Playa del Carmen: January 11, 2018: The ecotourism company Alltournative, managed to exceed performance levels across sustainability practices nationwide, to attain the prestigious EarthCheck Gold Certification, following five continuous years of Certification and improving overall environmental management standards.
With this achievement, Alltournative is now placed in an exclusive group of company’s worldwide with world leading practices in environmental protection, social and economic development and cultural preservation. A pioneer in ecotourism in the state of Quintana Roo, Alltournative is the only Mexican company in its tourism category with Gold Certification.
During 2017, the Quintana Roo-based company successfully implemented a series of measures across all its operations, which resulted in best practice to minimize waste sent to landfill, where it achieved a record of 0.002 litres per person; in contrast to the regional average which is 0.015 litres per person with world best practice being 0.10 litres per person.
In addition,Alltournative hasmanaged to excel in its energy consumption indicators, achieving a consumption of 0.62 MJ per person; whereas the regional average is 0.874 MJ per person. In CO2e emissions Alltournative recorded 0.048 kg per person exceeding the average which is 0.064 kg per person.
It is worth mentioning that the EarthCheck’s independent auditors highlighted the following as Altournative’s key achievements:
- 30% reduction in CO2e emissions in its operations by replacing 78% of the vehicle fleet using Ecoline units, which meant moving from 4 to 6.5 kms traveled per liter of gasoline.
- 40% reduction in waste sent to landfill as a result of organic waste composts in 60% of its operations.
- 24% reduction in electrical energy consumption as a result of installing solar panels and replacing 90% of the lighting with low consumption LED spotlights.
- Implementing social programs in local communities to improve education and encourage sports including a Mayatlon triathlon.
- Developing programs to preserve traditions and the cultural heritage with initiatives such as Hanal Pixan.
EarthCheck CEO and founder, Mr Stewart Moore congratulated the Alltournative team for their long-term commitment to sustainability.
“Achieving EarthCheck Gold Certification is not an easy task; there are no short cuts, no avenues to buy your way in,” Mr Moore said.
“It’s a matter of being able to prove the integrity of an organization’s operational practices year-in and year-out, and then be willing to have everything verified by an independent, third party auditor.”
Alltournative has become a leader in the Mexican Caribbean tourism market differentiating itself from the competition and positioning it as an environmentally and socially sustainable organization.
About EarthCheck.
EarthCheck is the world’s leading scientific benchmarking, certification and advisory group for travel and tourism. Since 1987, they have helped businesses, communities and governments to deliver clean, safe, prosperous and healthy destinations for travellers to visit, live, work and play. For more information, visit www.earthcheck.org
About Alltournative.
Alltournative is the pioneer in ecotourism in the state of Quintana Roo, Mexico. Since 1999 Alltournative has developed sustainable eco-tourism projects that have benefited the economic, social and cultural development of several Mayan communities. To find out more about tourism alternatives visit: www.alltournative.com
More information: socialmedia@alltournative.com and rp@alltournative.com
