Club Med Dominican Republic Eco-resorts Awarded Green Globe Certification

Green Globe has awarded Club Med Michès Playa Esmeralda its very first certification and Club Med Punta Cana has been successfully recertified for another year. Carolyne Doyon, President and CEO of Club Med North America and the Caribbean said, “At Club Med, we are very proud to operate our resorts with sustainability and social responsibility at the core of our Happy to Care mission. Our two resorts in the Dominican Republic are striving to lead the way with their ongoing initiatives and incorporation of new and innovative projects. Today, we celebrate these certifications as further proof of our commitment to ourselves, our teams, our clients, our local communities, and the destinations we call home.”

Green Globe has certified 80% of Club Med resorts. In 2020, four resorts were awarded Platinum status (10 years of continuous certification) and four achieved Gold status (5 years of continuous certification). Club Med Michès Playa Esmeralda is the newest member in the growing list of properties dedicated to sustainable practices.

Club Med Michès Playa Esmeralda

Part of Club Med’s Exclusive Collection (5-Star) portfolio of resorts, this eco-chic resort is comprised of four distinct resorts within the resort, each offering a unique experience. The intimate resort is tucked between Playa Esmeralda’s lush jungle and unspoiled beach.

Detailed planning has gone into the design of the property to protect biodiversity and minimize impacts. During the construction process, over 2,000 trees were either preserved or replanted to maintain the rich ecosystems that exist here. More recently, Club Med Michès Playa Esmeralda has constructed a glass water bottling station at the property that became fully operational in the summer of 2021, thus eliminating the use of single-use plastic water bottles in the resort. Both Club Med Michès Playa Esmeralda and Club Med Punta Cana provide staff uniforms made from recycled water bottles, another action intended to reduce the harm of single-use plastic. These actions are in line with the campaign by Caribbean countries to ban the use of plastics to combat waste pollution.

Regional development is also a priority at Club Med Michès Playa Esmeralda. Plans to assist local neighboring villages and its people are constantly being considered by resort management. The resort supports the Miches community by providing ongoing language, vocational, and hospitality training to over 900 local people as well as sourcing products for its specialty restaurant from local farmers.

Club Med Punta Cana

Club Med Punta Cana is an all-inclusive resort that lies along a magnificent stretch of sand lapped by turquoise waters on the island. Spectacular sea views can be enjoyed in family suites or bungalows on the beach surrounded by lush vegetation.

First certified in 2017, the resort is familiar with new developments in sustainability practices including the introduction of new technologies to reduce its carbon footprint. In response to the demand to utilize renewable energy, Club Med Punta Cana installed two large fields of solar panels in 2019 near the entrance of the property. In 2020, these solar panels were connected to the resort’s power network. Today, following local regulations, 23% of the resort’s energy is produced using the photovoltaic panels.

Waste can be a major problem for island properties if left unaddressed. Club Med Punta Cana regularly tracks its waste as part of its sustainability management plan. In addition, this year, Punta Cana implemented the Winnow food waste management system. Data is easily collected across pre and post-consumer waste and the analytics platform pinpoints waste to help drive better decision making. The hardware in this system provides daily data that enables the kitchen team to plan food quantities according to consumption from the previous day.

To protect indigenous wildlife, Punta Cana village renewed its partnership with the Peregrine Fund Association this year. This organization works to preserve the critically endangered Ridgway’s Hawk, a native bird of prey and the national bird of the Dominican Republic.

About Green Globe Certification

Green Globe is the worldwide sustainability system based on internationally accepted criteria for sustainable operation and management of travel and tourism businesses. Operating under a worldwide license, Green Globe Certification is based in California, USA and is represented in over 83 countries. Green Globe Certification is an Affiliate Member of the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO). For information, please visit www.greenglobe.com

About Club Med

Club Med, founded in 1950 by Gérard Blitz, is the pioneer of the all-inclusive concept, offering approximately 70 premium resorts in stunning locations around the world including North and South America, Caribbean, Asia, Africa, Europe and the Mediterranean. Each Club Med resort features authentic local style and comfortably upscale accommodations, superior sports programming and activities, enriching children’s programs, gourmet dining, and warm and friendly service by its world-renown staff with legendary hospitality skills, an all-encompassing energy and diverse backgrounds.

Club Med operates in more than 30 countries and continues to maintain its authentic Club Med spirit with an international staff of more than 23,000 employees from more than 110 different nationalities. Led by its pioneering spirit, Club Med continues to grow and adapt to each market with three to five new resort openings or renovations per year, including a new Alpine ski resort annually.

For more information, visit www.clubmed.us, call 1-800-Club-Med (1-800-258-2633), or contact a preferred travel professional. For an inside look at Club Med, follow Club Med on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.