Environment

Environmental Practices at Anse Chastanet

View our sustainability report

Anse Chastanet was created with an environmental consciousness at heart long before this became not only fashionable but a mandatory resort philosophy. Because we have always adhered to sustainable principles naturally, we find it hard to make a big buzz about it frankly but here you go: the following is an overview of our commitment to the environment, sustainability, best practices and our community efforts, in no particular order:

Water Management - "Water is Life"

A great effort was undertaken to make the water supply independent from community of Soufriere in order not to burden the community in any fashion whatsoever.

aerial shot

The 1.5 million gallon reservoir in the Anse Mamin valley, dating back to the 18th century, was restored to serve as a catchment for both rainwater and river water and is used, via our fresh water treatment station, as fresh water for the resorts. Water consumption is regularly monitored and recorded daily to help us instantly identify if we have any leaks or unusual spikes in consumption not consistent with normal trends. There is a written water plan with specific usage and savings goals, and the supplier encourages its employees and customers to participate.

We ensure that all cleaning products in use are non-toxic, non-corrosive, and biodegradable.

We enforce strict wastewater discharge practices to minimize impact to the environment.

The following water-saving practices are undertaken:

  • Treated greywater reuse for irrigation
  • Towel and sheet reuse program
  • Rainwater collection and reuse
  • No wash-down of large areas
  • Composting beach toilets

anse chastanet room

The resort operates a wastewater treatment plant on-site and treats waste-water prior to reuse. The final stage is a terraced reed bed that through a natural process "polishes" the effluent water prior to storage for use as irrigation water.

The resort prevents the extraction of native flora and fauna. We consistently maintain natural waterways and have zero removal of trees to ensure that erosion and runoff are mitigated.

The resort helps manage the protected nearshore area. In fact, the resort played an instrumental role in the creation and implementation of the Soufriere Marine Management Authority which has led to the entire nearshore marine environment to be declared a marine reserve.

ENERGY MANAGEMENT

Practicing good energy saving behavior is an ongoing activity. We tell our resort teams that best practices start at home and we encourage them to look for ways to save energy dollars at home, then bring these good practices to work.

Electricity at Anse Chastanet

  • Only natural lighting is used during the day.
  • The resort's external and grounds illumination uses all yellow lighting which does not interfere with the local environment or wild animal behavior. Yellow lighting is also approved for use in areas where turtles hatch and will not disorientate turtle hatchlings.
  • With the exception of 12 air conditioned units the remainder of our accommodations are built to take advantage of natural air flow making air conditioning not necessary.
  • Pumping for waste water is limited to a single stage primary lift pump to start the process; the balance of the treatment is done with gravity flow systems eliminating the need for additional power consumption.

Water

  • Low flush toilets are installed throughout the two resorts with 1.6 gallons per flush being used on average.
  • All shower heads are low flow 2.5 GPM units further reducing our water usage footprint.

Transportation

  • Fish and farm produce are sourced within the community or from our own farm minimizing fuel usage for transportation and delivery.
  • Tour routes minimize driving distances.
  • Vehicles are regularly serviced and maintained.
  • Fuel-efficient vehicles are purchased, rented or leased.

Reduce, Reuse and RECYCLE

  • We place a strong emphasis on the three R's
  • Solid waste reduction is achieved via bulk packaged purchasing and not seeking to go the easy route of portion-controlled produce or product purchasing. Through this initiative we have significantly reduced packaging waste.
  • Strict guidelines are followed to reduce paper usage, and the resort encourages its employees and customers to participate.
  • The resort provides bulk dispensers for shampoo, soaps etc. in public areas.
  • Soap, shampoo, and personal care products ends are put into use in staff areas and are biodegradable.
  • Discarded but still usable towels are altered by a local seamstress into small hand towels for the public towels.
  • The following materials are reused / recycled: Paper, Plates / utensils / glasses, Organic waste composted, Organic waste is composted
Emerald Estate Tour

Guest Interaction & Participation

Our guests are given information about the culture, history, and ecology of the local region, including local environmental protection efforts and social and cultural activities.

Information about the resort's sustainability program is provided to customers, and we actively encourage customers to participate.

Guests are given the opportunity to partake in an environmental activity such as reef cleaning, beach cleaning and tree planting.

Signs or notices about the resort's conservation and preservation efforts are clearly written and displayed in our guest rooms and/or common areas.

Customers are encouraged to provide written feedback about the resort's sustainability program and general resort operations.

Customers are made aware of the resort's charity program and are encouraged to participate. The resort engaged guests regularly in resort raffles, to raise funds for specific projects.