Flamingo Casino has won two prestigious Lilizela Tourism Awards for excellence in sustainability at the national awards ceremony in Johannesburg. Competing against some of South Africa’s top hospitality and tourism providers, Flamingo Casino scooped the 2015 Lilizela national award for Best Water Management Programme and the national award for Best Waste Management Programme. This is the first time that a property or provider in the Northern Cape Province has ever won a national Lilizela Award in these categories.
Launched in 2013, the Lilizela Tourism Awards are recognised as South Africa’s premier travel and tourism awards, acknowledging and celebrating tourism businesses for service excellence, their contribution to South Africa’s global competitiveness, and for growing tourism’s contribution towards GDP and job creation.
“Receiving two national Lilizela Tourism Awards for excellence is an immense source of pride for the entire team at Flamingo Casino. They serve to demonstrate our commitment to sustainable development and environmentally sound business practices,” says Flamingo Casino’s occupational health, safety and environmental manager, Jaco van Wyk.
“With the ever growing global emphasis on ‘green’, environmentally-responsible living, tourists are increasingly seeking to visit destinations that adhere to environmental best practice. Flamingo is whole-heartedly committed to running its business in an eco-sound way. We will strive for continuous improvement through the implementation of efficient technologies, tactics and solutions to make our operations more resource efficient.”
All entrants for the Lilizela Tourism Awards are evaluated according to strict criteria. Flamingo Casino not only met the criteria but demonstrated excellence in terms of its water conservation and resource efficiency programmes.
Over the past financial year, Flamingo Casino reduced its water consumption by 34% and implemented various tactics to improve the resource efficiency of its operations. Some of the tactics included the installation of new technologies such as heat pumps and more efficient central cooling systems. The complex also reuses water to irrigate its gardens, and a stringent maintenance programme has been implemented to ensure that water delivery systems do not leak precious water. In addition, 98% of the flora at the complex is indigenous to reduce the need for frequent watering, while inside, carpets are dry washed.
From a waste management perspective, Flamingo Casino has reduced total waste production by 5.7 tons compared to the previous overview period, while the wet / plate waste has dropped by 342kgs. No waste food was sent to landfill, instead it was used to feed animals and no fat waste is produced in the kitchens’ fat-trap due to the Bio Dosing System installed in this area.
These reductions were achieved through good waste separation practices at source by the food and beverage team, purchasing in bulk rather than individually packed products, buying durable long-lasting goods, and using products and packaging that are as free of toxins as possible.
