The distinction of Europaradiso is not just that it constitutes the biggest and most exciting holiday and pleasure resort in the world, but also in the ecological concept upon which it is based. According to this concept, Europaradiso’s breathtaking environment is one of the resort’s major assets, and there is a close relationship between the need to conserve it and the quality of the holidaymakers’ experiences. Therefore, the development of the holiday resort is based on the principles of ecotourism with the objective of minimizing environmental damage and instilling in the holidaymakers, resort managers and staff a sense of appreciation and respect for their ecological environment. Thus, for example, action is taken in Europaradiso to conserve the forests that are home to many species of flora and fauna inside and outside the holiday resort, or the development of methods for recycling and use of natural resources for building the holiday resort. Even the amusement parks in the complex will be built taking their environmental impact into consideration. The strict protection of the environment will allow people staying in the holiday resort to learn of the rare natural systems that exist in this beautiful region and its fascinating history. In addition, education and guidance activities will be held in the resort for holidaymakers interested in extending their knowledge on ecological and environmental issues.
Environmental policy
The environmental policy of the holiday resort’s management and staff recognizes the importance of maintaining environmental quality as well as its conservation for the benefit of future generations. Its goals include:
1. Reducing the consumption of water and energy resources, daily monitoring and analysis of their usage and prudent usage of natural resources.
2. Use of environment friendly products.
3. Providing support for all the currently existing recycling plans and running internal recycling programs for the holiday resort.
4. Constant search for new initiatives in the field of resources conservation and leading the field of environmental protection in the industrial sector.
5. Full cooperation with all the planning authorities and environmental regulatory agencies, and observing all environmental laws.
6. Conveying the environment policy to all holiday resort employees, guests, services providers, suppliers and the communities in the area.
7. Use of all measures required for preventing water, land and air pollution.
8. Monitoring and documentation of environmental performance in order to ensure its suitability to the holiday resort’s principles of environmental commitment.
9. Establishing an “environmental commitment council”. The council, which is to be composed of holiday resort workers, will be responsible for control and assessment of performance and activity in the resort and for drawing up future “green” goals. Examples of the council’s activities: a program for monitoring water quality in the holiday resort and participation in cleaning days in and around the resort.
10. Initiating and drawing up a declaration of environmental commitment on the issue of the use of natural resources. The declaration includes the following issues: planning, design and construction, water, wastewater, energy, hazardous waste, aquatic life, flora and fauna, forestry and vegetation, rivers and wetlands, air quality, visual hazards, transport, education and expansion of knowledge.
International organization membership
1. The holiday resort is a member of the “Green Hotels Association”. Membership in this association means application of water and energy saving plans. (The website of the association for further information is: http://www.greenhotels.com/.)
2. “Green Globe 21 certification” – the holiday resort complies with the terms of the international environmental treaty, which has outlined the path to sustainable tourism. The treaty contains provisions for environmental system management, and legal and operational tools for its application. (The website of the treaty for further information is: http://www.greenglobe21.com/.)
The Europaradiso fund for flora and fauna conservation – the fund will donate to non-profit organizations aimed at saving areas with abundant critically endangered plant and animal species.
Principles of holiday resort development
Important emphasis has been placed on four principles concerning the design of the buildings in the holiday resort:
* Minimum impact to the environment – elevating buildings on pillars in order to maintain the original landscape, prevent erosion and increase the efficiency of cooling.
* Efficiency in the use of energy with measures such as passive cooling – patios that will prevent direct entry of sunlight, white roofs and maximum airflow to houses.
* Use of natural materials – the electricity running the holiday resort, for example, will be produced mostly from a solar system.
* Harmonious integration with the environment – buildings and facilities will be planned to ensure maximal integration into the environmental landscape without exceeding it. In addition, construction will make use of natural materials in order to ensure that buildings integrate harmoniously with their surroundings.
Ecotourism and nature reserve
With the aim of acquainting holidaymakers with the history, culture, flora and fauna of the region, environmental tours will be aimed mainly at the estuary of the Neto River, a major focal point in world ecotourism, with emphasis placed on observing the aquatic lifecycles in the estuary and the surrounding wetlands, nesting of birds and the fish ecosystem (http://www.ecotourism.org/).
As part of its ecotourism leverage, the Europaradiso group, together with the local authorities, is promoting a process for learning about the area from the aspect of its nature reserve/national park status with the aim of conserving and protecting the wide diversity of plants and animals in their natural habitats. As part of this process, the holiday resort has voluntarily transferred some of its land to the national parks authority. This action is just one of many examples of the comprehensive ecotourism concept as practiced by Europaradiso, commencing from the design stage, through construction and terminating in the operation of the holiday resort.
Recycling and use of natural resources
Europaradiso initiated the establishment of an “environmental commitment council”. This council deals with health and environment issues, and leads environmental programs that are applied within the holiday resort. It acts to conserve natural resources, and effect, to the extent that it is possible, the use of alternative environment friendly energy sources, such as energy and water conservation facilities in the holiday resort. In addition, the council acts according to a policy aimed at reducing the waste from various materials, implementing recycling and treatment of water and hazardous waste.
The functions of the council include:
* Implementation of the use of environment friendly products in the holiday resort.
* Setup of a daily resources (water, energy and gas) monitoring and analysis system.
* Encouraging holidaymakers to recycle materials, keep the area clean and travel by public transport.
One of the most important goals set by the project founders is the reduction of waste in the holiday resort. This goal will be achieved by reducing the use of resources and by placing emphasis on recycling. Many examples of recycling or reuse of various materials are applied in the resort, for example, plastic bottles, wastewater, frying oil, etc. In addition, resources will be saved by installing water saving accessories in toilets and taps, as well as by planning exploitation of natural ventilation and light in the resort’s facilities with the aim of reducing the need for air conditioners and artificial light.
Solar electricity – one of the important achievements of the holiday resort is a solar electricity generation system. The system will supply all the needs of the resort, including the kitchen and hot water for bathing in guestrooms.
Plastic – implementing a recycling program at the holiday resort – collection of drink bottles and their transfer to a factory in the area.
Metals – metals will be crushed and transferred to a recycling company or a program that bequeaths the recycling profits to a children’s charity “Tin for children”.
Glass – the holiday resort will prefer to purchase recyclable bottles. Non-recyclable and non-reusable bottles will be shredded and used as a cement additive in the resort construction works instead of gravel.
Laundry – drinking soda and soap will be used (instead of washing powder) with the aim of reducing the amounts of synthetic cleaning agents in the water.
Organic waste – all waste originating from food will be used in the production of garden fertilizer.
Paper – office stationery will be made from recycled or banana plant paper. Paper and packing materials with no further use will be incinerated, the ash used in fertilizing. In addition, in order to save paper in the marketing of the holiday resort, most of the marketing efforts invested in the resort and its exposure to potential investors and holidaymakers will focus on the internet.
Water, air and land
The planning and development of the resort involves many actions for reducing land and water pollution, maintaining air quality and reducing noise hazards, while aiming to eliminating these hazards altogether.
Treatment of wastewater – the resort will treat two types of wastewater: “black water” originating from toilets, and particularly hazardous when located near the seashore and water ecosystem, is to be routed for producing fertilizer; “gray water” from bathwater and laundry water will undergo a natural cleaning process and will be used for irrigation of the gardens in the complex. In addition, water quality in the holiday resort will be maintained by making use of degradable, phosphate-free soap.
Transport – with the aim of reducing air pollution and noise in the holiday resort, the public transport system will be constructed according to binding ecological principles, designating many areas for pedestrians and for green, open spaces. An underground car park system will be constructed. As noted previously, private transport traffic is prohibited in Europaradiso, and the transit from site to site is performed only by monorail.
Seashore – strict preservation of the shore on which no development works will be permitted for the benefit of the general public.
Landscape – the holiday resort will run long and short-term programs for conservation and reduction of damage to the local landscape.
Amusement parks
The planning and construction of amusement parks in Europaradiso are governed by a commitment to and responsibility for the environment. Environmental aspects will therefore be an integral part of the business goals of the park, and their management will be based on environmental principles that contribute to the community, quality of life and cost containment.
Alongside recycling and waste control, the environmental outlook in the amusement park also covers the issues of water and energy use management, and flora and fauna conservation, with emphasis on technological solutions for environmental problems and saving in costs.
Waste reduction – an advanced recycling program will be implemented in the park for recycling different types of waste, such as: aluminum, steel, ink, plastic and paper. In addition, emphasis will be placed on purchasing recyclable items, and products will be purchased in bulk quantities for saving on wrapping paper. Facilities and buildings in the amusement park will also be constructed from recycled materials. Alongside these actions, the park workers will be required to recycle and reduce the amount of waste. The methods of reducing waste by staff include: use of reusable cups, transition (to the extent possible) to online work instead of using paper, and printing on both sides of pages.
Energy management – monitoring the use of electricity will allow for assessment of the efficiency of the system, thus saving on electricity supplied to the park.
Solar energy – a solar energy system will provide energy for lampposts and traffic lights. This system consumes less energy, reduces the need for fossil fuel (pumped from deep underground) and reduces environmental pollution.
Use of water – water will be saved using devices with a provision for simultaneously monitoring the use of water in a number of sites (restaurants, toilets, etc.). Monitoring will enable the assessment of the efficiency of exploitation of the volume of water pumped to each site, estimation of the efficiency of routing and saving of resources.
Electrical machines – the holiday resort’s use of electrical transport will prevent air pollution and noise.
Education and guidance
In Europaradiso, holidaymakers and workers will be encouraged to take part in the environmental tasks by providing them with the appropriate tools, training and educational opportunities. In order for holidaymakers not to fear that environmental care compromises the comfort of their stay, they will be invited to a tour of the holiday resort, learn about its green operation and become acquainted with the subject of environmental quality through various hands-on activities, such as scuba diving or nature tours.
Community involvement
Action is also undertaken in Europaradiso to promote community involvement in the following ways:
1. Hiring of local personnel for working in the holiday resort and creating business opportunities for the local community.
2. Briefing workers on the ethic code for conserving the quality of the environment and their participation in cleaning days in the area.
3. Conveying lessons in schools on the subjects of ecotourism potential and the conservation of indigenous flora and fauna in the region. In addition, environmental activity will be extended in the Calabria region through international green organizations that have expressed willingness to participate in this effort.
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