Luxury resorts make extra effort to go green

Luxury hospitality brands that want to be taken seriously on the environmental stage have had to step up their efforts to be sustainable, as consumers are becoming more green-savvy. Forty-five per cent of wealthy consumers surveyed by the Luxury Institute in a 2012 report revealed that they actively seek out brands with strong ethical values.

In the world of travel, a number of international resorts are now making a true commitment to sustainability without compromising on service, exclusivity and comfort.

Eight years after opening on the shores of Lake Garda in the Riviera dei Limoni region of Italy, the Lefay Resort and Spa believes more than ever that luxury hospitality cannot afford to neglect environmental impact and that "space, nature, silence, time and discrete service with attention to detail" defines the new world of luxury. The resort received the prestigious Green Globe certification, the first resort in southern Europe to do so, and for good reason. Rather than going for one large single building, the resort chose individual units integrated on the hillside with thick vegetation roofs to minimise visual impact. Local olive wood has been used in the parquet floors, walnut for furniture and local red marble in the bathrooms.

Textiles are chemical-free natural cotton fibre, as are the water paints for interior walls. A power plant sits at the back of the property and features a biomass plant, microturbines and an absorption cooling system which combined significantly reduce carbon emissions and create renewable efficient energy.

Together with an impressive solar panel system, the resort produces 100 per cent of its own energy for heating and cooling. Excess water on the property is also collected and recycled for irrigation. But it doesn't stop there. The resort uses recycled and ecological paper, glass instead of plastic bottles, and works with commercial partners that share the same values. In addition, they provide staff with 4,000 hours a year of training, comfortable quarters and a restaurant.

Today, it is certainly this high level of commitment to environmental best practice that is required to keep eco-minded, wealthy consumers happy. A local chocolate at turn-down and a paperless check-in doesn't cut it anymore. While consumers want to connect with brands that give back to the environment, it shouldn't come at the cost of service and quality. Those must still come first.

In the Bahamas, for example, discerning travellers will find an environmentally friendly haven designed for the individual prepared to pay from US$54,000 a night. Over Yonder Cay is a private island in the Exumas archipelago, accessible by sea plane or boat and set up to accommodate a mere two to 28 guests who book the island out exclusively. Owned and managed by the Bosarge family - major shareholders in Quantlab Financial - Over Yonder Cay shares the crystal-blue waters with neighbouring islands owned by the likes of the Aga Khan, Tim McGraw and Faith Hill, Johnny Depp and David Copperfield.

Guests bed down in four stunning villas near endless waters in which to play and with intuitive staff on permanent call. But behind all this barefoot luxury is an island shrine to sustainable design which harnesses solar and wind power to meet 96 per cent of its energy needs - the only hybrid system of its kind in the world. Three wind turbines feed directly to the AC grid, and 1,400 photovoltaic panels create a solar energy field producing 400MWh per year. There are future plans for the cay to harness tidal power to bring natural energy sources to 100 per cent.

But for now, guests can play golf on the nine-hole course made of environmentally friendly Tour Greens synthetic turf, settle in for a private screening in the 12-seat cinema, and sail, snorkel or scuba dive in the surrounding waters.