Sustainability and Earth Lab

From the ground up

For us, environmental friendliness and social responsibility is woven into the fabric of Six Senses. Our goal is to prove that gorgeous hideaways and sustainable practices can go hand-in-hand. As part of this commitment, we aim for LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Silver certification or higher for all new hotels. LEED is the world's most widely recognized green building rating system, providing a framework for healthy, highly efficient, and cost-saving green buildings.

Six Senses Southern Dunes, The Red Sea, our flagship Saudi Arabian resort and Six Senses Vana, our first dedicated wellness retreat, have earned LEED Platinum certification. Meanwhile, our urban oasis, Six Senses Rome, hidden behind the walls of an historic palazzo, is rated LEED Gold for sustainable design and construction, while achieving the highest possible energy and water efficiency.

In our ongoing efforts to move towards zero waste, plastic freedom, and reduced-carbon stays, our dedicated sustainability team have developed a set of Sustainable Operations Guidelines. These ensure that all our resorts are commited to balancing economic, environmental, and social profitability, always striving to give back more than we take. 

A key element of our plastic freedom commitment is using our purchasing power to influence suppliers toward responsible practices, favoring locally-sourced and environmentally-sound products. This initiative spans all departments, from kitchens and housekeeping to spas, leading to bulk-buying, plastic-free deliveries, and a circular take-back scheme for everyday items.

Down to Earth Lab

Every property has an Earth Lab, our ecology area where we communicate our meaningful and measurable sustainability actions. Depending on the resort, this can encompass marine or wildlife conservation, forestry or farming initiatives, or supporting local schools and community projects. It is also where we display consumption data including water, energy and waste. 

Earth Labs are pioneers in waste to wealth, offering ideas for repurposing unwanted or leftover items. For example, fruit peels can be distilled into hydrosols and used in refreshing face-toners, mosquito repellents, air fresheners and multi-surface, chemical-free cleaning solutions.

At Six Senses Kocatas Mansions, Istanbul, we transform leftover fruits, teas, and vegetables into fermented products, which are beneficial for minimizing waste and maximizing gut health. Similarly, at Six Senses Douro Valley, you’re invited to harvest herbs for a pickle and yogurt making workshop, as well as making a potent shrub that acts as a fiery natural antibiotic.

Sustainability in action on land and water

Diversity in flora and fauna at our resorts is vital to the health of our ecosystems. At Six Senses Crans-Montana we’ve installed two insect hotels and five beehives to support the regeneration of wildflower meadows. The atmosphere is buzzing as our insect friends do what they do best – pollinate. While over at Six Senses Ibiza, we work with a local forest management initiative to support the reforestation of vast swathes of the island by planting native trees.

On land, sustainability teams work closely with chefs and landscaping teams to maintain organic gardens, mushroom huts, and chicken palaces. Each garden is designed to maximize the productivity of local varieties of fruits and vegetables, while also providing walkable plots to explore and forage. Our pioneering in-resort solar farm in Vietnam provides electricity, organic veg, and hot water to Six Senses Ninh Van Bay. The organic garden, Solar FreshCuts, is planted beneath 800 niftily arranged panels, resulting in the ultimate farm-to-fork dining experience.

In the water, we protect 115,000 square meters of seagrass meadows (16 soccer fields!) at Six Senses Laamu in the Maldives. A mosaic of blue hues in the shallow waters, the meadows are essential nursery grounds for many species of fish, rays, and sharks. Seagrasses are vital for combatting climate change, since they remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, protect coastlines and coral reefs, and are home to the endangered green sea turtles that feed on them, acting like ‘sea-sheep’ to keep the reef clean and healthy.

Discover more at our dedicated Sea Hub for Environmental Learning in Laamu (SHELL), where you can enjoy hands-on marine conservation experiences. The fun starts early, with the Junior Marine Biology program offering guided snorkels on the reef, science experiments, and the chance to document their adventures by making a conservation video.

That’s not the only activity suitable for future climate warriors. As part of Grow With Six Senses, we offer Climate Warrior programs across a variety of resorts that engage and inspire children to learn simple eco-friendly habits through fun and light-hearted games, activities, and experiments. The goal is to empower the next generation to shape the future as climate advocates.

Step by step with our communities

Keeping traditions alive through supporting local communities is at the heart of our social endeavors. Six Senses Zighy Bay in Oman, supports local women’s entrepreneurial business endeavors via the Dibba Women Association. Here, you can get involved with culturally crafted experiences from tactile date palm weaving, pottery decorating and henna painting, to aromatic coffee and spice blending. Over in Thailand, Six Senses Yao Noi, together with the Women’s Club of Koh Yao Noi, provides batik-painting lessons where you can learn the art, take home some beautiful souvenirs, and support the local community.

Rise Beyond the Reef at Six Senses Fiji works with women in remote Fijian communities, teaching them to create and market beautiful homewares and crafts made using traditional skills. We love these items, and use them to decorate our villas and restaurants – and you can also browse the latest collections in our boutique. Each item has a story, and all profits go towards supporting the artisans and their rural communities.

Caring for endangered creatures

We monitor a troop of critically endangered monkeys — black-shanked douc langurs — that call the hills behind Six Senses Ninh Van Bay their home. Their numbers are growing year on year thanks to habitat protection and our deeper understanding of their diet and behaviors. Our resident terrestrial biologist runs guided hikes into the hills where you can watch them in action and learn more about forest life.

Six Senses Fiji is home to Fijian Crested iguanas, a critically endangered native species. As their numbers grow, we make every effort to ensure that these special residents are safe and that their habitat, between the villas and our spa, remains as it was found. At Six Senses Yao Noi, we partner with the Thailand Hornbill Project to support our most iconic birds on the island. To help boost their numbers, our VIP residents can make their home in purpose-built nests and tuck into the fruit they love growing on native trees.

A big event at resorts such as Six Senses Con Dao, Six Senses Kanuhura, Six Senses Zighy Bay, and Six Senses Zil Pasyon, is the opportunity to meet baby turtles. Critically endangered hawksbill and endangered green sea turtles return to our beaches annually to lay their eggs where we monitor and support the process. In season, you can join our turtle teams at the nesting grounds to experience this natural spectacle firsthand.

Keep coral and carry on

It has been widely documented that corals are under threat due to global warming and climate crisis that results in a process known as coral bleaching. In response, the purpose-built underwater nursery at Six Senses Zil Pasyon encourages heat-resilient strains of coral to grow so that it can be replanted back onto the reef to create a healthy and self-sustaining ecosystem.

Work is underway at the Maldives Underwater Institute (MUI), Six Senses Laamu’s marine conservation initiative, where research into coral spawning has discovered the correlation between the importance of underwater sounds and the health of the reef. Scientists and conservationists have revealed that coral larvae and zooplankton can hear the difference between denuded and healthy reefs and will naturally swim towards the healthy reef. So, the more animal chatter and activity there is, the happier and healthier the reef.

How you help every time you stay 

Every Six Senses property and resort manages a Sustainability Fund comprising 0.5 percent of total hotel revenue and soft toy mascot purchases. This helps to fund vital local initiatives, from wildlife and habitat protection to community outreach, and artisan support. To discover more, go to our dedicated Sustainability page.