TOURISM & BUSINESS AS A FORCE FOR GOOD
If sustainability is about doing no harm, the concept of regeneration is to actively try to improve the world around us. We want people from all over the world to visit Colombia and stay with us. We can't ignore the environmental impact that has, but we also know how important tourism revenues are for the underserved communities where we operate. So, we do our best to operate Blue Apple in the most positively impactful way we can. We don't buy what we don't need. We avoid single use plastic. We pay attention to the UN'S SDGs (did you know, they were a Colombian proposal?) We recycle. We create pathways for promotion instead of hiring foreign managers. We set goals, me measure data. We think about how everything we do, affects the world around us. We learn. We change.
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Blue Apple is committed to contributing 2% of revenues to environmental and social causes, in a combination of cash, in kind and volunteered time. In 2023, the total was 2.3%.
NUMBERS MATTER
Economic impact. Social impact. Environmental impact.
Newsflash: Money isn't the only bottom line. We're big fans of doughnut economic theory and triple bottom line measurements of success. We are committed to continuously improving our environmental credentials, and we recognise that broad social equality is vital to environmental survival. We collect data and aim to improve on a range of metrics, social and environmental. We are not perfect, but we are trying.
85% COSTS
SPENT IN
COLOMBIA
85%
WASTE
FREE
LIVING
WAGE EMPLOYER
60%
WITH MICRO
BUSINESSES
50%
SOLAR
POWERED
30%
AT MINORITY
OWNED BUSINESSES
70%
WASTE WATER
RECAPTURED
ETHICAL
ANIMAL PRODUCTS
SUSTAINABLE SEAFOOD
STOCKS
PUTTING LOCAL ECONOMY FIRST
Move over Jeff Bezos. We believe money is power, and some people have quite enough already, thank you. So we distribute ours with local people, suppliers who share our values, pay fair wages, take care of their neighbours and think the planet is worth saving.
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Check out how we measure them HERE.
BACK OF HOUSE
SUSTAINABILITY TOUR
The cure for greenwashing is transparency. If you're interested to learn more about what we do, a member of our team will happily show you around Blue Apple and how we try to place regeneration at the heart of every are of the hotel's operation for a US $10 donation to our impact fund (see below).
CARBON COMPENSATION & SOCIAL IMPACT FUND
NOW THERE'S A BRIGHT IDEA
Your boat ride to and from Blue Apple generates around 7kg of CO2 and until electric boat technology improves, we can't get it down much more. The concept of 'Carbon Offset' is a complex one, so we mix it up, with part certified carbon offset, part local environmental restoration and part community development.
HOW MUCH DOES IT COST?
Day Pass - 5,000 pesos (under $2) per person
Hotel Stay - 20,000 pesos (under $5) per room ​
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In a typical month, our guests contribute around 5 million pesos to the fund (between $1,000 - $1,500)
GREEN APPLE FOUNDATION
1,000 pesos per KG of glass recycled. Helps your visit to Blue Apple be waste free, while creating jobs for local people.
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BOCACHICA COMMUNITY FUND
Goes to the village next door for anything from school supplies, clean-ups, elderly care, sports sponsorship and more. A committee of local people representing the village's diverse population determines fund allocation.
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SEATREES
An accredited Carbon Offset project protecting and restoring the Colombian Paramo (on the Pacific coast)
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ECOVIDA MANGROVES
This is not a certified carbon credit scheme, but a local project restoring mangrove forests and creating jobs in the northern part of Cartagena.
