Sustainability

In 2010, Jetwing Blue became the first in our family of hotels to install a 20kw off-grid, roof-mounted solar array. Today, the solar photovoltaic system provides electricity to power the lights in your room, where an indicator is present to show when solar energy or grid electricity is being used.

Our 300 TR vapor absorption chiller that was commissioned in 2017 caters to the entire air-conditioning requirement of our hotel, as well as the requirement of our adjoining sister hotel, Jetwing Beach. The chiller is sustainably operated via steam from the onsite biomass boiler – which is also used to generate hot water during the nights, and for laundry purposes. Fueled by cinnamon wood, the biomass boiler operates for 24 hours a day and produces up to 2000 kilograms of steam per hour. Some of this steam is used to cook rice in a modified rice steamer within our staff kitchen, which also includes a series of biogas and cinnamon wood-fired stoves as sustainable cooking equipment.

Finally, 90 flat plate collector-type solar panels form our central hot water generation system at Jetwing Blue, providing hot water throughout the property between 9 AM and 4 PM daily, with the strict use of only renewable energy to generate hot water throughout the day.

In the early 90s, Jetwing Blue established the first effluent treatment plant in our family of hotels. 100% of the wastewater from hotel operations is treated onsite, and later used for garden irrigation, while the sludge produced is added to our biogas digester.

With a daily feed capacity of up to 2000 litres of sludge alongside up to 600 kilograms of food waste, our onsite digester can produce up to 33m³ of biogas that is used to fuel modified stoves in our staff kitchens. While the digester includes heating and agitation enhancements as in-house process modifications, the sludge produced is also used as a soil enhancer for our gardens.

The first enhanced compositing machine at a Jetwing property was set up at Jetwing Blue, and is used to process food and garden waste. Our composting machine operates on a rapid digesting cycle of 21 days, allowing compost to be added back to our hotel gardens. All garden sweepings and other tree clippings from Jetwing Blue are composted as a traditional above ground compost pile, while the product compost is also used as a nutrient rich soil enhancer in our gardens.

Joining our family of hotels upon the western coastline of Negombo, Jetwing Blue collaboratively maintains a ward for communities who use the Negombo Teaching Hospital. Additionally, local schools in the surrounding regions often host a number of educational lectures and workshops covering sustainable topics such as biodiversity, the environment, waste management – led by Jetwing Naturalists who share their knowledge and expertise with future generations.

Jetwing Blue featured the first bottling plant across our family of hotels. With an automated bottling process, the unit is housed in a repurposed container, and the glass water bottles are later used throughout our hotel, and the rest of our properties in Negombo and Colombo as well.

Despite having limited greenery available, Jetwing Blue also hosts an organic garden which is maximized by growing local herbs and vegetables whenever possible. Irrigated from a treated water line, the fresh produce is then shared with our hotel kitchen where our chefs use it to prepare delicious meals for your indulgence. In addition, our resident coconut trees are also tapped for sap that is used as an in-house produced treacle, fermented by an expert local treacle maker within our premises. The treacle produced is then distributed exclusively for use across our family of hotels.

At Jetwing Hotels, we’re committed to minimizing our environmental footprint and fostering positive social impacts. We welcome your feedback on our sustainability efforts, including suggestions for how we improve. Please share your thoughts and ideas with us at sustainability@jetwinghotels.com