With Earth Month around the corner, here are some exceptional sustainability initiatives taking place at Kona Village, a Rosewood Resort, the only three-Michelin Key resort in Hawai'i, and Rosewood Miramar Beach in Montecito, CA, whose signature restaurant, Caruso’s, is renowned for its environmental measures, earning a Michelin Green Star and rapidly becoming a zero-carbon footprint restaurant through its numerous efforts.
Rich with legacy and rooted in the belief that sense of place goes beyond what’s on the surface, these two properties celebrate connection to the land, inviting guests to engage more deeply with the earth through these immersive and impressive actions:
Kona Village, a Rosewood Resort
Local sourcing: Kona Village partners with several local purveyors alongside its onsite farm to source its ingredients for all culinary outlets. Highlights include sustainable kanpachi and Kona lobster from Kona's Blue Ocean Mariculture (the only commercial open-ocean aquaculture farm in the U.S.), vegetables and lettuces from Hirabara Farms, tomatoes from Kamuela Farms, and reclaimed Kiawe wood, courtesy of Keola Services. Notably, Kona Village's local sourcing is fully displayed at Island Roots, where local chefs prepare fresh ingredients sourced entirely from Hawai`i Island as well as from Kahiko Mala‘ai, Kona Village's on-site farm, which provides produce such as passion fruit, guava, coconuts, dragon fruit, and more.
On-property reverse osmosis and wastewater treatment plants: Due to the scarcity of freshwater on the Island of Hawai’i, Kona Village has implemented an in-house reverse osmosis and water treatment initiative, producing enough water for irrigation across property and ensuring that potable water is not used for irrigation purposes.
Clean energy: Home to the largest privately owned microgrid in the state, Kona Village utilizes solar power provided by over 8,000 solar panels on two acres, a first for Hawai'i. With this clean energy source, Kona Village is able to create enough power to not only run day-to-day operations, but to also generate a full day’s backup for emergencies.
Sanctuary for endangered species: An 81-acre property, Kona Village is a haven for several endangered species, including Nene Geese, Monk Seals, and Opai (small shrimp that live in the brackish ponds across property).
Rosewood Miramar Beach
Reduced Carbon Emissions: through its varied and ambitious efforts, Caruso’s, Miramar’s signature Michelin Star and Michelin Green Star restaurant, has reduced its carbon emissions by more than half, totaling a reduction of 203.7 tons per year.
Sustainable Seafood: Caruso’s sources over 90% of seafood from sustainable sources, earning the property recognition as an Oceanwise, FishChoice, and SmartCatch Ambassador. For its sustainability efforts, Caruso’s has additionally received a Three Star Rating from the Sustainable Restaurant Association’s Food Made Good Standard, and Falsini is a member of Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Blue Ribbon Chef Group and is an Ambassador for Project Zero’s Coral Collective, an organization that works to save coral reefs from extinction.
Farm Partnership: In January 2024, Caruso’s acquired four-acres of farmland at Vega Vinery and farm to grow all fruits and vegetables for Caruso’s, reducing transportation costs and giving the team full control of production processes to ensure compliance with their green initiatives.
In House Chocolate Program: Caruso's recently launched a zero-waste bean-to-bar chocolate program, crafting a notoriously unsustainable product in-house to reduce the restaurant’s carbon footprint. Sourcing cacao from select farms in Hawaii, the team roasts, tempers, and molds chocolate in-house, with the result featured Caruso's tasting menu: three single origin chocolates and one blend, paired with select whiskey.
Clean Water: Caruso’s is the second restaurant in Southern California to utilize the Power Knot Biodigester, which along with an Enzyme eater on property, eats used oil converts waste into environmentally safe grey water.
Beekeeping: Caruso’s maintains an Apiary featuring seven queen bees with four hives on property and three in Goleta to produce honey for the restaurant and support the ecosystem.
Regenerative Farm Partnerships: Caruso's has partnered with Pitman Farms (Sanger, CA), Anderson Ranches (Willamette Valley), Richards Regenerative (OR), and Klingeman Family Farm (Ephrata, WA) to focus on more sustainable proteins that are raised through regenerative farming techniques that restore grasslands, improve soil health, and even help fight climate change by capturing and sequestering carbon.
Zero Acre Oil: Caruso's collaborates with Zero Acre Farms, using their Oil produced from sugar cane, which has a significantly smaller carbon footprint and uses less water than traditional oils. It has 10x a smaller environmental footprint than vegetable oil.
