JA Resorts & Hotels are further lasering the company focus on corporate social responsibility and sustainability concerns, with the announcement of an official Sustainability Consultant, responsible for all 9 properties across the UAE and Indian Ocean, Simarna Singh – a young United Nations Youth Ambassador passionate about the environment.

Educated in Dubai, 22-year-old Singh holds a 1st class Honors degree from the Emirates Academy of Hospitality Management and has already been an official speaker at over 20 conferences and events. She has also Moderated and Emceed at more than 45 sessions. Singh was part of MASDAR’s Future Sustainability Leader’s program and represented the UAE Youth Delegation at the GMIS conference Yekaterinburg (in Russia) with the UAE Ministry of Energy and Industry, and at the COP25 United Nations Climate Change conference in Madrid with the UAE Ministry of Climate Change and Environment. In 2017 she held the position of United Nations Global Compact Youth Ambassador in the UAE, and founded the Sustainable Relationship Partners in Dubai, which has already organized 39 educational sessions bringing together a diverse group of accomplished leaders from the government, academia, private sector and the general public.

Singh’s role within JA Resorts & Hotels is to build on the many successes of the past, from JA The Resort winning Dubai’s Most Sustainable 5 Star Resort (DTCM), to JA Manafaru Maldives partnering with Adidas Parley to repurpose plastic found during reef cleaning, to implementing food waste reduction technology and abolishing plastic drinking bottles across all properties by the introduction of JA Bottling Plants. The brand has its sights set on becoming the first UAE hotel group to be single use plastic free, as well as adhering to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), adopted globally in 2015 as a universal call to action to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure that all people enjoy peace and prosperity by 2030. In additional to implementing her practical understanding of all aspects of the SDGs, Singh will also be tasked with strategically leading compliance across all properties in line with the Dubai Sustainable Tourism (DST) strategy and roadmap for the hospitality industry, in addition to creating educational events and programmes that the public can participate in.

‘Sustainability is at the core of our brand and is also a primary concern for Dubai Government who are making great inroads on environmental issues. We are supporting the UAE Leaders vision and proactively doing all we can, as fast as we can, as these issues matter to us personally as well as to our guests. We’ve got scores of people involved in all our sustainability efforts at the hotels and resorts but hiring Simarna is an important strategic decision to help us build on our successes so far and always strive for higher goals. Sim comes from the generation with the most to lose if we continue with unsustainable practices and as we’ve all seen with Greta Thunberg, sometimes the greatest drive and dedication comes from the youth.’                                                

Anthony Ross, CEO, JA Resorts & Hotels