Mission Hills Welcomes Int. Delegation on Sustainable Development

On Tuesday, Mission Hills welcomed three international leaders in sustainable development - Pam O’Conner, Mayor of Santa Monica, California, a city recognized as among the most innovative in the world for its green policies and practices that promote sustainable living; Mr. Lu Haifeng, one of the founders and the current Secretary General of the Global Forum on Human Settlements; and Mr. Arab Hoballah, the senior official in charge of the United Nations Environment Program’s Sustainable Buildings and Climate Initiative.

Mission Hills is the largest leisure and resort group in China to put sustainability best practices at the forefront of their hospitality efforts and guest services.

The delegation visited Mission Hills properties in Shenzhen, Dongguan and Haikou, and the latest Mission Hills Centreville projects, to learn about group’s sustainability initiatives, defined by environmentally-friendly resort operations, support for the protection of cultural and natural heritage, and social and economic wellbeing of local communities.

In addition to understanding the latest innovations in sustainable development at Mission Hills, the delegation also visited the Cultural Heritage Eco Trail and the Eco Learning Gallery at Mission Hills Haikou. Both the trail and eco gallery exhibit educational displays about ecology, biodiversity conservation, and climate change, along with information on how to be a more environmentally responsible citizen in today’s world.

The delegation also learned about sustainable best practices in Mission Hills’ golf operations, as owner and operator of the largest golf resorts in the world, including working closely with the Europe-based Golf Environment Organization, the world’s leading program on promoting more environmentally-friendly golf.

Pam O’Conner said, “As Mission Hills and Santa Monica City have both moved forward, we have seen that natural resources are at the core of sustainability along with how we operate our facilities, and how we interact with our community. Economic sustainability goes along with it. It is important to be able to measure our achievements in reducing carbon emissions, and measuring how much water and energy are used, and to report on that regularly. Thus, sustainability has evolved over the years to become more comprehensive.”

Mission Hills’ sustainability practices were also featured in National Geographic Traveler magazine, including use of solar powered golf carts, water conservation efforts, and the establishment of an international scientific climate change research field station at Mission Hills Haikou.

“At Mission Hills we are deeply committed to sustainable development and we are honored to have this prestigious delegation of sustainability leaders visit Mission Hills to learn firsthand about the work we are doing to promote a more sustainable society in China and throughout the world,” said Dr. Ken Chu, Chairman & CEO of Mission Hills Group. Dr. Chu was also honored in 2014 by the Global Forum on Human Settlements with an Outstanding Contribution Award as a company CEO committed to sustainable development.

Mission Hills was among the first major leisure and hospitality companies in the world to ban shark fins from being served in all of their resort restaurants. In a further commitment as a leader in supporting conservation and protecting nature, Mission Hills donated the proceedings from their 2014 World Celebrity Pro Am to the World Wildlife Fund.

Mr. Arab Hoballah said, “Mission Hills have shown themselves willing to take risks to work towards their sustainability initiatives, including reporting on their initiatives in order to be transparent, and to also look at ways to combine golf with other positive aspects of tourism, creating a demand for sustainable tourism that will be to Mission Hills’ credit.”