Rosewood Hotel Group Unveils The Impact Trailblazers
Rosewood Hotels have long been regarded as pioneers of social responsibility and environmental progress in the world of travel and hospitality, with the philosophies of sustainability and community enrichment threading through the core of each of their hotels and residences. Seamlessly aligning with our Y Factor of Nature & Sustainability, this commitment to positive change is at the heart of the Rosewood DNA, and we are thrilled to introduce you to Rosewood’s Impact Trailblazers - a selection of six unique Rosewood properties across Asia, South America, and The Bahamas. In addition to upholding the luxurious guest experience that Rosewood prides itself on, the Impact Trailblazer properties are spearheading a movement dedicated towards a more sustainable and equitable future for their local environments and communities.
From bustling urban centres to naturally beautiful beach locales, these six Impact Trailblazers, including Rosewood Hong Kong, Rosewood Baha Mar, Rosewood São Paulo, Rosewood Phnom Penh, Rosewood Mayakoba, and Rosewood Phuket, are leading the way towards a world where people and place can thrive in harmony. By setting ambitious goals and embracing innovation, they're not only raising the bar for their sister properties but also inspiring the entire hospitality industry to follow their lead.
In addition to the common objectives embraced by all 48 properties under the Rosewood Hotel Group umbrella, the Impact Trailblazers have pledged to reach at least one of six ambitious targets by 2025. This endeavour is poised to fortify the continuously evolving roadmap for impact, as it integrates invaluable insights and exemplary practices. With a laser focus on the most impactful strategies for fostering positive environmental and social change, these stretch goals encompass:
100% elimination of single-use plastics in both front and back of house
100% carbon neutrality
90% waste diversion
Local sourcing of 70% of produce and protein
Development of minimum one meaningful and long-term community partnership
Transformation of minimum one of the hotel’s restaurants into a “business with a purpose”
Central to Rosewood’s ethos and brand identity, sustainability and social impact initiatives are not mandates but core pillars of each property experience. Through every detail —from eco-conscious culinary creations and educational guest programming, to sustainable design elements alongside those that celebrate local heritage and artistry —every Rosewood hotel and resort embodies a commitment to the planet (Rosewood Sustains) and its people (Rosewood Empowers). The Impact Trailblazers shine as beacons of how luxury and responsibility can coalesce, and how the most elevated experience is the one that makes a positive difference in the world. Through their efforts, they are sculpting the blueprint for the brand’s future, showcasing how a commitment to innovation and collaborative learning can pave the way for groundbreaking achievements in circular hospitality and community empowerment.
“Rosewood Impacts has always been about recognizing not only what we should and can be doing now, but also how we can continue to push ourselves towards better solutions for the future. The Impact Trailblazers are critical to this mission, with ambitions going above and beyond our current sustainability and social impact goals,” says Mehvesh Mumtaz Ahmed, Vice President of Social Impact at Rosewood Hotel Group. “These six hotels and resorts perfectly embody the direction we are moving in, a direction where delivering positive impact is part of our business DNA. Their transparency and willingness to share both their successes and lessons learned will be invaluable to our objective of creating a new reality where luxury and positive impact are synonymous. They are truly blazing a trail in creating meaningful, enriching connections with their guests, communities, associates, and the places where they’re located.”
A Celebration of Brazil’s Beginnings and Future in São Paulo (Sustainability & Nature Y Factor)
Rosewood São Paulo’s stretch goals as an Impact Trailblazer are 90% waste diversion (achieved in 2023), 100% elimination of single-use plastics in both front and back of house, 70% of produce and protein sourced locally, and 100% carbon neutrality.
Today, the hotel operates on 100% renewable energy and is almost zero waste, while its commitment to giving back to its home of Brazil, rather than depleting it, is further evidenced in its people-first approach. In just two years since opening, Rosewood São Paulo has played a pivotal role in boosting local businesses, rescuing ancestral traditions, and reducing inequalities, with over 45% of Rosewood São Paulo’s workforce having been hired from underserved groups.
Meaningful Partnerships in Phuket, Thailand (Culture & Community Y Factor)
More than just a picturesque retreat, Rosewood Phuket is an epicenter of environmental sustainability and community empowerment. The resort’s stretch goals as an Impact Trailblazer are 70% of produce and protein sourced locally (achieved in 2023), development of a meaningful long-term community investment (achieved in 2024), 100% elimination of single-use plastics in both front and back of house, and transformation of one restaurant concept into a business with purpose.
The resort was one of Thailand's first to earn LEED Gold Certification and today houses the largest solar energy system of any property in Phuket, as well as comprehensive recycling and wastewater treatment plants. Its culinary program is an exemplar of how gastronomy can be used as a tool to protect precious resources while also championing indigenous practices. Its signature restaurant Ta Khai, which is targeted to transform as a business with purpose by end of 2024, is helmed by local couple Uncle Nun and Aunt Yai and sources 100% of ingredients locally, with many coming from Ta Khai’s own organic herb and vegetable garden.
Building Bright Futures in Riviera Maya, Mexico (Generosity Y Factor)
Rosewood Empowers at its best is Rosewood Mayakoba’s work with Centro Educativo K’iin Beh, a non-profit school in the Riviera Maya. With a mission to support not only the hotel associates who need adequate schooling for their children but also the larger community, the resort’s leaders raised the resources required to reopen the school in 2017, after several challenges forced the original school to shutter. Today, the school welcomes over 450 students, all of whom receive economic support for tuition and supplies funded by the Rosewood Mayakoba community. Supplementing the contributions of the resort’s leadership, guests are brought into the journey through a special volunteer and donation program, “Padrino,” that ensures the continued development of the students.
Rosewood Mayakoba’s stretch goals as an Impact Trailblazer are development of a meaningful long-term community investment, (achieved through its work with Centro Educativo K’iin Beh) and transformation of one restaurant concept into a business with purpose by end of 2024.
Upholding and Honoring Traditions in Phnom Penh, Cambodia (Sustainability & Nature and Community & Culture Y Factors)
With a goal of celebrating both the Cambodian capital’s longstanding cultural traditions as well as its incredible evolution in recent years, Rosewood Phnom Penh’s Impacts mission prioritizes partnerships that uplift local livelihoods and care for the environment. The property’s stretch goals as an Impact Trailblazer are 90% waste diversion (achieved in 2023), 100% elimination of single-use plastics in both front and back of house, and development of a meaningful long-term community investment by end of year 2024. Among the property’s most impactful community partnerships is that with Phare Ponleu Selpak, a local non-profit that offers artistic and vocational training to Cambodian youth.
Championing Coral Conservation in Nassau, The Bahamas (Sustainability & Nature Y Factor)
Given that 95% of The Bahamas’ territory is underwater and that the sea has long shaped life for Bahamian people, Rosewood Baha Mar is focused on the protecting its surrounding waters and championing coral reef conservation. In partnership with the Bahamas Reef Environment Educational Foundation (BREEF), the resort offers immersive educational experiences at the Coral Reef Sculpture Garden—the world’s largest underwater sculpture and living art gallery created by local visionaries. In recognition that plastic pollution and carbon emissions are major factors affecting the ocean today, the resort’s stretch goal as an Impact Trailblazer is 100% elimination of single-use plastics in both front and back of house.
Beyond working to keep The Bahamas physically healthy for future generations, the resort also aims to be as authentically representative of the local community as possible. 95% of associates at Rosewood Baha Mar are local Bahamians, and the property is committed to building a diverse and inclusive workplace by hiring from underserved groups such as single parents and caretakers. The team is also invested in encouraging greater female representation at the supervisory level; 61% of Rosewood Baha Mar’s staff at the supervisory level and above are women, higher than the industry average.
Business with a Purpose in Hong Kong (Generosity and Community & Culture Y Factors)
Since its inception, Rosewood Hong Kong has been recognized as an incubator of innovation, championing initiatives that yield positive social, environmental, and financial results. The hotel’s most meaningful innovation to-date, BluHouse, Rosewood Hotel Group’s first fully formed “business with purpose” achieved this Impact Trailblazers Stretch Goal in 2023. BluHouse is introducing new ways of working that champion circular hospitality, opportunity employment, neighborhood resilience, and more. The restaurant is staffed by refugees and ethnic minorities, made possible through partnerships with local NGOs, and pledges 1% of revenue to support underserved groups in the hotel’s neighborhood. The team has recently partnered with social enterprise LoveXpress to develop a training program for students with autism, wherein they will receive meaningful career experience and support and be eligible for full-time employment upon graduation from the program.