The Sustainable Markets Initiative has given the 2023 Terra Carta Seal to luxury hospitality pioneer Soneva. With resorts in Thailand and the Maldives, this award-winning brand is based on the idea that companies should exist for reasons other than profit for their shareholders. Soneva constantly works to raise the bar for responsible tourism because it understands that luxury travel and the search for unique experiences can coexist with a deep concern for the planet, its environment, and its people.
Businesses that have proven the viability of a large-scale, high-impact project, initiative, or strategy that supports one or more of the ten Terra Carta Articles of the Sustainable Markets Initiative are granted the Terra Carta Seal. The Articles form the foundation of the Sustainable Markets Initiative’s Terra Carta, which places people, the environment, and nature at the center of value creation on a global scale. It offers a framework and a road map for expediting the shift to an ambitious and sustainable future.
A panel of international experts from the fields of business, politics, philanthropy, and the environment chose the winners. His Majesty King Charles III, then the Prince of Wales, unveiled the Sir Jony Ive-designed Terra Carta Seal at COP26 in 2021. The Sustainable Markets Initiative has given its esteemed Seal to 83 businesses worldwide since its founding.
Jennifer Jordan-Saifi, CEO of Sustainable Markets Initiative, said, “The Sustainable Markets Initiative’s Terra Carta Seal recognises those companies that are taking great strides in delivering real-world outcomes. As we stand on the eve of COP28, public, private sector and philanthropic actors will come together at the inaugural Business and Philanthropy Climate Forum to bridge the gap between ambition and action. It is examples exemplified by the 2023 Terra Carta Seal winners that are helping to inspire and lead the way.”
Soneva, one of a few major international companies to be acknowledged for its outstanding environmental initiatives, is the only hotel brand to be awarded a 2023 Terra Carta Seal. Airbus, Carbon Clean, CDPQ, DLA Piper, EY, Haier Smart Home, Hitachi, LanzaTech, Novartis, Orange, Ping An Bank, Pollination, ReNew, Robertson, Siemens Energy, and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, Inc. are among the other businesses that have been awarded the 2023 Terra Carta Seal.
Soneva created its own Total Impact Assessment (TIA) methodology in-house, which includes calculating its Environmental Profit and Loss (EP&L) and improving year over year, even though there isn’t currently an industry standard for environmental and social reporting. The TIA evaluates Soneva’s social and environmental impact from sources over which it has direct and indirect control, such as natural capital, human capital, social capital, economic capital, and tax revenue, using a “planetary boundaries” perspective.
“Soneva is honoured to be awarded the prestigious 2023 Terra Carta Seal. We are dedicated to leading the way in responsible tourism and championing the transformative power of travel and tourism in global conservation efforts. Soneva Resorts has been carbon neutral since 2012. We recently invested USD 9 million in 4.5MWp solar PV and 4.5MWh of battery storage at Soneva Fushi and Soneva Jani, which will take us to 50% of electricity from renewable energy.
“We also have a mandatory 2% environmental levy on all stays. The proceeds go to the non-profit Soneva Foundation, which helps offset both direct and indirect carbon emissions from our resort activities as well as guest flights while also supporting impactful global projects such as forest restoration efforts in Mozambique and Thailand, coral restoration in the Maldives, reintroducing near-extinct hornbills to Thailand’s Koh Kood island, distributing fuel-efficient cookstoves in Myanmar and more,” said Arnfinn Oines, Social & Environmental Conscience, Soneva.
advertisment
advertisment
