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CASE STUDY 3
Sandals La Toc
The utilisation of natural resources in the tourism industry can be categorised in two core groups,
construction and operation. The Sandals La Toc is located along St Lucia’s north-western coast in a
community called La Toc close to the city centre. The area was previously home to forestry, wildlife,
and natural minerals before the 220-acre Sandals development.
Sandals La Toc has 331 rooms and four main blocks. It caters to the high-end luxury market and is
exclusively a couples resort. The property spreads over 220 acres. The cost of a room ranges from USD
596 to USD 2,923, per day for the millionaire suites. Two other Sandals resorts are located in St Lucia.
The Grand has 301 rooms and the Halcyon 169 rooms. The average occupancy of the hotel per year is
about 80 per cent. Sandals also has hotels in
Jamaica, the Bahamas and Barbados.
Sandals Every Sandals Hotel has an Environmental Manager
La Toc who deals with issues of energy conservation and
use. This Manager reports to a regional head and
corporate director. The energy director for the
chain of hotels is based in Jamaica, and has
responsibility for all the hotels and for identifying
the opportunities for EE and RE. The Manager
analyses business operation across the various
territories and identify areas for risk mitigation and
energy optimisation to reduce environmental
impact. Many external factors can affect decisions
on whether to invest in environmental projects.
These include the condition of the national and
international economy; the price of oil and
electricity; and the room occupancy rate. A
combination of these factors is used in determining
the feasibility of EE and RE projects.
The environmental department has existed at
Sandals La Toc for 15 years. The hotel became
Green Globe certified in 2003, and is now Platinum
Certified with Earth Check, the standard that has
replaced Green Globe as the measure of
environmental excellence in the hotel industry.
Certification must incorporate annual
measurement of operational indicators related to energy, emissions, water, waste, community
involvement, paper use, cleaning and pesticide use.
Sustainability claims need to be backed by third party verification, undertaken by a suitably qualified
auditor. Earth Check Business Planning and Design System measures the following:
1. greenhouse gas emissions;
2. EE, conservation and management;
3. management of social and cultural issues;
CXC A36/U2/16 51
