Jumeirah at Saadiyat Island Resort in Abu Dhabi has installed an advanced hydroponic farm on its property.
The hotel will therefore grow its own fresh produce including lettuce, herbs, and microgreens.
Guests visiting Jumeirah at Saadiyat Island dining venues, including multi-cuisine restaurant White, will be able to sample dishes made with ingredients sourced daily from that hydroponic farm.
Hydroponic production reportedly helps reduce water consumption by up to 90 per cent as no soil is required for farming, while further reducing the carbon footprint created by traditional transportation methods used for distribution.
It also facilitates shorter window periods from harvest to consumption and thereby delivers fresher produce with higher nutritional value.
Savino Leone, general Manager at Jumeirah at Saadiyat Island Resort, said, ”Our goal is to use precious resources as responsibly as possible, and the launch of our own onsite hydroponic farm is a key step towards reducing our carbon footprint and water usage whilst providing the freshest produce and tastiest ingredients for our discerning guests.”
Jumeirah at Saadiyat Island holds an ISO 21,401:2018 Certification on Sustainability covering a wide range of operational systems including biodiversity, energy efficiency and waste management, water use and emissions.
Building sustainability into business travel within the Middle East
The resort is also committed to eliminating single-use plastic across its operations. In addition to the removal of plastic straws and the transition to sustainable packaging, it also provides guests with filtered, still and sparkling water in reusable sports bottles which can be refilled at the resort’s water stations.
Jumeirah says that this is the only resort in the Middle East to be awarded ‘Straw Free’, ‘Sustainability Steward’, and ‘Ocean Champion’ by global NGO The Oceanic Standard.
Last year, the Jumeirah Beach Hotel in Dubai installed an onsite glass bottling plant operated by Swedish firm Nordaq. Nordaq’s patented water filtration system reportedly purifies tap water into drinkable water that retains natural salts and minerals.
