Intertek, a leading Total Quality Assurance provider to industries worldwide, has awarded Saadiyat Rotana Resort & Villas, Abu Dhabi, with the ISO 21401:2018 certification for sustainability management system for accommodation establishments. The hotel is one of the first in the world to achieve this certification.

The new international standard for ISO 21401:2018 was developed for the hospitality industry to meet the demands of sustainable tourism development. It is aligned with the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and helps the industry reduce its impact on the environment and reach Sustainable Development Goals. The standard is based on the same structure applied in all ISO management system standards and can easily be integrated into existing ISO management systems. The aspects covered by ISO 21401 include biodiversity, energy efficiency and waste management, water use and emissions, as well as work conditions and accident prevention. It also focuses on the social and economic impacts of tourism activities. This certification is one of the 130 operational sustainability solutions offered by Intertek as part of its recent pioneering initiative of Total Sustainability Assurance program which provide firms with independent verification across their entire sustainability footprint, authenticating end-to-end commitment to sustainability, building stakeholder trust, and corporate value.

Intertek’s expert audit team performed a two-stage detailed assessment, covering the scope of sustainable practices for hotel accommodation, Food & Beverage, banquet & conference, laundry services, housekeeping, kitchen management, engineering services, procurement, recreational activities and contractor management across the hotel property’s 327 rooms and 13 beach villas.

A special ceremony was held where Samir Ahmed, Director of Business Assurance for Gulf and Pakistan at Intertek, presented the certificate to Fabrice Ducry, General Manager and the supporting team from Saadiyat Rotana Resort & Villas. Speaking at the event, Christiane A. Zeidan, Corporate Director of Environment, Health & Safety at Rotana Hotel Management Corporation, commented: “Being one of the first hotels in the world to achieve this certification is a massive success that we are extremely proud of today. The new standard makes it easier to integrate sustainability in our processes and avert sustainability risks which has become vital to Rotana. Sustainability lies at the heart of Rotana’s operations. The company’s corporate sustainability platform, Rotana Earth, has a vision to become an industry leader in implementing sustainable business practices that minimise harm and maximise benefits to the environment, the economy, and the local community.”

Fabrice Ducry added “This implementation would not have been possible without the drive of the Environment Health and Safety Team and involvement of the full hotel who proudly embraced the project. Working for a noble cause makes things even easier as we are all proud to contribute to sustainable tourism not only by protecting the environment; but by providing long-term economic viability and social justice”.

Samir Ahmed, Intertek, congratulated the team from Saadiyat Rotana Resort & Villas for the massive accomplishment: “Adopting sustainability management systems like ISO 21401 are key to success and sustainability today, both globally and here in the UAE. We are pleased that Saadiyat Rotana Resort & Villas has counted on Intertek as their strategic partner for this visionary journey – and that they now reap the rewards from having an integrated sustainability management system in place for their business processes. We also look forward to further supporting the needs of the tourism and hospitality industry through our bespoke health & safety, environmental and security standards with our latest acquisition of Check Safety First”.