Languna Lăng Cô Leads Sustainable Tourism in Vietnam with EarthCheck Certification

Thua Thien Hue Province, November 11, 2019 – In an important milestone, Laguna Vietnam, Ltd. is honoured to achieve GOLD Certification through EarthCheck, the world’s leading environmental management and business advisory group for the travel and tourism industry.

Our four precincts including Banyan Tree Lang Co Hotel, Angsana Lang Co Hotel, Laguna Lang Co Golf Course and Laguna Lang Co Service Centre achieved EarthCheck Gold Certification, following an independent audit and a genuine commitment of five continuous years measuring emissions, energy, water, waste and social impact.

Managing Director of Laguna Lăng Cô, Gavin Herholdt said that through the Banyan Tree Group’s global tradition, Laguna Lăng Cô has embraced the principles of sustainable development.

 “Integrating responsible tourism and knowledge results in the entire socio-economic life, highlighting the close link between sustainable economic growth, social cohesion and environmental protection,” Mr. Gavin Herholdt said.

“With that in mind, we are taking responsibility for the ways our operations  impact  societies  and  the  natural environment. We ensure that we apply sustainability principles to the ways in which we conduct our business.”

 “Together with the locality and local authority, we continue our commitment to behave ethically and contribute to economic development while improving the quality of life of the workforce and their families as well as of the local community and society at large,” Mr. Gavin Herholdt said.

EarthCheck CEO and Founder, Stewart Moore said that Laguna Lăng Cô has taken a significant leadership position in sustainability.

“I would like to congratulate the whole team at Laguna Lăng Cô on their achievement,” Mr. Moore said. “Laguna Lăng Cô is a valued member of a global group of tourism operators who dare to make a difference, taking meaningful steps towards resolving some of the very real issues that face the planet.”

The dedicated team at Laguna Lăng Cô have implemented a range of initiatives including:

• Establishing the ‘Green Heart’ project which encourages students to be environmental ambassadors through local clean-ups and educational awareness workshops.
• Planting 2000 trees each year, aligned to Banyan Tree’s group-wide environmental initiative, ‘Greening Communities’
• Mentoring underprivileged youths and providing scholarships through the Seedlings Mentorship Program.
• Improving the wellbeing of disadvantaged families through the ‘Winter Warmth’ project.
• Participating in the annual Earth Hour movement to reduce energy.

In 2013, Laguna Lăng Cô joined the EarthCheck Certified Program which provides rigorous guidelines to assess and align social, environmental and economic impacts with the SDGs using qualitative and quantitative benchmarking across operations. Step by step, Laguna Lăng Cô has measured and monitored its environmental and social performance with EarthCheck Benchmarked Bronze in 2015 and Silver Certification 2016-2018. In 2019, Laguna Lang Co is proud to announce the achievement of EarthCheck Gold Certification and the dedication and endless efforts of our managers and employees during the past few years to reach this significant milestone.

The EarthCheck Certification Standards are mapped to the SDGs, underpinned by Agenda 21 principles and internationally recognised for robust sustainability performance criteria. EarthCheck’s holistic approach to responsible tourism and its world leading science enables tourism destinations and operators to benchmark and certify their performance with confidence and surety. Through its Total Tourism Management™ platform, EarthCheck works in partnership with clients to help plan for the future and guide the design, construction and operation of smart buildings and the responsible management of tourism destinations.