EAGLE BEACH, Aruba - In a world filled with sustainability promises, a small resort on an island mostly lacking in resources has already succeeded in providing a positive vacation experience for the climate. The outcome: Bucuti & Tara Beach Resort in Aruba, the first and only carbon-neutral certified hotel in the Caribbean, has received a special invitation from the United Nations to take the global stage at COP28, considered the most critical climate event of the year.

Accepting the invitation, Ewald Biemans, owner and CEO of Bucuti & Tara, will attend COP28 in the United Arab Emirates. With over 70,000 attendees expected, focused on the planet's health and humanity's well-being, Biemans, as the only independent hotelier invited to be an initial signatory of the Glasgow Declaration for Climate Action in Tourism at COP26, will meet with attendees on December 10 and 11, helping others embark on universally accepted climate goals.

Why an Independent Hotel Sets the Model for Impact and Global Leadership Having recently celebrated its 36th anniversary, Bucuti & Tara is a 104-room independent hotel, managed by its owner. The resort is dedicated to romance, well-being, and sustainability. The pioneering property operates at over 97% occupancy year-round, is the most eco-certified hotel in the Caribbean, and is on track to become carbon-negative. Recognized for its superior service, including being the #1 Hotel in the Caribbean and the #18 Best Hotel in the World according to TripAdvisor in 2023. Under Biemans' leadership, Bucuti & Tara continues to demonstrate that memorable vacations, business success, and sustainability can be mutually inclusive.

Biemans was captivated by the UN Earth Summit in 1992 in Rio. Inspired to take sustainability actions at Bucuti & Tara, the resort began creating a framework with eco-certifications, ultimately including Green Globe Platinum, Travelife Gold, LEED Gold v4.1, and, in 2018, became the first and remains the only carbon-neutral hotel in the Caribbean. His pioneering work led Bucuti & Tara to be the first hotel to receive a Global Climate Action Award from the UN, where, upon receiving it at COP26, Biemans was the only independent hotelier invited to be an initial signatory for the Glasgow Declaration for Climate Action in Tourism, a sector representing 7.6% of the global GDP and 8% of its carbon footprint.

United Nations: Bucuti & Tara's sustainability program is "highly replicable and scalable" Announcing Bucuti & Tara as the winner of the UN Global Climate Action Award at COP26, the UN declared that the resort's sustainability program is "highly replicable and scalable," encouraging hotels worldwide to follow its example. In recent years, Biemans has been a guest speaker and panelist at the Global Summits of the World Travel & Tourism Council in Spain, Mexico, Manila, Saudi Arabia, and this year's summit in Rwanda.

In November 2023, Biemans was the featured guest in the United Nations World Tourism Organization's "In Conversation With" webinar series. During the interview, followed by questions, Biemans shared the experiences, challenges, and opportunities of the resort in developing and implementing its climate action plan. This complemented the case study by the One Planet Network organization, "How Certification Has Guided Bucuti & Tara's Climate Action."

Climate Financing and Fossil Fuel Control on the Agenda Being a small resort on a small island, Aruba, along with the Caribbean community in general, contributes minimally to greenhouse gas emissions but is on the front lines in the fight against climate change. The same shores that attract sun-seekers worldwide are highly vulnerable to rising sea levels and the loss of marine life and nature. If the world fails to reverse global warming in just 20-30 years, the beachfront resort is likely to find seawater reaching its back doors.

Biemans recognizes that each hotel faces its own set of challenges in the collective fight against climate change. He will share with COP28 attendees how the urgent need to become carbon-neutral and ultimately net-zero can happen even in challenging circumstances, whether discovering the first steps or overcoming obstacles in well-established programs. For Bucuti & Tara, while the resort's home, Aruba, is famous for its white sandy beaches and turquoise waters, it is mostly lacking in resources, and the resort itself operates on a modest budget. The resort's own challenges include importing most supplies, working within bureaucracies, and innovating clean energy solutions when it's much easier to stay "connected" to harmful but readily available fossil fuels. Biemans will cover how to finance sustainability initiatives, often cited as a hurdle.

"The United Nations' invitation for Bucuti & Tara Beach Resort to showcase our sustainability program at COP28 is deeply appreciated. It marks our commitment to actively contribute to the global fight against climate change, offering support to other hotels to implement robust solutions aligned with the principles of the Glasgow Declaration for Climate Action in Tourism," shares Ewald Biemans, owner and CEO of Bucuti & Tara Beach Resort, Aruba. For more information, visit bucuti.com.