EXPERT DISCUSSION ON SUSTAINABILITY
IFEA organised panel discussions of hospitality, design and environment professionals at JB Auditorium, Ahmedabad Management Association campus to celebrate Earth Day 2023.
The discussions were moderated by IFEA founder Anil Mulchandani.
Speaking at the conference, Shital Bhatia of Goverdhan Greens shared his success story of water management at his resort in the drought-prone Devbhumi Dwarka district.
Himmat Anand of Tree of Life Resorts said, “the hospitality and tourism industries, aware as we are of the need to protect the environment, are often the biggest defaulters when it comes to sustainable development”. He admitted it is a challenging and expensive exercise to be environmentally-friend, in and there is more lip service happening, with only a handful walking the talk. He talked about some of the measures they have taken to reduce plastic waste. He also presented information about his Ecotainer project.
Puneet Baijal of Hyatt Regency and Keenan MacKenzie of ITC Narmada presented their sustainability measures. An interesting case study was presented by Puneet Saigal of Madhubhan Resort who said they had offered an incentive to those guests who did not opt to have their linen laundered daily during their stay at the resort. This initiative reduced their water and power usage at the laundry.
Architect Parul Zaveri of Abhikram presented the stories of resorts and hotels designed by them that were based on sustainability principles like passive cooling, use of local materials and artisan skills, minimum use of highly processed, high embodied energy materials, etc. Architect Chirashree Thakker presented her experiences of using local stone and sustainable materials in the construction of hotels and resorts.
Kishan Kotecha expressed his views about ecotourism at Gir, Dwarka and Polo Forest where his resorts are situated.
Niyati Kukadia of Tokar Sustainable Designs explained how the crafts of socially and economically marginalised people like the bamboo workers of the Dang and the semi-nomadic Mirasas of Dasada can benefit from fair trade practices. She gave the example of properties like Rann Riders where beds have been fashioned out of bamboo processed and crafted by the tribal artisans.
Lokendra Balasaria, an architect and a planner by profession, and urban ecologist by choice, presented his experiences of bringing communities together through tree walks for environment-consciousness.
IIHM’s Shabnam Haldar moderated a session about sustainability in the food sector. Parvez Malik of Historicul talked about heritage and the millet revolution, Chef Nisarg Chauhan of Novotel about his millet menu, and influencer Pankti Pandey about zero-waste principles, sustainable food products and community-building by restaurants. Pankti presented the example of community cooking at Aarambh Cafe.
