Month of environmental initiatives at Cinnamon Grand

The Cinnamon Grand takes the next step in celebrating World Environment Day with a month long stretch of environmentally friendly initiatives which reflect the hotel’s sustained focus on staying eco-friendly through all its actions.

Commencing on 4 June, the month of June marks an opportunity for the hotel’s associates and guests, young and old, to show that they care for the planet through tangible and effective actions and not mere rhetoric.

The prelude to the activities will kick off on 4 June with a workshop for kids at Nuga Gama that focuses on the pressing need to care for the planet and follow the all-important tenets of environmental preservation; reduce, reuse, recycle.

A special kids’ story time session highlighting anecdotal Sri Lankan folktales with an appreciation for nature by leading children’s author and illustrator Sybil Wettasinghe is also on the cards.

The session will also reward enthusiastic young environmental poets through the culmination of a special poetry competition first announced in the Grand Buzz, the hotel’s special kids’ brochure.

The best three poems will be adjudged at this session and the winning entries will be awarded special prizes by Wettasinghe. Her best-selling books will be available for purchase during this special children’s initiative.

As part of this unique environment-focused month, the hotel will bring back its immensely successful B2b recycling initiative for its third phase; a bag sale for the staff and guests commencing on 5 June.

Endorsed by 2007 Nobel Prize for Peace Co-laureate, Professor Mohan Munasinghe the B2b initiative utilised the hotel’s discarded flex banners and transformed them into trendy unique bags. The funds from the sale of the bags will go to the Children’s Ward of the Cancer Hospital Maharagama.

Additionally, the funds generated from another unique Cinnamon Grand initiative, Environmental Wisdom Cards, will go to an environmental charity, delivering on the hotel’s promise to help in efforts to increase eco conscientiousness. The unique cards featuring inspirational environmental quotes from leading world figures were launched last year by Bollywood superstar, Vivek Oberoi.

Furthermore, the hotel will place informative stickers in all hotel rooms on 5 June for the benefit of guests. The sticker contains 25 helpful tips for going green and minimising environmental degradation.

The hotel will also help staff to practice green ethics on a daily basis with the launch of Cinnamon Grand’s ‘Green Forum’. The programme commences on 8 June with the first keynote speaker, Professor Sarath Kotagama, eminent ornithologist and Head of the University of Colombo’s Department of Zoology, addressing the hotel’s staff on everyday actions that will aid in maintaining a greener hotel.

Other initiatives include the planting of bamboo trees which are known to reduce carbon dioxide in the atmosphere by 35% and a novel initiative which will kick off later this month to create awareness on the importance of an entity’s carbon footprint.    

“World Environment Day is an opportunity for us all to get involved in something which is critical for our shared future and work in a coordinated manner to empower us all to play an active role in protecting our environment,” said General Manager Rohan Karr.

“The Cinnamon Grand’s stance on this global issue is steadfast and remains constantly aligned with the hotel’s role as a socially responsible corporate entity,” he said.