Sustainable and Luxury. How does it fit. Interview with Jeroen Elmendorp about the Ritz Carlton Dubai

1. In what ways is your hotel leveraging innovation to drive sustainability and service excellence into the future?

Sustainable practices and managing environmental concerns has been one of the primary focuses of the hotel’s overall strategy. The hotel maximized efforts to reduce environmental impact and promote sustainable practices by implementing a range of eco-friendly initiatives, including reducing water consumption, using energy-efficient lighting, and implementing waste reduction strategies. In addition, we have employed innovative systems that lessen the environmental impact and cost of our laundry operations, work with food waste and recycling partners and collaborate with our suppliers as part of our overall environmental strategy. Our focus is in sourcing innovative products and programs to deliver superior performance and meet our sustainability goals.

Over the past weeks and months, we have applied a few changes in our property. For example,?we switched any remaining plastic-wrapped products to sustainable alternatives, and actively worked on protecting local biodiversity. By doing so, we have earned the prestigious?Green Key certification?which is a testament to the hotel’s?overall commitment to sustainability and environmental responsibility. Green Key is the leading standard for excellence in the field of environmental responsibility and sustainable operation within the tourism industry. The Ritz-Carlton, Dubai ladies and gentlemen actively address the commitment to our guests that by opting to stay with us they are helping to make a difference at an environmental and social sustainability level and shall continue this ongoing process to become a better, greener business over the coming years.

2. How do you plan to adopt sustainable practices and manage environmental concerns within your hotel over the next 5-10 years?

By taking The Ritz-Carlton’s?overall brand strategy for environmental responsibility as a benchmark and applying the principles that guide the implementation of that strategy and goals in our property. Such principles include reducing energy and water consumption, increasing local and organic dining options, sourcing environmentally preferred products while engaging and inspiring our employees and guests in conservation efforts.?

We shall continue focusing on integrating environmental sustainability across our hotel operations and procurement. A comprehensive set of initiatives and practices are in place and planned for the upcoming years designed to reduce energy use, water consumption and waste, while tracking consumption and monitor progress against goals.?Initiatives that have been actioned include?the?segregation of recyclables, the implementation of winnow system for tracking food waste, the replacement of all the lights with energy saving choices, the installation of motion sensors for light control in car park areas, the replacement of several air handling systems with energy efficient solutions and the installation of low flow aerators in all taps and shower heads. Those actions have resulted in 4% savings in water consumption and 0.5% in energy consumption in 2022 vs 2021, although with a higher occupancy of 9% and an increase in food covers of 25%, which are fantastic achievements

Earning the?Green Key certification?is an ongoing commitment to continue expanding our sustainability and environmental responsibility and enhancing our efforts to meet specific yearly criteria over the coming years.

3. How do you think technology can be used to enhance the customer experience and increase the use of sustainable practices in luxury hotels?

At The Ritz-Carlton, Dubai, we are proud to be one of the first hotels in the region to provide our guests with sustainably grown, local produce from our innovative vertical farm, across our diverse F&B offerings. The significance of this launch is twofold; we are firstly supporting the UAE on its journey to increasing sustainability by regenerative farming practices using advanced farming technologies, while also enabling our guests to eat locally grown produce, which of course, is more environmentally friendly, but also superior in quality, taste and freshness.”

The Ritz-Carlton, Dubai, JBR has partnered with Green Container Advanced Farming (GCAF) to strengthen its commitment to fresh, sustainable living and enhance our guest dining experience with the launch of its very own hyper-local on-site hydroponic farm, one of the first-ever vertical farms in the city. Renowned for providing the highest quality and most innovative dining experiences, The Ritz-Carlton, Dubai strives to serve guests mouthwatering cuisine, prepared with locally grown produce for a delicious taste. By harvesting a variety of herbs, microgreens, lettuce and other ingredients at their own hydroponic facility, just a few short steps away from the kitchen, the hotel promises daily delivery of the most nutritious ingredients in dishes served across their numerous award-winning restaurants. With a focus on food security and regenerative farming practices, the city’s latest vertical farm at The Ritz-Carlton, Dubai is approximately 40 square meters in size and completely sealed to ensure it is totally pesticide and herbicide free. The dynamic farm grows crops year-round with daily harvests of up to ten kilograms of produce. The freshly-grown selection of herbs includes Italian basil, Thai basil, and rosemary, amongst others, while coast-line lettuce, salanova mix and kale will also be grown. The produce will enhance the skillfully prepared dishes served at the distinct dining establishments such as Blue Jade, Splendido, La Baie and more. As the first Marriott property in the region to establish a hydroponic farm, The Ritz-Carlton, Dubai has reaffirmed its commitment to sustainability, while supporting the UAE’s ambitious food security goals. The hydroponic technique employed by the resort eliminates the need for soil to grow crops and reduced the amount of water needed for by close to 90% when compared with traditional farming techniques. By having the farm located on the property, the carbon footprint is greatly reduced since logistics in bringing the produce to the hotel are eliminated while also enhancing the quality of freshness.

In addition, the introduction of the winnow system technology for tracking food waste has allowed us to take key actions based on data collected to minimize the amount of food wasted on a daily basis.?Soon, we will introduce the water bottling plant, which will boost our water consumption savings and finally the newly adopted lighting and energy saving technologies across varies areas in our property have contributed in great energy saving achievements.

4. What strategies are you implementing to ensure that the Chedi is meeting the expectations of today's luxury customer?

In the past few years, with the uncertainty of COVID-19 leading many people to make healthier diet and lifestyle choices.?Today’s luxury guests have become more focused on ‘better for-you’ eating habits and prioritizing their?health and wellness?needs. We’re seeing a clear shift where guests proactively seek food and beverage offerings that promote health and mental wellness, choosing natural ingredients for holistic nutrition and looking to make a positive impact on their communities and the environment. With that in mind, The Ritz-Carlton ladies and gentlemen aimed to boost responsible operations, which involves placing sustainability at the heart of all that we do. A proud demonstration of our successful initiatives would be the launch of our very own hydroponic facility, which has fueled our kitchens with fresh crops and provided our guests with an incredible culinary experience, as we prepare tantalizing cuisine bursting with healthy flavors and goodness. In addition, our culinary team ensures we support our guests demand for gut health solutions like lactose- and gluten-free food and beverage offerings – both to aid short-term comfort and reduce their risk of long-term health concerns.

5. What opportunities do you see to offer customers a more immersive and sustainable experience while staying in one of your luxury hotels?

In addition to The hotel recently achieving the Green Key Certificate and introducing the Vertical Farm, with a hydroponic system, providing over 10kg of herbs, microgreens, and lettuces daily to our restaurants; The Ritz-Carlton, Dubai has?applied?biodegradable laundry systems for all linen and towels, OPT- out guest linen conservation program, hybrid limousine services, sustainability-certified or locally sourced products such as tea, coffee, fish, etc. with a strong food waste management system?across the resort and eco-friendly parking spaces.

The?Green Key certification?in 2023 presents an opportunity to?continue amplifying our environmental practices to meet greater criteria’s in categories such as energy, water and waste management, supply chain, environmental policies and certifications.?

We also will ensure the guest experience continue to reflect our commitment to environmental responsibility through multiple avenues including: our linen; our sustainably-sourced food program; and more.

About my interview partner Jeroen Elmendorp :

With experience spanning three continents over two decades, Dutch national Jeroen Elmendorp career within the hospitality industry commenced more than 25 years ago, following his graduation from the Hoger Technisch Instituut, Bruges, Belgium.?He began his journey with Conrad Hotels & Resorts before embarking on a global path spanning Europe, the USA and the UAE with tenures in award-winning properties and senior management roles.

In 2011 Jeroen moved to the Middle East, joining Emaar Hospitality Group’s hotel portfolio where he held various roles, including Hotel Manager at Palace Downtown, General Manager at The Address Dubai Marina, General Manager at The Address Fountain Views.

As a highly experienced and dynamic business leader, he was the ideal candidate to join and lead The Ritz-Carlton, Dubai Ladies and Gentlemen in September 2018. With an MBA from Hult International Business School and Strategic Marketing and Hospitality Management credentials from Cornell University, Jeroen has a profound passion for continuously finding ways to innovate within his position.

Over two decades ago in September 1998, when hotel first opened its doors to guests, it was one of the first #Ritzcarlto hotels in the MENA region and the gateway property to the brand within the UAE.? Many guests personally reach out to Jeroen Elmendorp for their reservation or requests as he has built relationships and created Ritz-Carlton guests for life through his visible and engaging nature. This is further evident in a passion point for him, climbing over 30 places on TripAdvisor from over 60 ranks previously.

Jeroen always credits his successes and achievements to his team, in which he fully trusts, he fully supports and he fully believes in.

Last but not least, Jeroen’s humbleness and passion is what makes him one of The Ritz-Carlton, Dubai’s most loved and appreciated GM’s, but as well the longest serving GM with over 4 years and counting.