Corporations must rediscover their original purpose – to serve society, not just make money, says British-Indian resort tycoon Sonu Shivdasani
Founder of Soneva, which owns ultra-luxury resorts in the Maldives and Thailand, says environmentalism and sustainability must be central to all businesses, and Hong Kong has ‘a lot of room for improvement’
British-Indian hotelier Sonu Shivdasani has what many consider an ultra-luxury lifestyle – running his high-end resorts and travelling to some of the world’s most exclusive holiday destinations – but he is adamant that doesn’t make him any less of an environmentalist.
The 53-year-old chief executive and founder of Soneva, which owns resorts in the Maldives and Thailand, says he believes the global hotel industry consumes “far more than our fair share of resources” and should be taking “bold steps” to strike a balance between business and the needs of society. Hong Kong, he says, has “a lot of room for improvement” in this regard.
“I have spent my life working in the hotel industry, and have devoted my career towards building what is now a network of luxury resorts,” Shivdasani says. “I do not believe that this puts me at odds with conservation but I am the first to admit that my sector has a role to play in admitting where it has failed.”
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Shivdasani has taken several bold environmental steps in his 23-year career. One that stands out is his resort in the Maldives becoming the first in the country to recycle plastic itself into new products. The resort operator has also limited the amount of plastic used on site and banned plastic water bottles since 2008. The United Nations says the island nation has a “high level” of plastic bag consumption and plastic polluting its marine environment.
“The biggest challenge was dealing with people who had no interest in sustainability and getting them on board,” Shivdasani recalls of implementing the changes. “But, of course, as we started to implement things and people saw what we were doing, we started to convert a lot of people around us and also create a critical mass of people who are now passionate about this issue, and who work for us.”
Shivdasani, who studied English literature at the University of Oxford, had no experience of the hospitality industry when he set up his first resort. His Swedish wife, model Eva Malmstrom, brought him to the Maldives.
