InterContinental Moorea Resort & Spa Garners EarthCheck Gold Certification

MOOREA, French Polynesia, Sept. 23, 2013  /PRNewswire/ -- InterContinental Resorts French Polynesia is pleased to announce that InterContinental Moorea Resort & Spa is the first resort in French Polynesia to achieve "EarthCheck Gold Certification" which recognizes significant commitment towards achieving environmental and social sustainability. 

EarthCheck is considered to be the world's most credible environmental benchmarking and certification program for the travel and tourism sector. Using a science-based approach, EarthCheck helps the world's leading companies to address risk, deliver bottom line efficiencies, maximize guest experience and minimize their environmental footprints.

Stewart Moore, CEO of EC3 Global and EarthCheck, congratulated InterContinental Moorea Resort & Spa on their achievement and active participation in implementing sustainability programs. "On behalf of the EarthCheck team, I would like to congratulate InterContinental Moorea Resort & Spa on being the first property in French Polynesia to achieve EarthCheck Gold Certification," said Moore.

He adds, "It is very inspiring to witness InterContinental Moorea Resort & Spa taking bold steps to implement sustainability programs. The property's conservation and environmental awareness programs are outstanding examples of how a hotel can achieve sustainability goals through involving staff members, guests, volunteers and the local community."

With this prestigious level of certification, the InterContinental Moorea Resort & Spa team has consistently demonstrated their commitment to high standards of environmental management and continuous efforts to remain environmentally, socially, and economically sustainable, reporting their environmental footprint and adhering to the internationally recognized industry standards of best practice. 

"We are honored to be the first resort in French Polynesia to achieve EarthCheck Gold Certification," said Thierry Brovelli, General Manager, InterContinental Moorea Resort & Spa. "We are proud of this achievement and our resort team continues to look for ways to raise the bar in implementing sustainably initiatives that protect the environment, local culture, and community."  

Conservation and environmental awareness remain a cornerstone for the InterContinental Moorea Resort & Spa, along with its three sister properties within the InterContinental Resorts French Polynesia portfolio. The resort teams work diligently to educate guests, staff, and the local community on the importance of conservation and protecting the environment. Other programs the resorts are involved with include the international "reef check" program. This voluntary-based network is a research organization observing coral growth and educating the public for a better understanding of coral biology and monitoring of its health. Each resort also has a "Green Team" – a group of hotel staff members that provide innovative ideas to conserve and protect the environment. 

The Moorea Dolphin Center, whose mission is the protection of the environment and the preservation of the marine world, is also located at The InterContinental Moorea Resort & Spa. The center offers interactive programs with bottlenose dolphins, educating both tourists and locals with a portion of the proceeds going to Te Mana o Te Moana. This non-profit foundation strives to protect marine environments, provides public education and continuously promotes eco-friendly practices throughout the InterContinental properties and local communities.  The resort is also home to the Sea Turtle Rehabilitation Center. Sanctioned by the Ministry of the Environment, this facility serves as a hospital to ill and injured turtles from all the islands in French Polynesia.

Situated on one of the most spectacular tropical islands of French Polynesia, The InterContinental Moorea Resort & Spa, provides a magnificent setting for a memorable South Seas vacation. The resort features 17 acres of lush gardens feature beautiful trees and flowers, more than 200 different plant species, and 144 lanai rooms and garden, beach, and overwater bungalows. The resort offers three restaurants and two bars, two infinity pools, a gym, tennis courts, and the award-winning Hélène Spa which features a wide range of signature spa services.

For rates and more information, visit www.tahiti.intercontinental.com or call 1-888 IC HOTELS (1-888-424-6835).

About InterContinental Resorts French Polynesia
Owned and operated by Richard H. Bailey and his company, Pacific Beachcomber S.C., there are four InterContinental Resorts in French Polynesia: InterContinental Bora Bora Resort & Thalasso Spa, InterContinental Bora Bora Le Moana Resort, InterContinental Tahiti Resort, and InterContinental Moorea Resort & Spa (www.tahitiresorts.intercontinental.com).  Each of the resorts has completed multimillion dollar enhancements over the course of the last five years and all have achieved "EarthCheck Certification," recognizing their significant commitment towards achieving environmental and social sustainability.

About EC3 Global
EC3 Global is an international tourism an environmental management and advisory group which was developed by the Sustainable Tourism Cooperative Research Centre (STCRC), the world's largest dedicated research centre specialising in sustainable tourism and research. EC3 Global work with clients to plan, manage and achieve business, development and marketing objectives; Set and achieve sustainability goals with a triple bottom line focus and implement programs to achieve these objectives. Its global community of clients have access to experienced project managers and allied professionals, as well as global tourism best practice and research. 

About EarthCheck
EarthCheck, managed and owned by EC3 Global, is an internationally recognised environmental management and certification program with members in over 70 countries. The program improves operational performance of member organisations and reduces costs. Recent studies show that 6 million people a week are impacted by EarthCheck's branded solutions. The company takes a scientific and systematic approach to risk mitigation and legislative requirements and is regarded as one of the world's best-practice environmental sustainability leaders.

Media Contacts:
Vanessa Bloy
InterContinental Resorts French Polynesia
(425) 440-6255
[email protected]

Communication Department
Tel: +61 7 3238 1900| [email protected]| www.earthcheck.org  and  www.ec3global.com

SOURCE InterContinental Resorts French Polynesia