Page 270 - The New Gold Standard

PRINCIPLE 5: LEA VE A LASTING FOOTPRINT
when the eggs hatch.” Turtles that hatch in the night can find
their way to the water, but turtles that hatch in the day have to
be placed back in the sea later that evening. Guests request to be
awakened in the night to help Luis and other staff members re-
lease those baby turtles into the water. The educational Turtle
Camp program at The Ritz-Carlton, Cancún, affords an extraor-
dinary ecological experience that hotel guests can’t find elsewhere.
Beyond Turtle Camp, Community Footprints has formally
developed “Give Back Getaways,” which are facilitated half-day
local community experiences that involve Ritz-Carlton staff
members and hotel guests working together in a Community
Footprints humanitarian or environmental activity. While Give
Back Getaways activities vary by location, The Portman Ritz-
Carlton, Shanghai, offers work on the restoration of heritage
houses with programs benefiting underprivileged children in the
ancient water town of Wuzhen in the south of the Yangtze River.
Through careful planning, environmentally conscious in-
vestments in new construction, retrofitting existing properties,
and seizing naturally occurring opportunities, the leadership at
Ritz-Carlton continues to demonstrate good stewardship of the
environment while not compromising—and even enhancing—
the luxury experience of their guests.

C The Essential Legacy D

Great businesses strengthen communities often by their mere
presence. Ed Staros, one of the founders of The Ritz-Carlton
Hotel Company, has seen this phenomenon firsthand: “I am
truly proud to have worked with a group of visionaries who have
played a role in literally creating communities like Naples,
Florida. At a time when the interstate highway system was con-
necting the east and west coasts of Florida, and with a new air-
port in the area, we purchased 25 acres of swampland and
opened a Ritz-Carlton on one of the world’s most beautifully
pristine beaches. Even though there were a lot of naysayers who

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