Farzana Mansoor
AJMAN (UAE): TravTalk Middle East, in collaboration with Bahi Ajman Palace Hotel and Ajman Tourism Development Department, organized a very special panel discussion on the theme “Shaping the Future of Sustainability in Business” .
Regional General Manager Iftikhar Hamdani, Bahi Ajman Palace Hotel and Coral Beach Resort Sharjah, moderated the event with seven panelists. Panelists included Khadija Mohammed Turki – Tourism Marketing and Promotion Expert – Ajman Tourism Development Department, Roxana Jaffer – CEO – Sovereign Hotels Ltd, Sanith de Silva Wijeyaratne – Director of Climate and Conservation Consortium, Shubhojit Mahalonobis – Director and Managing Partner -Danube Home and Hospitality Solutions, John Horgan – Director – Eco Burner, John Whaley – CEO – Integrity Business Solutions and Amish Choksey – Partner and Managing Director – Green Gold Eco Tech Fzco.
The keynote speaker who opened the floor was young sustainable development advocate Sarim Hamdani, who said that sustainable development is the need of the hour because there will be serious consequences for the next generation if we do not act on this. stadium.
General Manager of Iftikhar Hamdani Area, Bahi Ajman Palace Hotel and Coral Beach Resort Sharjah, said it was of utmost importance to involve all businesses in the change. Hamdani has been campaigning for sustainability for many years. It was not just a simple project, but for him a passion to make this simple change in life to prepare for the future.
Khadija Mohammed Turki – Tourism Marketing and Promotion Expert – Ajman Tourism Development Department shared the various sustainable tourism practices implemented by the Ajman Tourism Department as a government entity and the collaboration with public and private sectors which is an important aspect in order to promote sustainability objectives.
Roxana Jaffer – CEO of Sovereign Hotels reiterated the need to focus on people, planet and profit, which are three important aspects to focus on especially in the hospitality sector.
We learned something really interesting from Shubhojit Mahalonobis – Director and Managing Partner – Danube Home and Hospitality Solutions, who shared their global campaign on Aerowater, where you can condense water from humidity, and how they plan to provide water to the African region, because water is in short supply and it is important that they bring this water to people’s doorsteps. Another example is oil rigs that need water, but currently use water by helicopter and therefore come up with new methods to provide this water sustainably. As for their hotels, they have reduced the carbon footprint by 150 tonnes between 15 properties and plan to reduce significantly further next year. He said all this is a possibility with the collaboration of the public and private sectors and only then can they move forward.
Amish Choksey – Partner and Managing Director – Green Gold Eco Tech Fzco, spoke about the different programs he has worked on to ensure sustainable practices, especially with different hotel projects across the UAE.
Sanith de Silva Wijeyaratne – Director of the Climate and Conservation Consortium, revealed the urgency of tackling the many issues related to climate change and shared examples to engage the public. He further reiterated that now is the time to think about the future and understand your personal carbon impact. Thus, he shared the different ways of measuring carbon footprint and how they should be managed and then mitigated for the good of society.
John Horgan – Director – Eco Burner reiterated that over the years many challenges have been encountered but they are surely tackling each of these issues as they are more important at this stage. The main thing is change, because it is important that people change now and not in five years.
John Whaley – CEO – Integrity Business Solutions and Amish Choksey – Partner and Managing Director – Green Gold Eco Tech Fzco, which is involved in training people in sustainable development, shared on the forgetting curve. When you are little, all the best practices are shared with you, but as you get older, you forget those important factors that you once considered important.