From the park's first inception, our founder Santo Gulino embraced a sustainable mindset. He chose to build the water park within a lush green space, integrating the slides around the existing trees, rather than cutting them down. This ethos continued over the years, and in 2016, under the leadership of CEO Sayan Gulino, we enhanced and formalised our in-park sustainability program, 'Karmic Returns', following a strict set of initiatives including waste management, and water and energy conservation. Every action we take is aimed at reducing our ecological footprint, furthering our goal of becoming the world’s most sustainable waterpark.
We have now set a new ambitious target of achieving net-zero emissions by 2033, as part of our contribution to a low-carbon future
In 2023, we achieved a 95% recycling rate and effectively reduced our waste to landfill rate to only 6.7%, we've integrated sustainable practices into our operations and fostered a team culture that embraces the Balinese philosophy of Tri Hita Karana. This traditional philosophy promotes the harmonious coexistence of people, nature, and spirituality, and serves as a guiding principle in our company culture.
At our recent 30th anniversary celebration, our CEO Sayan Gulino, announced our pledge, “We will be upgrading our ambitions and targets, as Waterbom aims to be the first Asian tourism business and the first waterpark in the world to be net-zero by 2033. Our energy sources will be 100% renewable, and our business will also be removing more carbon from the atmosphere than we emit. Throughout this process, we will keep ourselves accountable and provide data and reports to the public to show transparency.”
Sayan Gulino announces our pledge motivations Currently, 6-7% of the park's electricity is sourced from renewable energy
So, what does it all mean? Achieving "net-zero emissions" means that the total amount of carbon dioxide emitted into the atmosphere is equal to the total amount removed or offset, resulting in no additional carbon being added overall. For Waterbom, this means minimizing or eliminating the production of greenhouse gasses and other pollutants associated with our operations.
To achieve this, we are working together with environmental consultant Eco-Mantra to implement various strategies, including reduction, substitution, and mitigation. These efforts involve specific initiatives like enhancing water pump efficiency, adopting energy-efficient water heaters, transitioning from gas to electric kitchen appliances, procuring more sustainable consumables, boosting on-site renewable energy production (more solar panels installed), and purchase of carbon removal credits..
Our environmental program and results have resulted in the Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTi) endorsement of our net-zero 2050 target, aligning our greenhouse gas reduction objectives with the global goals of the Paris Agreement. We are proud to be the only SBTi-approved tourism company in Indonesia, and have now adjusted that target to 2033 to push ourselves.
In the first quarter of 2023, we achieved a 97% recycling rate and effectively reduced our waste to landfill rate to only 3.4%. We are also actively transitioning our staff transportation fleet to electric motorbikes, currently with a 14% adoption rate from our team. Our sustainability milestones were recognized by the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) 2023 Gold Awards as the Grand Award recipient for Sustainability and Social Responsibility.
Maitri Fischer, CTO of Eco-Mantra, says “The energy reduction pathway, renewable energy strategies, and sustainable supply chain strategies we laid out are going to be a technically complicated and costly investment over the next 5 years. Waterbom Bali's journey to net zero is of high integrity and a showcase for responsible corporate climate action and a leader in the tourism industry.”
With rising temperatures, extreme weather events, and melting ice caps, the urgency of transitioning to a low-carbon future is critical, so that the world reaches net-zero no later than 2050. All companies have a crucial part to play, and Waterbom remains dedicated to inspiring others and making a meaningful contribution to the collective environmental goals.
