Money, time, and effort invested in adopting sustainable practices not only protect the planet but also positively impact the companies’ financial bottom-line, as proven by Newport World Resorts.

The operators of Newport World Resorts – the Philippines’ biggest integrated resort (IR) with 3,580 keys in eight hotels; 100 restaurants; 18,000m² retail space; 8,000m² event spaces; 1,788 theatre seats; and 30,000m² gaming space manned by 6,500 employees – got together in 2021 and launched I Love Earth (ILE) with a holistic and concrete sustainability programme.

Today, the IR is reaping huge benefits from its efficiency measures in reducing electricity and water consumption, said Bruce Winton, Marriott International’s multi-property vice president in the Philippines.

Yearly savings on electricity are estimated at 29 million pesos (US$521,467) or 34,000 million kilowatt hour in the boiler system; 21 million pesos or 3,000 million KWh in the descaling system; 14 million pesos or 1,700 million KWh from occupancy sensing rooms; and a 15 per cent cost reduction from low temperature laundry.

This is a far cry from the IR’s previous 250 million KWh yearly consumption of electricity equivalent to 59,000 homes, Winton said in a presentation to the Hotel Sales and Marketing Association.

There’s also huge savings from reduced water consumption which used to be four million cubic metres each year. Winton noted that water is expensive in the Philippines, about six and a half times more expensive than in Thailand, and supply problems arise during the dry season, El Nino and La Nina phenomena.

Each hotel in the IR has its own sustainability programme; for Marriott Manila, the goal is to lessen its water consumption by 15 per cent next year.

Marriott Manila’s reform, reduce, recycle, and repurpose programme for its water bottling translates to a 1.7 million pesos savings for one year and a 2.1 years of return on investments on a 3.6 million peso capital.

The ILE Urban Farm within the IR, while promoting healthy living and livelihood, has other benefits: 37 per cent lower price of produce per kilo; 95 per cent less land use; 95 per cent less water used; 95 per cent less fuel; and 95 per cent less waste – all pesticide free. About 37 per cent of selected items from the urban farm are now being sold to the local marketplace.

In addition, active benchmarking and certification (set metrics, measure, global certification, among others) make Newport World Resorts the only IR in the country to receive a silver certification from EarthCheck.