The JW Marriott New Delhi Aerocity has started its
Every plastic bottle is being replaced by reusable glass water bottles which will be manufactured in-house with highly treated alkaline-mineralized water. This treated water is healthier than regular bottled water as it has adequate pH
Q. What was the rationale behind going absolutely plastic free? As a hotel is it economically sustainable to adopt such initiatives where in-house reusable glass water bottles can be manufactured?
A. The sight of heaps of garbage landfills, now turned into mountains, across the city is an alarming situation for all of us and almost a year back, it instigated ideas in my mind to reduce single-use plastic waste from the hotel. The hotel of our size and capacity used around 20,00,000 plastic water bottles last year which eventually gets dumped in similar ways and it explains the rationale to exercise sustainable practices in running an environmentally-responsible business. An investment is definitely required to install and run a project of this size but it is a one-time cost and the impact is substantial.
Q. Please throw some light on how was the technology developed for what is being termed as India’s first AI enabled water treatment plant? How can other industry stakeholders benefit from this tech?
A. To monitor the quality of bottled water, the water treatment plant has an inbuilt artificial-intelligence technology which gives you real-time data pertaining to the pH of water, TDS, carbon footprint and production insights. The reliability of quality assurance is great as it can be simply checked on your mobile phones by scanning a QR code which is printed on the bottle tags. Our partners from the industry can similarly reassure themselves and guests about the purity and standards of production.
As a quality check, one bottle from every batch is also sent to the National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratory (NABL) – certified laboratories that test water purity and content. Findings from these tests are used to maintain and improve the quality of water. We are happy to share our knowledge and technology with the other industry stakeholders for them to implement it in their respective hotels and areas.
Q. Are you looking at commercially marketing of the AI technology developed for water treatment?
A. No, but Like I said we are happy to share our knowledge and technology with the industry stakeholders as this will contribute towards a better future for the generations to come.
Q. How important is sustainable tourism in the current global context where tourists are causing grave challenges like waste accumulation etc?
A. The guests who stay with us at JW Marriott New Delhi are well-traversed, fully aware of the threats to our nature. We have implemented in-house communications to deliver this message of conservation to our guests. The social media accounts of JW Marriott New Delhi Aerocity are running this heartfelt campaign through a story that depicts our future with videos performed by kids giving out this consequential message.
Q. What other initiatives are you taking for addressing challenges like environment concerns?
A. In our endeavour to serve our guests and associates with the best, we are installing high capacity air filters in the hotel which brings down the air particulate matter by 90% of the current air quality in Delhi NCR. This will reduce breathing and respiratory risks while our guests and associates enjoy clean and pure air in the hotel, contrary to the high levels of pollution in the air outside.
Q. Do you also feel that industry stakeholders also need to educate tourists/guests on the role they can play to maintain environmental balance?
A. Absolutely. Every person can contribute towards sustainable living and saving life from environmental hazards. It is important that we all understand our responsibility in serving our world and follow practices that are beneficial for our ecosystem and for the generations to follow.