Green Globe: Staying green in Vietnam

Novotel Phan Thiet Ocean Dunes & Golf Resort is the first Novotel resort in Vietnam to have achieved the prestigious Green Globe Certified status. The world-renowned distinction recognizes the hotel’s commitment to operating at the world’s highest environmental standards.

Novotel Ocean Dunes & Golf Resort chose to demonstrate their commitment to the environment by undertaking certification – the highest level of the Green Globe program. The hotel was assessed according to eight performance criteria that will guarantee, among other things, better waste management, less pollution, and energy and water consumption control. After an initial benchmarking phase, the Novotel Phan Thiet Ocean Dunes&Golf Resort was audited in order to obtain Green Globe certification and will undergo the same process annually in order to guarantee that the criteria are maintained.

The successful completion of the certification process demonstrates strong commitment to the principles of environmental sustainability.

Staff at all levels were involved in the process, starting from an awareness session at the start of the project, which focused on sustainable development, the hotel’s commitment, and the criteria that needed to be met. They were encouraged to extend their awareness to family members, friends, and the local community. Each department head was then given an opportunity to propose an improvement plan for their operations and the implementation was carried out by all staff.

“We are very pleased and proud to be the first Novotel resort in Vietnam to be Green Globe certified,” says Jon Bourbaud, general manager of Novotel Phan Thiet Ocean Dunes & Golf Resort. “It is a tremendous achievement for the hotel and our staff. We have shown our commitment by putting a great deal of effort into being monitored and becoming compliant to international standards. It is now visual and tangible. More importantly, it has provoked a sense of environmental responsibility among all our staff and people in the community. I am very proud of each and every single staff member who helped make it happen.”

“We have set a new standard for resorts in Vietnam, given the fact that having an option to choose a hotel or vacation destination with minimal environmental impact and offsetting programs is increasingly becoming important. Quite simply, people are becoming more aware of the impact we have on the Earth and our responsibility to change past behavior, while at the same time, the service quality has to remain well maintained.”

The hotel plans to utilize the certification to promote their hotel as a responsible hotel in order to make a stance with regards to sustainable development, as well as to raise awareness towards the environment in the tourism sector among hotel guests and the local community, especially in Phan Thiet where tourism plays such a vital role in economic growth.

For more info, check out the hotel’s website here.