Excellence in Sustainability: Fairmont Kea Lani

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Pacific Biodiesel’s Excellence in Sustainability:
Fairmont Kea Lani

Stay at Fairmont Kea Lani, and you’re sure to notice some of the ways the resort practices sustainability, such as complimentary transportation within Wailea and electric-vehicle charging stations for guests of the resort, compostable food containers and reusable glass bottles filled in-house with purified still and sparkling water, locally made beauty oils in Fairmont’s Willow Stream Spa, reef-safe sunscreens, and signage and in-room literature that teach guests about the fragility of island ecosystems and ways to protect them.

That’s just the tip of the proverbial iceberg. Behind the scenes, in a host of ways, Fairmont is working to shrink its environmental footprint (and by extension, help preserve icebergs of the literal kind). Since 2001, Fairmont’s Planet 21 Sustainability Team has launched more than fifty conservation initiatives, including solar panels that offset 10 percent of the property’s energy demand (the equivalent of 138 homes), a recycling system that has saved more than 104 million gallons of laundry water over the past decade, capture of more than 200 gallons a week of used cooking oil for recycling into biofuel, and landscaping that emphasizes Hawaiian plants and lava rock to reduce water needs.

Sustainability doesn’t end at the property line—nor with this generation. By purchasing locally sourced produce and meat, Fairmont supports Maui agriculture, while fish served at its restaurants are caught locally through sustainable fishing practices. Since 2016, the resort has worked with the Hawai‘i Wildlife Fund’s Endangered Hawksbill Sea Turtle Dawn Patrol, and sponsors and participates in beach cleanups throughout the year. That same year, Fairmont began partnering with the state’s STEM program, working with teachers and creating virtual-reality videos that inform students about career opportunities in environmental sustainability.

“With climate change already affecting our island state, sustainability is more urgent than ever,” says Kelly King, cofounder and vice president of Pacific Biodiesel. “Fairmont Kea Lani is committed to sustainability in all its operations. We applaud their efforts to support the community and encourage their employees and guests to be part of the solution. They have raised the bar in their industry, and remind us all to engage in creating a more sustainable Hawai‘i.”

1 COMMENT

  1. WOW! This came out so delicious! I do the same thing, taking inspiration from a recipe and then changing it up. I had some left over roasted sweet potatoes so I just carmelized onions, browned the turkey in a pan, added some other vegetables, red thai chili paste, and a bit of lemongrass (along with everything you put in the recipe) and it came out amazingly delicious! My fiance was shocked because I put it together rather quickly and it was so yummy 🙂

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