Happy to Care

This is the place to be happy;
and now is the time to be happy…

But tomorrow has to be happy too

At Club Med, we know that our planet’s resources are not infinite. We are aware of the growing impact of tourism on the environment. We think that local communities ought to be able to benefit from our business. And we see how our employees (G.Os & G.Es) are looking for meaning in their work.

From 1950 to today, some key dates

§ 1950: birth of Club Méditerranée, initially a non-profit association
§ 1965: opening of the first permanent Village in Agadir (Morocco), a destination chosen for its beauty and hospitality, but also to contribute to the rebirth of a region that was devastated by the earthquake of 1960
§ 1973: construction of the first wastewater treatment plant in Mauritius at Pointe aux Canonniers
§ 1978: creation of the largest solar panel field in Europe at Club Med des Boucaniers, in Martinique
§ 1979: birth of the Club Med Foundation
§ 2005: creation of the Club Med sustainable development department
§ 2012: Valmorel, first mountain hotel in France to be certified HQE (High Environmental Quality)
§ 2013: first natural swimming pool in China, at Club Med in Guilin
§ 2019: launch of the Happy to Care scheme

To preserve our exceptional natural heritage

§ Certified sustainable holidays: 80% of our resorts are GREEN GLOBE certified, with a target of 100% by 2021
§ Concrete eco-commitments such as the elimination of single-use plastic, combatting food waste, promotion of animal welfare
§ Activities to discover and protect nature

Share value locally

§ Charity at the heart of your holidays, with the Club Med Foundation: for example with "Friends around the world", children from local communities meet young GMs and learn from them
§ Support for local farmers and agroecology with the "Green Farmers" scheme
§ Respect for local hosts and support for the local economy such as prevention of child abuse in tourism with ECPAT
§ 75% of jobs are filled locally, local purchases being developed

Offer more than a job – offer experiences, for self development and the forging of bonds for life

§ 100% of Chefs de Village come from internal promotion
§ 46% of management committees are women
§ 90% of Resorts have G.Os of at least 9 different nationalities

awarded by recognised international certification bodies

§ 100% of the construction of our new resorts has been BREEAM eco-certified (or equivalent) since 2018
§ 46 Resorts certified Green Globe for their sustainable management (objective: 100% in 2021)
§ Over 20 Resorts awarded the Ecoleader label by TripAdvisor®
§ Discovery Tours by Club Med certified as ATR since 2017

Eco-certification of construction

Sine 2018, Club Med has been committed to eco-certifying the construction of all of their new Resorts with BREEAM (or equivalent certification depending on the world region), one of the most recognised international and independent green building certifying bodies in the world which certifies the responsible design and construction of different types of buildings.

Additionally, in October 2017, Club Med's Construction and Sustainable Development teams worked with the BREEAM teams to create the first CLUB MED - BREEAM "Resort" eco-construction benchmark, the first standard specially for Resorts, which are specifically composed of several buildings spread over large spaces.

Eco-certifying our operations

Green Globe certification is one of the strictest international and independent certifications for sustainable tourism, and only awards establishments in the tourism sector who are committed to improving the environmental and social management of their business activity.
Eco-certification is granted by accredited bodies which ensures environmental and social best practices at those sites. More than 300 criteria are taken into account in the following areas:

• actions towards the economic and social development of the host region
• efficient water and energy management
• protection of biodiversity
• reduction of greenhouse gas emissions
• protection of air quality and noise management
• training teams and raising G.M. awareness of the need to conserve resources
• preservation and showcasing of local cultural heritage
• social policy

80% of our Resorts are Green Globe certified, and we’re on our way to achieving our objective of 100% certification by 2021.

Certification of Club Med’s Discovery Tours

All of the Discovery Tours by Club Med have been awarded the Act for Responsible Tourism label since December 2017. ATR has a federation of French tour operators who wish to create their tours sustainably using a responsible approach, to support the development of the local economy and to preserve the environment.

An annual audit is carried out by the ECOCERT external organisation to ensure 16 commitment criteria are met, and which are divided into 3 areas: transparency, partnership and consistency.

Eco-friendly holidays as seen by TripAdvisor®

Over 20 Club Med Resorts have been recognised by TripAdvisor® for their eco-friendly best practices and have been awarded EcoLeader status.
Among other conditions, 7 ecological best practices are the minimum requirements for achieving TripAdvisor® EcoLeader status:

• Monitoring of energy consumption regularly (at least once a quarter)
• Over 75% of bulbs must be energy saving
• There must be a towels and bed linen reuse scheme
• At least 2 types of waste must be able to be recycled
• Staff must be educated and trained about best ecological practices
• Customers must be informed of the ecological actions implemented

This winter we are intensifying our efforts to reduce our energy consumption by stepping up measures in our resorts, our offices and our travel agencies. Rest assured, the impact on your vacation is as light as powdery snow.

You too can help reduce energy consumption

We are convinced that the small reflexes of each individual are important in order to conserve precious resources. Here are the daily eco-gestures you can apply even on vacation:
• Turn off the lights when you leave a room, empty rooms prefer darkness.
• Leave your electronic devices off instead of on standby.
• Your idle chargers dream of being unplugged.
• One bath saved, 4 showers gained!
• Do not change towels like shirts.
• Stairs instead of elevators, that's good for your health!

Discover the actions in our european mountain resorts this winter

Rest assured that these measures will not reduce the quality of the experience and that the comfort of our customers and our teams will continue to be guaranteed.
• Our hot tubs are hibernating this winter.
• Our hammams and saunas rest until 2:00 p.m. - closed in the morning.
• A little fresh air in our fitness rooms and ski rooms - a few degrees cooler.
• No overtime for our digital screens - switched off at night, and for our in-room TVs - switched off on the main arrival and departure days of our customers.

Our employees also contribute to reducing overall energy consumption

• Turning off neon signs, digital windows and lights from opening to closing of our travel agencies
• Lower temperatures in office rooms
• Turning off the hot water tanks in the toilets
• Depending on the location, half of the elevators are stopped to favor the use of stairs
• Switch off electronic devices at night (drinking water dispensers, copiers, coffee machines, etc.)
• Maintenance of heating/air conditioning systems to reduce avoidable additional consumption