcomber resorts to sustain themselves in terms of energy, instead of using the electricity generated by the Central Electricity Board (CEB).
On Le Morne Peninsula, the electricity produced by the cogeneration plant will be used, among other things, to run the desalination and waste water plants.

Building Management System

In a near future, Beachcomber Hotels could also look at BMS technology. Building Management System (BMS) is used in buildings to create a central computer controlled method of monitoring and optimising facilities such as heating, air-conditioning, lighting and security. These systems reduce energy waste as facilities are used only when needed.