Bucuti & Tara Beach Resort, Aruba welcomed its first college students and professors for its 2024 sustainability and wellness tours highlighting successful environmental, social and governance (ESG) implementation. On Feb. 29 and Mar. 1, a total of 21 students and three professors from Georgian Court University in the U.S. and from the Universidad de Bucaramanga in Colombia visited the resort for presentations and to learn in person from the staff.
Bucuti & Tara’s Jeroen van Dasselaar, Sustainability & Certifications Manager, along with Natalie and Björn Brandts, Wellness Specialists, and Melissa Alonzo, Sales & Marketing Director met with the groups. The group from Georgian Court University consisted of nursing students who were interested in learning about the realms and crossover of the resort’s all-encompassing wellness program and extensive sustainability program. Business students and their professor from the Universidad de Bucaramanga focused on learning how sustainability and business success can thrive together at the Caribbean’s first and only certified carbon-neutral hotel.
Preparing now for future generations
For decades the resort has welcomed guests, students, professors, researchers and even foreign dignitaries who are interested in seeing ESG successfully applied in the real world such as Bucuti & Tara’s sustainability program. Upon honoring Bucuti & Tara as the sole hotel in the world to win a Global UN Climate Action Award, the United Nations declared the resort’s sustainability program “highly replicable and scalable” and encouraged the world, particularly other properties, to follow. While there are case studies and textbook chapters dedicated to this success, the resort realizes that experiencing it in action first-hand helps with knowledge sharing as the world focuses on combating climate change. Seeing the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) applied in a real-world setting continues to prove inspiring for tomorrow’s young ESG leaders.
Complementing sustainability is wellness, one of Bucuti & Tara’s other cornerstones with the third being its focus on romance. The resort’s approach is that sustainability and wellness are deeply intertwined. Sustainable practices promote environmental health, physical health, mental health, community care and long-term wellbeing for both people and the planet. Integrating sustainability into various aspects of life can lead to healthier staff and guests, community members and ecosystems. Bucuti & Tara’s holistic approach piques curiosities and the resort is grateful to openly share with others how acting today will help make for better tomorrows.
