Green Roof Inn, Carriacou beach accommodation

Planet

Fair Travel
Green Roof Inn recognises that it is only as good as its staff and that mutual respect, trust and care is of great importance in a working relation. All employees shall feel that there is room for growth and personal and professional development.

Salaries, breaks and vacations are in line with and above national union agreement. Breaks are natural parts of the everyday work and yearly paid vacations are granted. Staff is encouraged to join the local union. The local praxis of seasonal work in the tourism trade does not suit our ethics, as our staff are all family providers Green Roof Inn employ full time, all year round to secure the income of our employees. Green Roof Inn also applies a gender awareness approach where in a female dominated workplace we have an ongoing dialogue discussing gender issues and women empowerment. We also constantly try to offer further training and education for our staff and share as much as possible the knowledge of business that we have. Green Roof Inn is against all forms of discrimination and tries to extend this stance to all its employees and beyond the walls of the hotel. Environmental questions and options of choice in operation policy from garbage reduction and recycling to supporting the local economy and refusing imports are constantly under scrutiny at the Green Roof Inn thus furhtering all of our knowledge on these issues in the day to day work.

Supporting the Local Market
With an aim that most of a dollar spent at the Green Roof Inn should remain, multiply and benefit the local region we have adopted the following agenda.
We only use local produce in the restaurant as main ingredients.

This means beef, pork, fish, lobster, fruits, vegetables, drinks and most accessories. Promoting local producers, entrepreneurs, farmers, fishermen this also leads to the seasonal use of produce for quality and freshness.

Hotel equipment and maintainance products are also sought regionally.
Products needed but not produced locally we try to find regionally.
The few articles nessessary to import such as wines, coffee etc. we buy from local merchants, no direct imports.
Although production is not regional, local/regional traders and transportations benefit, promoting local employment and profits.

Fish and Seafood
Green Roof Inn supports the local fishing fleet and buys fish that is hook-fished, (no over fishing by trawlers) and lobster when in season, September - May.

Meat Served in the Restaurant
Meat served in the restaurant at the Green Roof Inn comes from local animals. This supports the local Carriacou farmers and also guarantees that the animals have had a free and natural life wich would meet any criteria set for ecological farming. The animals are slaughtered localy on their home farm so there are no stressfull transportations involved.

Drinks Served in the Restaurant
We try to stock only drinks sold in recycable bottles and cases. This also coinside with the rule of local production as only the local/regional breweries would recycle their bottles. When no local choice, as with wine, coffee etc. it is important to choose the closest place of origin of product. This minimise transportation and also support the regional economy. Local merchants are used for imported articles to support local economy.

Garbage
Green Roof Inn strives to minimise the amount of garbage produced, and we also divide biodegradables and nonrecycable solid waste.
To minimise wrapping and packaging, portion packs are excluded in favour for large packs and paper wrapping prefered before metal, glass or plastic.
Refill and recycables prefered instead of disposables where ever possible.

All biodigradable waste from the kitchen is collected in a "pig bucket" that feed the neighbours animals for meat production. The same meat is later purchased to be served in the restaurant. - Full cycle.

Water Situation on Carriacou
Carriacou is an island lacking ground water. Our water supply comes from rainwater collected off the roofs and stored in cisterns under the building to last through the dry season. Running out of water leads to costly and poluting trucking of water.

Saving Water
Green Roof Inn was built around its toilets. To reduce the water consumption we have special low flush toilets that requires no less than 45 degree angles on the waste pipes, the design of Green Roof Inn was thus based on this precondition. The toilet waste pipes originally went in to composting units for a completely closed waste system but are now, because of failure, led in to conventional septics. All bathrooms have special water saving shower heads. Green Roof Inn has also devided its waste water system between the black water and the grey water. The grey water is run through an infiltration in the ground and collected in tanks for the use of wetting the garden which is specifically important during the dry season.

Energy Savings and Solar Heating
As electricity is expensive and produced localy on the island with a diesel turbine, Green Roof Inn features solar heated water which is a clean and renewable source of energy. Because of the cost and polution of electricity production we also have chosen not to have A/C units in any of the rooms. The house is designed so that there is a natural airflow through the building and there are also fans in the rooms. All light bulbs in the common areas are energy saving bulbs.

The Airline Traffic
The concept of tourism is partly contrary to sustainable development in a global perspectve and contain a great environmental chalange as longhaul flights are part of the product that we offer.

One way to counter the effects of the carbon footprint produced is for example planting trees to become carbon neutral. How ever this can also be seen just as a stunt to justify emmissions of carbon dioxid and green house gases. We believe that regionally, the positive effects of sustainable development of the islands through tourism must be considered to counter the negative impact of carbon emmissions and green house gases caused by the flights that bring the tourists here. Sustainable development can be reached through consious tourism developments in our region. Tourism should be seen as a resourse and not a threat to the environment and the sustainable development of the islands.

The Overall Perspective
In a small island as Carriacou we can not have the global perspective on sustainability but have to appreciate the local conditions. We put much emphasis on the importance of socio-economic development to create an arena where ecological, environmental and climate change related issues can be adressed and chalanged.

Economic development lays the grounds for education, awareness and ability to afford environmental choices. Green Roof Inn strive to minimise the negative impact on the environment of our operations and continuously analyse and make all involved aware of the dilemmas inherent and eventually chalange them. This together with advocating gender equality, workers rights, encouraging education and training, sharing business know how, creating employment and supporting society through local spending multiplier effects on economic investments and daily spendings is our plan of action toward sustainable development.

Future Aims and Chalanges
A plan of Action for Sustainable Tourism is a document as well as an ongoing process. This process never ends and a business can always develop furhter even though the pace of improvement may slow down as the obvious actions have been taken. There are several goals we still have to achieve in the near future that are not in this plan of action.

One of the first ones is to apply for certification and through that process learn more of what we can do. There is also a need to address the local Government, Board of Tourism and the Grenada Hotel Association on the need for support to the industry for making nesessary adjustments and asisstance in the certification process. The UNWTO clearly recommends the development and support for national certifications of sustainable tourism and the Caribbean Alliance for Sustainable Tourism (CAST) is supposed to offer assistance and provisions to stakeholders in the Caribbean region. We shall work towards its realisation.

People

Support for Community Activity
Green Roof Inn regularly sponsor community based activities such as music and cultural events. We are also members of the Historical Society of Carriacou that promotes the knowledge of the history and cultural herritage of the island. As much as possible of a dollar spent at the Green Roof Inn shall stay and benefit the local economy and community. We only use local merchants and as far as possible local produce. Always in our restaurant you will find local sea food, local beef and pork and all vegetables and fruits are localy produced. The bar keeps the local drinks available, in recycable bottles. Drink Carib beer or a fresh local juice instead of an imported Heiniken!

Green Roof Inn regularly sponsor yearly cultural festivities as well as smaller functions aimed at preservation of cultural heritage or youth activities.