Green Grotto Caves is Jamaica’s first tourism attraction to achieve EarthCheck’s highest accolade of Platinum Certification. Platinum Certification recognises 10 years of continuous reporting under the EarthCheck Benchmarking and Certification Program. In recognition of Green Grotto Caves’ outstanding sustainability achievement, Fabia Lamm, manager of the attraction, was presented with a platinum plaque at an awards ceremony held Friday, April 19, 2013 at the Attraction in Discovery Bay, St. Ann.
Green Grotto Caves is now recognised as a leading sustainable tourism operation amongst EarthCheck’s 1300 members across the globe.
EarthCheck Certified, a programme delivered by EC3 Global, is considered to be the world’s most credible environmental benchmarking and certification programme for the travel and tourism sector.
Stewart Moore, EC3 Global and EarthCheck CEO, congratulated the Green Grotto Caves on their Platinum Certification achievement. “It is with great pleasure that I congratulate the attraction on being awarded EarthCheck’s prestigious Platinum Certification. Such an achievement is not easy. Only a handful of our clients worldwide have achieved Platinum Certification. Green Grotto Caves has not only passed annual Benchmark Assessments, but they have also achieved best-practice results in the areas of waste, water, energy and contributing to community projects, “ Mr Moore said.
The Green Grotto Caves sustainability initiatives focus on resource and wildlife conservation, through installing motion sensor LED lights inside the caves, low flush toilets and pressure release water taps in bathrooms, along with minimising the use of chemical agents. The Caves are also home to nine species of bats, three of which are indigenous to Jamaica. The bat colony is protected and attracts a number of scholars and post-graduate students.
In addition, the attraction trains staff members and educates visitors, tourists and the local community on the conservation aspect of the site to build greater awareness of wider environmental goals. Up to 2009, Green Grotto hosted an annual environmental fair for primary and secondary schools in the St. Ann area and works with a number of community groups and youth organisations in the area of environmental conservation. The attraction continues to offer significant discount packages to these groups, in its bid to advance environmental education.
Fabia Lamm, manager of the attraction, expressed pride on behalf of her team for the achievement. “The achievement of our EarthCheck Platinum rating is due to the commitment and enthusiasm of our team who are dedicated to implementing environmentally sustainable initiatives, along with passing on the conservation values of the caves to visitors, tourist and the community within which we operate,“ Ms Lamm said.
The Green Grotto Caves is an internationally renowned eco-attraction located on Jamaica’s scenic north coast in Runaway Bay. The attraction had to meet strict environmental sustainability criteria under the EarthCheck Standard, and validate their performance through a process of annual Benchmarking and regular audits that are conducted by an independent third party.