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San Francisco International Airport purchases six new electric buses

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Today Proterra announced that San Francisco International Airport (SFO) has purchased six 40′ Proterra Catalyst E2 electric buses and three 60 kW Proterra plug-in chargers, joining a growing list of airports across North America transitioning to electric buses for airport ground transportation. The new battery-electric bus fleet will reduce Bay Area emissions and support SFO’s goal of carbon neutrality by 2021 while cutting its bus operating costs.


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As one of the fastest-growing airports in the U.S., SFO has ambitious plans in place to reduce its carbon footprint. SFO’s Five-Year Strategic Plan sets goals of carbon neutrality across airport-controlled operations by 2021 and the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by 50 percent from a 1990 baseline. Part of that plan includes the creation of a Clean Vehicle Policy to promote the adoption and deployment of low emission vehicles by both airport departments and ground transportation providers. The new battery-electric Proterra Catalyst buses will replace six diesel buses in its current operating fleet and will eliminate more than 23 million pounds of greenhouse gas tailpipe emissions over the 12-year life of the vehicles. SFO expects to purchase additional battery-electric buses to replace its CNG vehicles, for a greener, more modern fleet.

“Earth Day serves as a call to action; an opportunity for us to reaffirm our commitment to the environment,” said Airport Director Ivar C. Satero. “SFO is an airport industry leader in sustainability, and we have set big goals to achieve zero net energy use, zero waste, and carbon neutrality. By deploying San Francisco’s first public battery-electric buses, we’re on the path to zero emissions in our ground transportation services, leading the way in our quest to be the world’s most sustainable airport.”

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The new electric buses will integrate batteries that are designed and manufactured down the street from the airport at Proterra’s Silicon Valley headquarters in Burlingame, California. With 440 kWh of battery capacity on board, the buses will be part of SFO’s fleet that currently provides buses to shuttle passengers between the terminals, long-term parking garages and other airport locations along daily routes.

SFO joins other California airports that are leading the electrification trend across ground transportation fleets, including Sacramento International Airport (SMF) and Silicon Valley’s Norman Y. Mineta San José International Airport (SJC). Beyond California, five additional airports across the country have chosen Proterra electric vehicles for their ground transportation needs, including Raleigh-Durham International Airport (RDU), Honolulu International Airport (HNL), John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK), Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) and LaGuardia Airport (LGA).

“San Francisco International Airport has long been a leader in sustainability and joins other forward-thinking airports around the country in transitioning ground fleets to 100 percent battery-electric buses,” said Proterra CEO Ryan Popple. “We are proud to help one of our local airports offer superior service and meet its sustainability goals while also providing reduced vehicle maintenance costs and lower total cost of ownership.”

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How Emirates is supporting and preserving biodiversity

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Taking its environmental responsibilities seriously and championing wildlife conservation across different corners of the planet, the Emirates Group is playing its part to support and preserve biodiversity.

The Dubai Desert Conservation Reserve and Emirates One&Only Wolgan Valley in Australia both illustrate the Group’s long-standing focus on protecting fragile ecosystems and support for sustainable tourism in very different parts of the world.  Both conservation reserves protect valuable ecosystems and at the same time provide unique and sustainable experiences for visitors from around the world.

The Dubai Desert Conservation Reserve

The Emirates Group funds the operations of the 225 square kilometre Dubai Desert Conservation Reserve (DDCR), an inland desert habitat that has been protected by government mandate since 2003. This is the largest piece of land that Dubai has dedicated to a single project and aims to preserve Dubai’s unique desert environment for future generations. The DDCR plays an important role in ecological research, actively collaborating with both local and international universities. The findings and results of the research studies help to enhance knowledge of the desert ecosystem, gather scientific data around rare and endangered desert species, monitor its balance and preserve its natural environment.

The reserve is also a focal point for conservation programmes aimed at restoring populations of some of the UAE’s wildlife, such as the Arabian gazelle, sand gazelle and Arabian oryx. Since their reintroduction into the DDCR, the antelope species have thrived, and their populations have significantly increased, triggering the process of looking into relocating some oryx and gazelle species to other protected areas within the region. Over 250 endangered Macqueen’s bustard (houbara) were also released this year with 25 of them fitted with tracking devices to monitor their movement and breeding progress.

In 2018, the DDCR was visited by more than 285,000 tourists, through Arabian Adventures, various Emirates partner tour operators, and the Al Maha Desert Resort. The DDCR offers low-impact desert experiences in addition to desert clean-up activities in coordination with Arabian Adventures. During 2018 the DDCR was accepted as a candidate for the IUCN Green List for Protected and Conserved Areas, a global standard for the world’s most effectively managed Protected Areas.

Emirates One&Only Wolgan Valley

Emirates has been supporting the protection of Australia’s extraordinary wildlife and plant life for over 10 years, through the conservation-based Emirates One&Only Wolgan Valley in New South Wales. The property was the first luxury resort in the world to receive an internationally-recognised carbon neutral certification from New Zealand based CarboNZero, undergoing a comprehensive greenhouse gas emissions assessment. Emirates One&Only Wolgan Valley also conducts regular research to identify opportunities and challenges for endangered species conservation. Efforts have also been underway to help restore vital vegetation and tree planting activities, which have helped to re-establish habitats for vital bird populations, essential for their long term survival.

Emirates and Emirates One&Only Wolgan Valley jointly funded the development of the WomSAT app and website in collaboration the University of Western Sydney to help researchers identify opportunities for wombat conservation. Wombats are threatened by sarcoptic mange, an unpleasant and often fatal skin disease that afflicts Australia’s largest burrow builder. The tool is used to record wombat sightings and track population health to help treat wombats afflicted by sarcoptic mange. Emirates One&Only Wolgan Valley is also spearheading a number of other conservation projects, such as the Wolgan River Restoration Project, an ongoing weed management programme, and supporting research projects with Western Sydney University.

United for Wildlife and The Buenos Aires Declaration

Since 2015, Emirates has continued its strong support for actions to stem the illegal trade in wildlife and wildlife products, which is having devastating consequences for endangered animals and the environment in many parts of the world. In 2018, the Emirates Group also signed the Buenos Aires Declaration on Travel and Tourism and Illegal Wildlife Trade, an effort led by the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) to reach a billion travellers with messages to fight the illegal wildlife trade and work with communities to develop sustainable tourism that provides livelihoods and protects wildlife. The WTTC and World Wildlife Fund are developing guidelines to eliminate illegal wildlife trafficking from the travel and tourism supply chains.

The Emirates Group has also adopted a zero-tolerance policy to wildlife trafficking and has set up training for its employees to identify and look out for warning signs of smuggled wildlife products during cargo transportation and screening. Emirates will not carry banned species, hunting trophies or any products associated with illegal wildlife activities.

Using its brand power to raise awareness around the illegal trafficking of endangered wildlife, Emirates emblazoned four of its A380s with special wildlife decals. Since then the aircraft have flown millions of kilometres across 48 cities in 29 countries on close to 6,000 flights taking this important message around the world and spurring conversation around wildlife preservation.

dnata Wildlife Conservation and Nature

dnata recently signed an MOU with the University of Pretoria in South Africa to support their research and rehabilitation projects. Under dnata4good, the partnership aims to safeguard wildlife and the environment by strengthening and enhancing research, veterinary training and awareness, increasing involvement through volunteer opportunities and ensuring needed measures are taken to care for injured animals and rehabilitate them to go back into the wild. The initiative will be partially driven by employee participation to protect fragile biodiversity in South Africa and to maintain balanced ecosystems.

Give a Ghaf

Emirates Group employees living in Meydan Heights (UAE) will be taking part in a Ghaf Tree planting event on 27 April in partnership with Goumbook. The event aims to raise awareness about the importance of conserving the living desert, with a specific focus on the Ghaf tree. The Ghaf is a drought tolerant, evergreen tree which can withstand harsh desert environments, and can be used for greening purposes whilst saving water.

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Islands & climate change: Storm surges & coral bleaching affecting tourism

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Since Greta Thunberg, a Swedish schoolgirl and climate activist, brought the topic of climate protection onto the political and social agenda with her strikes, the negative effects of climate change have been discussed more and more. While climate change affects all areas of life, rising sea levels combined with storms that are steadily increasing in severity pose a direct threat to islands. Recently, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) has announced that the average sea level in 2018 was 3.7 millimeters above that of the year before and has reached the highest level since satellite measurements.

In recent years, rainfall, storms, floods, and coastal erosion have increased in intensity and frequency due to climate change. While not all islands are affected to the same extent by the shifting weather patterns, most are aware of significant changes – including the Green Pearls® Island Partners. Instead of sitting idly by and waiting for the land to literally be washed away from under their feet, they are actively working to protect their homelands and their fragile ecosystems from the effects of climate change.

Climate Neutral in the North Sea

The North Sea island of Juist has set itself an ambitious yet necessary goal: to be completely climate-neutral by 2030. Even today, the consequences of climate change are already being felt on Juist. The increasing number of dikes intended to protect the land from storm surges is a tangible measure, and the island is also actively avoiding greenhouse gases by switching to car-free transport. For some time now, the city has been offering projects and activities that bring the concept of climate protection closer to visitors, both young and old, such as the “Juistus Climate Saver” program and the “University for Children.”

Colorful Coral Gardens for the Maldives

Climate change has also left its mark on the Indian Ocean. According to marine biologist Smrutica Jithendranath, responsible for the underwater world around the Reethi Faru eco-resort, rising sea levels have so far had little impact on the Maldives. However, the consequences of climate change can be clearly seen in the corals. In particular, rising water temperatures and increasingly fierce storms are causing severe damage to these tiny, sensitive animals, leading to coral bleaching and even coral death.

Based on these observations, the Reethi Faru Resort has launched a coral conservation project on Filaidhoo. In specially created underwater gardens, the resort propagates corals and plants them back into the house reef after about a year. The underwater gardens and house reefs also provide protection for the beaches and prevent them from being washed away. Within another of the many atolls of the Maldives, the North Malé Atoll, guests from the eco-resort Gili Lankanfushi can plant young corals under water in the gardens themselves and actively participate in the resort’s Coral Lines Project. After the guest’s departure, they also have the opportunity to follow the development of their corals on the resort’s blog.

Koh Samui Against Climate Change

The sustainable resort The Tongsai Bay on Koh Samui focuses on strategies to avoid greenhouse gases including non-motorized water sports, bicycle rental for island tours, carpooling, and avoiding cars on the hotel grounds. The resort has also supported the Green Island Foundation since its inception ten years ago. The organization’s main objectives are to protect the island’s climate and valuable ecosystems. For example, the Green Island Foundation has already organized car-free weeks on Koh Samui with the help of partners, such as The Tongsai Bay, to raise awareness of the need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

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Single-use plastic ban, food waste and local produce top priorities in Centara’s 2019 Sustainability Plan

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Centara Hotels & Resorts, Thailand’s leading hotel operator, is focusing on three key sustainability initiatives as part of the company’s recently announced 2019 Sustainability Plan: eliminating single-use plastic products; reducing its food waste footprint; and expanding its support of local farming and produce-growing communities.

  1. No Single-Use Plastic Products by end-2019

The elimination of single-use plastic items is part of the “Centara Earth Care” program aimed at encouraging hotel guests and tourists to be proactive about energy saving, waste reduction and sustainable environmental tourism. The sustainability plan covers five types of single-use plastic items, including drinking straws, laundry bags, take-away food containers, fitness center and poolside plastic bottles, and plastic guest room amenities. They are being replaced with items made from materials designed to minimize environmental impact.

“Centara strives to operate ethically and sustainably in a balanced manner across the entire portfolio whilst providing an exceptional level of Thai hospitality,” said Thirayuth Chirathivat, Chief Executive Officer. “We are committed to selecting environmentally friendly produce which, in turn, enables us to further incorporate sustainable strategies and development into our products and services, creating shared value at an environmental, social and economic level wherever we operate. We are also committed to ensuring a respectful, safe and healthy environment to the larger society and our future generations.”

Centara began phasing in its elimination of single-use plastic products in 2018 across all 39 of its operating properties. Under the plan, alternative products which are reusable and made from environmentally friendlier materials, including plant-based, compostable and bio-degradable plastics, will be fully phased in by year-end.

  • Phase I, targeting the elimination of plastic straws, began in August 2018. The single-use plastic straws being eliminated take up to 200 years to decompose; the new bio-straws replacing them decompose within six months. Once the change is fully enacted throughout all Centara properties, the reduction in plastic straw consumption will total nearly 2.2 million straws per year.

 

  • Phase II, eliminating the use of plastic laundry bags, began in December 2018. Moving forward, these practices will also become Centara’s standards for all existing and new properties.

  1. Food Waste Reduction

Centara’s new and continuing food-related sustainability initiatives include:

  • further reducing food waste and minimizing each property’s carbon footprint with expanded purchasing of fresh local foods from herb, fruit and vegetable growers
  • making same-day donations of surplus food to charities located near each property
  • providing local farms with pre-separated organic waste for composting
  • transforming waste at select properties into biogas fuel, a blend of mostly methane and carbon dioxide gases which can be used in place of fossil fuels.

In 2018, Centara supported the Bangkok-based foundation Scholars of Sustenance (SOS Thailand) by making same-day donations of more than 28,000 kilograms (kg) of quality surplus food. The donations provided over 86,000 servings to those in need, while the reduction in Centara’s food waste saved over 54,000 kg of GHG equivalent emissions.

Both Centra by Centara Maris Resort Jomtien and Centara Grand Beach Resort Phuket have biogas machines on-site capable of converting 30-100 kg of organic waste each day into an equivalent number of litres of organic compost and biogas comparable to nearly five kg/day of LPG fuel. Since July 2018, the Cowtec Composting & Biogas Production Machine installed at Centra by Centara Maris Resort Jomtien has been processing organic waste from the property’s kitchens, staff canteens and landscaping works. By the end of 2018, the machine had composted more than 5,700 kg of organic waste and produced 262 kg of biogas equivalent LPG.

  1. Strengthen Local Communities

Centara’s 2019 Sustainability Plan further expands the company’s support for local communities’ small farms and producers who grow food for Centara hotels and resorts in their area.

The company attributes much of its carbon footprint reduction to making approximately 70% of total produce purchases from local sources. Beyond the economic benefits to the community, expanding farm-to-table dining enables each property to provide the freshest available food items to guests.

The company’s ongoing engagement with EarthCheck, the world’s leading scientific benchmarking, certification and advisory group for travel and tourism, continues to yield consequential improvements in key sustainability metrics. To date, 15 Centara hotels and resorts have achieved EarthCheck certification and another four properties are enrolled in  EarthCheck’s Evaluate Plus program, leading to significant reductions in carbon footprints and greenhouse gas emissions across a number of Centara’s certified properties.

Most recently, the company’s leadership in environmental sustainability was recognized by the Stock Exchange of Thailand, which awarded Centara Hotels & Resorts (CENTEL) its “Thailand Sustainability Investment (THSI)” designation, an annual recognition for listed companies that operate with responsibility for Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) aspects.

Further recognition for properties includes the “Green Hotel 2018 Award” from the Department of Environmental Quality Promotion at Thailand’s Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, awarded to Centara Grand Beach Resort & Villas Hua Hin and Centra by Centara Maris Resort Jomtien.

Centara Hotels & Resorts is Thailand’s leading hotel operator. Its 68 properties span all major Thai destinations plus the Maldives, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, Laos, China, Oman, Qatar and the UAE. Centara’s portfolio comprises six brands – Centara Grand Hotels & Resorts, Centara Hotels & Resorts, Centara Boutique Collection, Centra by Centara, Centara Residences & Suites and COSI Hotels – ranging from 5-star city hotels and luxurious island retreats to family resorts and affordable lifestyle concepts supported by innovative technology.It also operates state-of-the-art convention centers and has its own award-winning spa brand, Cenvaree. Throughout the collection, Centara delivers and celebrates the hospitality and values Thailand is famous for including gracious service, exceptional food, pampering spas and the importance of families. Centara’s distinctive culture and diversity of formats allow it to serve and satisfy travelers of nearly every age and lifestyle.

Over the next five years Centara aims to double its size with additional properties in Thailand and new international markets, while spreading its footprint into new continents and market niches. As Centara continues to expand, a growing base of loyal customers will find the company’s unique style of hospitality in more locations. Centara’s global loyalty program, Centara The1, reinforces their loyalty with rewards, privileges and special member pricing.

Find out more about Centara at www.CentaraHotelsResorts.com

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