The resort had invested over half a million US dollars into green initiatives to create positive change across its operation
On World Oceans Day (June 8), Atlantis Dubai celebrated the one year anniversary of its pioneering sustainability initiative, Atlantis Atlas Project – and was proud to announce that over the past 12 months, the resort had invested over half a million US dollars into green initiatives to create positive change across its operation.
Tim Kelly, Managing Director & Executive Vice President of Atlantis Dubai, said: “We’re incredibly proud to celebrate the results of Atlantis Atlas Project one year on, which reflects the dedication and persistence demonstrated by the entire Atlantis team. Our investment of half a million US dollars over the past year is testament to our commitment to making positive change and improvements to our operation, as well as implementing conservation and education programmes both in-resort and within the region”.
“At the end of 2021, we attained EarthCheck Silver Certification for the second consecutive year recognising our successful implementation of environmental standards and policies. We look forward to continually improving on these as part of our commitment to do business in ways that are good for both people and the planet.”
— Tim Kelly, Managing Director & Executive Vice President of Atlantis Dubai
Investing in AI technology to reduce food waste
Reducing food waste has been a critical focus for Atlantis Atlas Project over the past 12 months. With this in mind, the resort has made a significant investment in Winnow AI technology to reduce waste across its main buffet operations. The implementation of this technology has resulted in over 450,000kg of mixed materials being recycled, thus reducing the resort’s total waste to landfill by over 95% annually.
Enhancing the resort’s sustainable dining initiative
Following the successful launch of Atlantis Atlas Project’s sustainable dining initiative last June, the resort has increased the number of locally sourced and sustainable dishes across the menus of all nine signature restaurants by over 70%. As of June 2022, every restaurant, as well as in-room and outdoor dining, features at least five to six dishes across adult’s and children’s menus, all 100 of which have been carefully crafted from locally sourced and sustainable produce. With the planet-friendly dishes already a firm favourite with hotel guests and residents alike, to date Atlantis has sold 38,751, with the three most popular including Bread Street Kitchen’s Uns Farm Caesar Salad, WHITE Beach’s local-produced Burrata, and The Shore’s sustainably farmed Fish Tacos.
Eliminating single-use plastic bottles by 2023
The destination of Atlantis Dubai (including Atlantis, The Palm, Atlantis The Royal and Atlantis Aquaventure) has pledged to eliminate all single-use plastic bottles by the end of 2023. To set this promise in motion, the resort has invested over $300,000 into an on-site water purification and bottling plant, which is due for completion in Q3 2022. The plant will remove 2.7 million plastic bottles per year from the resort’s operation, directly supporting The Crown Prince’s Dubai Can Programme, which aims to eliminate single-use plastic across the city over several phases.
Supporting local conservation and community efforts
In addition to taking sustainable steps forward, Atlantis Atlas Project’s CSR programme has continued to thrive over 2022, with initiatives including the donation of 1,530kg of food to the Stray Dogs Centre Umm Al Quwain, as well as 15,690 meals to the region’s humanitarian aid organisation, Tarahum Charity Foundation. Atlantis Aquaventure recently became the first waterpark in the region to become an IBCCES Certified Autism Center.
During the past year, Atlantis Dubai has also supported four universities and non-profit organisations to drive local marine conservation initiatives. This includes the UAE Dolphin Project Initiative in partnership with Zayed University, which collates critical data to support the study of local dolphin populations. Over the past 12 months, the team have spent more than 270 hours implementing 60 boat surveys, spanning a distance of 5,444km along the UAE coastline. This has resulted in 11,043 images taken – and dolphins spotted 18 times.
Additional projects funded by Atlantis Atlas Project over the past year include supporting New York University Abu Dhabi in their investigations on the impact of climate change on coral reef ecosystems, as well as assisting the IUCN Species Survival Commission (SSC) Shark Specialist Group in their mission to coordinate and implement global conservation efforts. Support has also been extended to United Arab Emirates University in their study of critically endangered sharks and rays in local waters.
Tim Kelly commented: “Whilst we are conscious that we still have a way to go in our mission to become the Middle East’s champion for responsible and sustainable tourism, we are incredibly pleased to share the many examples of positive change we have made in just 12 months and we collectively look forward to ramping up our efforts over the coming year. At the end of 2021, we attained EarthCheck Silver Certification for the second consecutive year recognising our successful implementation of environmental standards and policies. We look forward to continually improving on these as part of our commitment to do business in ways that are good for both people and the planet”.
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