From the design and build of the resorts, to the day to day operations, then reaching further out into the communities surrounding them, Soneva has built sustainable luxury into its very core for 25 years. Each guest at Soneva Fushi makes a positive impact on conservation, the environment and the lives of local people.
This is why Soneva is arguably the only - or one of the few - hotel companies to have won the equivalent of the Oscars for both sustainability and luxury in travel and tourism more than once.
The owners of Soneva Fushi describe their 25-year sustainability journey (so far) as akin to an onion. They have worked on layers of sustainability, making changes in manageable steps, always looking to the next layer and what they can do to uncover it. In this way they have built a Foundation that supports sustainability projects not just in the Maldives but further afield and in the wider communities around their properties, too.
First, they worked on making their own on-island operations more sustainable, and so introduced:
After achieving success with their first ‘layer’ of local operational sustainability, Soneva Fushi and the Soneva Foundation introduced Scope 3, which aims to reduce the carbon involved in their offsite operations such as transportation of guests and supplies, which accounted for 85% of their entire footprint.
To counteract this they introduced a non-negotiable carbon levy to all guests, which goes directly to the Foundation and funds more widespread carbon reduction and sustainability programmes:
What we love about the Soneva Foundation is that just by staying at Soneva Fushi, you are making a difference and contribution to an amazing ongoing project at the forefront of sustainability in tourism. However, if you want to get more involved and make even more of a difference, there is the opportunity for this, too!
Soneva themselves are always striving for more. Recently they decided to work with nature to eradicate mosquitos. They set a target to be the first island to be completely mosquito free. They caught mosquitoes by studying their habits and creating natural traps instead of using toxic spray from exterminators. The mosquitos on the island have now reduced by more than 95%!
In addition, in 2021 they tasked their chefs to make the menus both more healthy and more sustainable. They targeted significant reductions in the consumption of white flour, processed sugar, dairy and beef. As a result, beef consumption has reduced by 75% and dairy has reduced considerably as well. In addition to being good for guest health, this approach is also good for the environment.
Sonu Shivdasani says of their plans for the future:
“We will not rest. We know many more skins of the onion that need to be peeled.
Our future projects include a factory that will convert waste plastic and waste aluminium into useful and beautiful objects. As I speak, Soneva Jani is adding 3 MW of solar capacity and batteries. More than 50% of the Soneva Jani energy will come from solar. We will propagate coral that has a resistance level and a scale that has not been seen before in the Maldives.
We all have a huge challenge ahead of us. Over the next 25 years we will continue to redefine and break through the boundaries of sustainability in travel and tourism.”
For further information, please do feel free to contact us for further inspiration and unforgettable safaris and holidays to Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Or if you would like to just keep dreaming for now, you can watch some more videos in our Video Library.
By Marcela Kunova - 20th April 2017
Nicola Shepherd, founder and CEO of The Exploration Company, organises unusual trips for HNW and UHNW clients ranging from birthday parties at an Indian Maharajah's palace to reliving Sir Vivian Fuchs's 1950s expedition to the South Pole. Citywealth caught ...
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