Turtle Bay Resort continues to make a concentrated effort to increase its Green Practices initiative and fulfill their responsibility to reduce their carbon footprint, says resort information. According to the Turtle Bay website, in December 2013, “Turtle Bay became the first Oahu resort with a roof solar installation.” Recent efforts have been made toward changes to the roofs of all main buildings. An announcement of the improvements on its website says, “We have implemented a 59,000-square-foot landscaped native plant and rock garden on all lower rooftops; an effort that will enhance views, double the lifespan of the roofing materials to two decades, and lower energy use.” The Green Practices page also says “savings are immense.” The effort to reduce the amount of fossil fuel usage is equivalent to planting 350 acres of forest. The green roof will save 1,000 barrels of oil annually, according to the website. Scott McCormack, vice president of Real Estate for Replay Resorts, commented, “These conservation projects are helping us be more ‘green’ with our operations, as we fulfill our vision for a more sustainable future of Turtle Bay Resort and contribute to the State’s goal of reaching 70 percent energy independence by 2030.”Kristen Maua’i, a junior in elementary education from Hawaii Island, recognized that some green projects aren’t 100 percent effective—however, she also recognized the benefit of these projects and the impact they can have on the environment. Maua’i said, “I’ve seen and heard of little projects in other institutions, but nothing this big as far as green efforts.” Turtle Bay Resort has also taken several other “green” energy initiatives by installing compact fluorescent light bulbs for 70 percent of the lighting, resort-wide recycling, bulk food donations, and rest room and shower upgrades to reduce water. Turtle Bay also reuses foliage gathered on the property and buys locally grown produce. Teaming up with BYU-Hawaii, Turtle Bay is working to preserve natural resources by turning the hundreds of gallons of oil used in their kitchen into biodiesel for the university to fuelits vehicles, says the resort’s Green Practices website.“When I learned about the effort Turtle Bay is making to go green, I really was impressed,” said Christiana Erickson, a senior studying elementary education from California. “It changes your perception about the resort and makes you appreciate their effort to keep the North Shore a special and unique place.” More details on all the green efforts at Turtle Bay can be found on the Green Practices page at turtlebayresort.com.
Writer: Hannah Packard ~ Multimedia Journalist
