Wyndham Vacation Resorts Asia Pacific staff will join their counterparts from across the globe to celebrate Wyndham Worldwide Green Day on October 8.

Employees at the Gold Coast head office and across the region’s 30 managed resorts in South East Asia and the Pacific Rim will also be celebrating the global company’s achievement of reaching its goal of a 20 per cent reduction in carbon emissions in 2014, six years ahead of schedule.

Wyndham Worldwide set the target in 2010 as part of its Wyndham Green initiative with the goal of reaching it by 2020. After beating the target so early, the company has now raised the bar and set a new target of a 25 per cent reduction in carbon emissions by 2025.

The Wyndham Green program was launched in 2006 by Wyndham Worldwide and demonstrates the company’s commitment to corporate social responsibility and the environment through efforts to conserve resources, preserve natural habitats, prevent pollution and educate staff, timeshare owners and hotel guests.

In the Asia Pacific region, sustainability initiatives have been implemented at all resorts with the introduction of water efficient washing machines and dishwashers, low flow restrictor taps and shower heads and recycling bins within hotel rooms and resort apartments.

The Wyndham Corporate Centre in Bundall on Queensland’s Gold Coast is 5 Green Star rated through the Green Building Council of Australia and uses sustainable technology including sensor lights, efficient zoned air conditioning and harvested rain water for toilets. State-of-the-art window finishes that control light and limit air-conditioning losses are also part of the building design.

The Asia Pacific also has a Wyndham Green mascot, Wynnie the Wallaby, who encourages children in particular to help protect the planet through fun resort activities and the Wynnie the Wallaby activity pack.

Resort and corporate employees receive ongoing education about the importance of conserving energy through a regular email and training update program.

President and Managing Director of Wyndham Vacation Resorts Asia Pacific and Wyndham Hotel Group South East Asia and Pacific Rim, Barry Robinson, said sustainability was a key focus for the company.

“We are committed to educating our staff, timeshare owners and hotel guests about the importance of protecting the environment and, as a company, we aim to lead by example,” Mr Robinson said. “We’ve invested significantly to adopt best practices and build a culture that continuously strives to improve our impact on the environment.”

An example of green initiatives in place at Wyndham resorts include:

  • Ramada and Days Hotels Singapore At Zhongshan Park, which were recently awarded the Singapore Green Hotel Award 2015, have introduced a herb garden and recycling programs as well as a linen savings program, which alone saved SGD$506,795 in 2014. The hotels will pilot an environmentally-friendly concept of presenting in-room meals and conduct a sale of upcycled plastic water bottles for its staff and guests in line with Wyndham Green Day.
  • Ramada Plaza Melaka in Malaysia uses an Energy and Environmental Action Plan (EEAP) to collect and monitor data and reduce consumption levels. It recently received the Melaka Green Award for its efforts.
  • WorldMark Resort Golden Beach on Australia’s Sunshine Coast installed 240 rooftop solar panels and a new, more efficient chiller for its central air conditioning system in April 2014, resulting in a saving of $44,185 and a 121,078kwh reduction in 12 months.
  • Wyndham Coffs Harbour – Treetops on the New South Wales Mid-North Coast is a star performer when it comes to green initiatives. The resort has upgraded its lighting to be 50% LED, fitted eight speed controlled pool pumps to reduce energy usage and installed more than 100 solar panels. It has a worm farm and generates its own fertilizer for the gardens, which are irrigated with water captured in rainwater tanks. Power monitoring has also allowed for the streamlining of energy usage throughout the day to reduce network and demand charges resulting in a 13.5% cost reduction.
  • Wyndham Vacation Resorts Flynns Beach has a Wyndham Green area with a composting station, worm farm and herb gardens used to teach children about sustainability. All garden lights were replaced with LED bollards to save on electricity usage and the spa heater was replaced with a more energy efficient model. The resort is located in a koala corridor and has worked with Landcare to clear weeds and plant over 250 koala-friendly trees through annual tree planting days.

For more information about Wyndham Green visit www.wyndhamgreen.com