Jade Mountain & Anse Chastanet St. Lucia Earn Travelife Gold Certification

Travelife Gold Certification status was conferred on two of the world's best hotels in recognition of responsibly managing their socio-economic and environmental impacts.

Travelife is an international certification system, promoting sustainability within the tourism industry. It helps tour operators, hotels and accommodations to manage and monitor their social and environmental impacts, as well as communicate their achievements to customers. It is an easy to use sustainability system which provides members with a practical framework to improve their business.

To gain Travelife Gold certification, the resorts were assessed against 150 sustainability criteria, including environmental issues, such as minimizing the amount of energy, waste and water. The social criteria recognize positive actions for employee welfare, working with the local community and businesses, child protection and human rights. Properties must also demonstrate they are protecting local traditions and wildlife.

Both Anse Chastanet and Jade Mountain were created with environmental consciousness at heart and their efforts combine a strong commitment to the environment, sustainability, best practices and community support.

Jade Mountain and Anse Chastanet consistently top lists of the best hotels in the Caribbean and worldwide, particularly for their environmentally conscious approach and their romantic offerings. Most recently, readers of influential travel magazine Travel + Leisure voted Jade Mountain among the world's top 25 hotels and number two in the Caribbean, Bermuda and the Bahamas category. Anse Chastanet was not far behind, placing number six among Caribbean hotels. Last year, Jade Mountain also became the first hotel in the Caribbean to earn the prestigious LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Gold certification.

Highlights of the sustainable practices at Anse Chastanet and Jade Mountain include:

• An active, written water plan with specific usage and savings goals and a "water is life" water management philosophy, which was undertaken to make the water supply independent from the community of Soufrière to avoid burdening the community in any way
• All cleaning products in use are non-toxic, non-corrosive and biodegradable
• Strict wastewater discharge practices to minimize the impact on the environment, including treated greywater reuse for irrigation, a towel and sheet reuse program, rainwater collection and reuse, no wash-down of large areas, composting beach toilets and an on-site wastewater treatment plant
• Preventing extraction of native flora and fauna
• Helping manage the protected nearshore area and playing an instrumental role in the creation and implementation of the Soufrière Marine Management Authority, which led to the declaration of the entire nearshore marine environment as a marine reserve
• Practicing good energy-saving behavior is part of the company culture - resort teams are encouraged to look for ways to save energy dollars at home, then bring these best practices to work
• Clean air and fuel-efficient measures regarding transportation
• Adherence to "reduce, reuse and recycle"

"Respecting the people, nature and cultural aspects of St. Lucia and showing guests how it's done at Anse Chastanet and Jade Mountain was central in achieving Travelife Gold Certification," said the resorts' Executive Director, Karolin Troubetzkoy.

The resorts provide guests with information about the culture, history and ecology of the region. Local environmental protection efforts and social and cultural activities are also noted, inviting guests to provide feedback with opportunities to participate in charitable programs and raise funds for specific projects. Guests are also invited to partake in environmental activities such as reef cleaning, beach cleaning and tree planting. Most recently, together with the culinary team, a "conservation cuisine" initiative was launched to serve lionfish as a delicacy to offset the irreparable damage the invasive species has caused to coral reefs.

"We want to thank Travelife for recognizing our efforts, and congratulate our staff - such accolades are impossible without their commitment to excellence," Troubetzkoy added.

For more information about Jade Mountain and Anse Chastanet, visit www.jademountain.com and www.ansechastanet.com.