Protecting Paradise: Environmental Sustainability in the Seychelles

The Seychelles is considered one of the most desirable destinations in the world, blessed with powder sand beaches, pristine waters and abundant marine life. Yet this alluring archipelago of 115 islands faces significant challenges when it comes to protecting and preserving its ecology.

Awareness of the need to preserve the local environment is on the increase, as the islands make carefully managed conservation initiatives and sustainable tourism development a priority. In support, Hilton has spearheaded several innovative measures to respond to some of the Seychelles’ most pertinent issues:

Coral Reef Preservation: Coral is heavily impacted by temperature and pollution, and coral bleaching occurs in tropical regions such as Seychelles when the temperature of the water rises – a phenomenon associated with climate change. 

Hilton Seychelles Northolme Resort & Spa has partnered with the Marine Conservation Society and local environmental organisations to continue finding innovative ways to tackle this damage. These measures include coral reef nurseries, where guests are encouraged to visit the newly grown coral in its tanks before it is replanted or take a guided snorkelling trail around the nurseries. They can even adopt coral to support the project.

Sustainable Sourcing: To minimize imports as much as possible, the Seychelles relies heavily on local produce. Hilton Seychelles Labriz Resort & Spa partners with The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) on sustainable agricultural projects to ensure they only source local produce from inclusive and environmentally conscious practices. Through the organic vegetable garden on the resort and the IFAD partnership, the hotel now sources over 80% of its vegetables locally.

To ensure the amount of waste building up on the island is limited, all food waste is ground down and turned into fertiliser, later used in the organic farm and the native plant nursery.

Waste Management: The Indian Ocean region generates around 70,00 tonnes of waste per year, threatening the environment.

As part of Hilton’s commitment to send zero soap to landfill by 2030, the Hilton Seychelles cluster, led by Hilton Northolme Resort & Spa, launched its soap recycling initiative with Diversey’s Soap for Hope programme. The hotels work closely with the President’s Village, an organisation that teaches young people from difficult backgrounds to recycle soap, which is then donated back into their community. Hilton’s decade-long soap recycling programme, which is the largest in the hospitality industry, simultaneously helps fight the hygiene epidemic affecting communities.

Plastic Reduction & Water Use: If the current trend continues, research shows that by 2050, oceans could contain more plastic than fish.

Importing water to the islands has led to significant plastic pollution and has caused a waste management challenge, but Hilton Seychelles Labriz Resort & Spa has found a way to combat this issue by installing a water bottling plant on Mount Dauban, the largest peak on Silhouette Island. Water is filtered and placed in reusable glass bottles with plans to completely eradicate single-use plastic from the hotel.