The Banyan Tree Group is a leading hospitality group based out of Singapore which develops and manages premium hotels, resorts and spas in the Asia Pacific region. The group has diversified business interests in the hospitality trade but its primary focus lies in the management, development and ownership of resorts and hotels. In this sphere, its efforts are centered on two award winning brands Banyan Tree and Angsana.  The group also operates a leading integrated resort in Thailand called Laguna Phuket.

The Banyan tree group until date has won more than 300 awards and accolades from leading travel institutions and magazines of the world in various categories.  Many of the awards that have been conferred on the group are in recognition of the group's strong commitment to environmental protection and its continuing emphasis on corporate social responsibility that embodies both environmental and social responsibility.

Green Imperative Fund

Ever since the group inaugurated its first hotel in Phuket, Thailand in 1994 it has been deeply conscious of its social and environmental responsibility. In 2002, the group decided to formalize and integrate its various corporate social responsibility efforts into a program called the Green Imperative Fund. This fund has been established at all the Banyan Tree resorts to raise funds for its community based environmental endeavors in the Asia Pacific Region.   At the foundation of the Green Imperative fund is the US$2 per room per night that each guest at the group's resorts contributes to the campaign. The hotel then matches this contribution for each guest who takes part in the Green Imperative Fund.

Participation in this Green Imperative fund is voluntary and a guest can easily choose not to make this contribution which is usually included in the guest's hotel bill. The funds raised through this imperative are used for projects like the conservation of the endangered green sea turtle population of the Indian Ocean, the regeneration of the coral reefs in the Maldives, the preservation of the virgin rainforests in Asia and the preservation of the cottage industry in Nepal

To ensure that the funds so collected are not misappropriated but used only for projects that benefit the community, the Green Imperative Fund is audited yearly by the leading audit firm, Ernst and Young. The group hopes through this initiative it will be successful in increasing awareness of unique biodiversity that characterizes the natural environment of the Asia Pacific region. Further through the efforts of this fund it wishes to preserve this natural environment for future generations. The fund also provides critical funding for the group's various conservation programs like the Turtle Head Start and Coral Protection and growth programs as well as the group's educational and health initiatives in the communities where its resorts are located.

Common Practices

The Group's mission statement says that ecological conservation is not a mere one–off program and for any conservation effort to be truly successful it has to become a way of life. It also believes that the luxury that it offers at its high end resorts need not be achieved at the cost of the environment.

For its part the group has introduced several common earth friendly measures at its resorts and spas which have become a part and parcel of the operational activities of these properties.

• The group uses only biodegradable toiletries that are specially created for the Banyan Tree group and these toiletries come in refillable containers that are made of celadon or ceramic.
• The swimming pools and Jacuzzis at all the hotel properties use fresh water which has not been treated with chlorine.
• Waste water that is generated from the resorts various operational activities is fully treated and recycled as it is then used to irrigate the resort's landscape.

·        Refuse is also treated in in-house incinerators or collected in common bins and then sorted for recycling.

·        The group's spas do not use hi-tech machines rather local labor is employed in the spas to provide services like massages etc.

Better World Packages

The Banyan Tree Group for the past three years has celebrated Earth Day April 22^nd at select Banyan Tree and Angsana resorts by launching its Better World packages. At each of these resorts the Better World packages offers the guest a chance to get involved hotel property's various eco-conservation initiatives.

At the Angsana Great Barrier Reef  guests are offered a three night Better World package which includes a unique rainforest experience as the resort is located close to the famous UNESCO declared World Heritage site of the Daintree Rainforest. A certified eco guide takes guests on a one day tour of this dense rainforest to increase awareness of the site's unique biodiversity.

At the sister resorts of Banyan Tree Bintan and Angsana Bintan located on Bintan island in Indonesia   guests are offered a two-night Better  World package which includes an invigorating nature walk amongst the forests which are populated with many trees which are more than a 100 years old. In addition at the Banyan Tree Bintan guests can take part in a tree planting program while at Angsana Bintan they can take part in a coral planting session.

The Better World packages in the Maldives Banyan Tree and Angsana Resorts are more comprehensive as they are available to guests exclusive of resort stay and guests can thus choose to get involved in the environmental programs of any of the group's resorts located in the Maldives. The Banyan Tree Maldives Marine Lab is located at the Banyan Tree Vabbinfaru and it offers guests many comprehensive packages of marine activity like guided snorkeling tours, coral planting sessions, reef surveys and the chance to learn to measure and weigh the endangered green turtles of the Maldives. All these activities are conducted under the supervision of in-house marine biologists. Similar eco-conservation programs are available at the group's other properties in the Maldives like the  Banyan Tree Madivaru, the Angsana Velavaru, located in the South Nilandhe Atoll, and the Angsana Ihuru in the North Male Atoll. More information about the group's various Better World packages can be found on the website of  the Banyan Tree Group.

Eco-conservation at Banyan Tree Phuket

This flagship resort of the group was founded on the tortured terrain of an abandoned tin mine in 1994. The land, on which the resort stands today, was in fact once described by the United Nations as a toxic wasteland on which no vegetation could survive. The verdant Banyan Tree Phuket now is a tranquil sanctuary for much flora and avian fauna, like wild ducks and white egrets. This lush haven was created by introducing a specially treated topsoil to stabilize the terrain and by preserving the existing plants and trees and planting other indigenous and environmentally appropriate plants like the Casurina Fir and the coconut palm.  The resort's villas too were constructed with great respect for eco sensitivity so that they blended in easily with the rest of the environment.

At another of the group's properties called the Laguna Resorts and Hotels which is also located in Phuket, the group has supported the Gibbon Rehabilitation project. This Gibbon Rehabilitation project is an organization that works to retrieve Gibbon from captivity. They then release these apes ,which are an endangered species into their natural habitat.

Eco conservation programs at the Banyan Tree and Angasana Resorts in the Maldives.

• At the group's property located on the island of Vabbinfaru, in the Maldives special attention was paid to the environment while the resort's villas were being built. The beautiful island of Vabbinfaru is ringed with coral reefs and in order to protect these coral reefs, building materials like thatched roofs for the villas were transported from Indonesia in small boats and barges which could navigate the shallow cerulean waters around the island without disturbing the coral reefs.

• Ec- sensitivity governs the resort's operational activities as well and in order to prevent harmful oil spills in the sea which would prove fatal for the rich marine life of these azure waters, fuel which is used to power the resort's generator is directly pumped into the storage tank from a 300 meter pipe line which has been built along the jetty so that the oil tankers have no need to come close to the shore. Further scare water for the resort's activities is not extracted from the underground water table but is derived from an ecologically friendly source. The resort also uses organic manure in its lush herb and vegetable garden and breeds chickens to control the insect population on the island.

• The group has also set up a Marine Biology Laboratory on the island of Vabbinfaru which is equipped with top of the line instruments and facilities for environmental research. This lab is the first of its kind to be funded and built by a private resort with the donations of guests and those who champion the cause of the environment. This facility is used for the environmental efforts of both the Banyan Tree Maldives Vabbinfaru and its sister resort, the Angsana Maldives Ihuru

• At the lab a team of marine biologists headed by Resident Marine Environmental Advisor, Mr Abdul Azeez Abdul Hakeem are studying the rich marine life of the Maldives  and are devising ways to preserve this delicate ecological balance. While at the Angansa Ihuru, conservationists work on reef building projects like the Necklace and Barnacle projects, the marine biologists at the lab monitor corals and the state of rare fish like the Napolean Wrasse and the endangered Green Sea turtles. International scientists from the entire world over also visit this lab and perform environmental studies in coral spawning, beach erosion and sediment movements, Green Sea Turtle, Reef Shark and Spinner Dolphin conservation.

Banyan Tree Resorts - Bintan

The group's property on the island of Bintan in Indonesia is set amongst coastal virgin forests which has trees on it which are more than a hundred years old. The architects who designed the resort's 48 villas were careful as to avoid damaging these trees and they hand pegged the location of each building in order to avoid cutting any of the trees. As a result of which these villas which harmoniously in to the surrounding rainforest Moreover these villas have been built on platforms that are supported by columns. This was done in order to avoid cutting into the steep hill slopes and to minimize the risk of harmful soil erosion.

Banyan Tree Resort Seychelles

The all white villas of the Banyan Tree resort located on the gorgeous island of Seychelles in the Indian Ocean have been built using mainly natural indigenous materials that have been sourced locally. Marine conservation efforts are also underway at this resort. These conservation efforts here are aimed at preserving and to increasing the population of the endangered Hawksbill turtles. The Banyan Tree Seychelles has joined forces with the Marine Conservation Society of Seychelles to run a Turtle Nesting and Beach Dynamics observation program.

The Banyan Tree Gallery

The Banyan Tree Gallery is the retail arm of the Hotel and resort chain which retails an extensive selection of indigenous Asian furnishings and lifestyle products. The Banyan Tree Gallery is a marketing platform for these products and through its marketing efforts it supports its causes of preserving indigenous village arts and crafts and environmental conservation. Through these marketing efforts the group also ensures that the village artisans are gainfully employed and can thus sustain themselves.

 
Images of various Banyan Tree resorts originally posted on http://www.flickr.com by
 ride the world, jae michie, wallg, richard ling, shawnhoon,evhead and ashleyt.