Authored article PUNISH B SHARMA, VP – Operations, THE FERN HOTELS & RESORTS

Sustainable and Eco-conscious hospitality has gained huge importance nowadays. However, sustainability is not merely a philosophy, but a way of life for Meluha, The Fern, an ecotel hotel. Located at Hiranandani Gardens, Powai, Mumbai, the hotel is a part of The Fern Hotels & Resorts, India’s leading environmentally sensitive hotel chain.

The hotel is a certified ecotel hotel and the certification facilitates it to minimize the environmental impact of day-to-day operations. It also reduces the operations cost and also contributes to being a socially responsible organization. 

The 140-room hotel since its inception has been at the forefront of sustainable hospitality. Besides being recognized twice by the union government of India, the hotel has won accolades nationally as well as internationally and is the recipient of more than 50 awards. Meluha The Fern was also honored with the prestigious – Best Ecofriendly Hotel (Five Star) award by the Ministry Of Tourism. The award was presented by the Union Minister of State for Tourism Mr. K J Alphons and Ms. Rashmi Verma Secretary (IAS), Ministry Of Tourism during ‘National Tourism Awards, 2016-17.

Meluha-The Fern is also the first LEED Gold (Leadership in Energy and Environment Design) Certified Hotel. LEED is an internationally recognized Green building certification system. The hotel’s building design exhibits state-of-the-art architecture, sustainable systems and technologies. The hotel’s green building uses a high efficiency heating and cooling system. Energy efficient lighting, rain water harvesting systems, low-flow faucets and flushes are some of the other measures adopted by Meluha.

 The hotel is also highly ranked in the country in the total water reuse rate since recycled water is used for flushing, cooling towers, irrigation, etc.

Meluha has achieved an enormous reputation as a hotel with concern for the environment without compromising on the luxurious hospitality. The waste management practices of segregation and implementation of reduce-reuse-recycle measures ensure the solid waste diversion rate is almost 100 %.

Various sustainability practices adopted by the hotel include-

Comprehensive storm water drainage plan to control erosion and reduce negative impacts on water and air quality.

Heat gain and loss is prevented by the use of hermetically sealed double-glazed windows in all areas of the hotel.

All tap faucets are either installed with flow restrictors/aerators or sensors.

Shower heads and urinals are equipped with flow control devices and timer-based sensors respectively.

Drinking water is sterilized in the Ultra violet ray filter and passed through a central chilled water system for cooling. This has helped eliminate the need of installing 8 water coolers in various outlets.

The waste water of the hotel is treated and then further reused in areas like the air conditioning plant, flushing gardening and for new constructions within the complex.

Rain water harvesting: Ground water recharge and roof water harvesting is also incorporated in the hotel.

Centralized HVAC system has a highly efficient microprocessor-based controller to reduce starting current and control acceleration of the motors. Moreover, the refrigerant used in the AC plant and the refrigerators is CFC free.

 The Hotel manages its solid waste by segregating it in all the kitchens of the hotel. Four separate color-coded bins-Black, White, Green, Red are used for separating the waste into wet, dry, recyclable and non-recyclable. y

There are numerous other measures adopted by the hotel to ensure minimum impact on the environment. The philosophy of reduce, reuse and recycle is in the DNA of every person working in the hotel.

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