ROBINSONS Hotels and Resorts (RHR), the hospitality arm of the Robinsons Land Corp. (RLC), will soon transition several of its hotels to renewable energy (RE). Of the 26 that it owns across the Philippines, the initiative will initially cover three properties: Summit Hotel Naga, Go Hotels Plus Naga and Grand Summit General Santos.
(From left) Annalyn Yap, vice president of Robinsons Hotels and Resorts; Gary Espino, head of Philippines for Skye Renewables; and Barun Jolly, senior vice president and business unit general manager of Robinsons Hotels and Resorts. PHOTO FROM ROBINSONS HOTELS AND RESORTS
These establishments will soon be powered by rooftop solar systems, which include a state-of-the-art Building Integrated Photovoltaics system, marking a major step in RHR’s sustainability strategy. This move is part of RHR’s goal to have 10 percent of its energy usage come from renewable sources.
According to Barun Jolly, RHR’s senior vice president and business unit general manager, the success of this pilot project can lead to an extension to other hotels in the company’s portfolio, “… covering all 30 properties, including four new hotels set to open soon.”
The initiative was launched on Nov. 7 with a signing of a Power Supply Agreement with Skye Renewables, an energy-as-a-service solar company, which RHR chose because of its “… expertise, agility and commitment to the project,” Jolly said. “Their thorough research, including shadow maps and output utilization studies, gave us confidence in their capabilities.”
According to Lucky Jay Damaso, RLC corporate energy head, the solar installations at Naga and General Santos will help “reduce the hotels’ carbon emissions by 10 percent to 15 percent, translating to around 460,000 kilowatt-hour of renewable energy annually and over 326 metric tons of carbon dioxide avoided or equivalent to 5,314 trees planted.”
Skye Renewables’ head of Philippines, Gary Espino, noted that this collaboration aligns with their goal of providing clean, cost-effective energy to businesses across Southeast Asia. “This is a significant step toward a sustainable future,” he said.
In addition to moving toward renewable energy, RHR is actively reducing its environmental impact in other ways. RHR Vice President Annalyn Yap shared that the company had already replaced single-use plastic amenities with bulk dispensers and introduced water in glass bottles across its international brands.
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