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Tropicalia

Tropicalia

Tropicalia is a sustainable luxury resort development created by Cisneros Real Estate, offering sophisticated architecture in a captivating and breathtaking site of diverse natural beauty in northeast Dominican Republic. Comprised of residential and resort developments and a Tom Doak golf course, Tropicalia integrates smart design with the natural landscape, creating a sense of balance between time and space. The project embodies the philanthropic and cultural values of the Cisneros Family and is uniquely positioned to be a model for sustainable luxury tourism in the Caribbean and the world.

Four Seasons Tropicalia

The project’s first phase of development, known as Four Seasons Tropicalia (FST), includes a 169-key Four Seasons resort and 40 branded residences, both of which are located on the Costa Esmeralda beachfront and were designed by Brazilian architect, Isay Weinfeld. Amenities include a luxurious spa, meeting and banquet spaces, a kids’ club, and a fitness center. Four Seasons Tropicalia’s minimalist architecture and tropical modernism diminish the barriers between indoor and outdoor space, evoking natural luxury and effortless transitions for the ultimate peace of mind. Amenities offer a rich combination of adventure and leisure activities to guests and residents alike.

Management and Governance Mechanisms

SUSTAINABILITY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM AND MATERIALITY

Our Sustainability Management System (SMS) prompts us to analyze issues in key topic areas: sustainable destination management; cultural heritage and community development; legal accountability, labor, health and safety; and built and natural environmental management.

  • Tropicalia contracts include a robust section on sustainability commitments including compliance with: IFC Environmental and Social Performance Standards, Environmental and Social Action Plan (ESAP), 10 Principles of the United Nations Global Compact, LEED Scorecard, Sustainability Management System (SMS) and EDGE Certification.
  • In 2018, we hired RINA consultants to develop an ESMS in accordance with PS 1 and ISO 14001, and the SMS serves as a base document for this exercise. We anticipate that the SMS will be absorbed in the ESMS so as to ease the reporting burden and streamline sustainability indicators for construction and operations of Tropicalia and Four Seasons Tropicalia.
  • Moving forward with the construction phase of the project, Tropicalia will include robust sustainability clauses and requirements in all major contracts and apply all environmental and social requirements to contractors and subcontractors. Tropicalia initiated this commitment with Bouygues Construcciones República Dominicana.
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Sustainability Management System

In an effort to ensure we focus on reporting and measuring material topics about Tropicalia, we rely on our Sustainability Management System, which prompts us to analyze issues in sustainable destination management, community development and other key topic areas.

LABOR AND HUMAN RIGHTS

We remain committed to the protection of human and labor rights as a fundamental element for creating a healthy workplace.

  • We translate these commitments into policies that counter child labor, advocate for gender equality, equal opportunity employment, and encourage individual freedom of association.
  • We are proud to say that almost 40% of our current employees are women; all employees are remunerated based on experience and position.
  • We hire and train local residents (more than 65% come from rural regions); and all operations implement local community engagement and development programs via Fundación Tropicalia.

Labor and Human Rights

In 2010, we committed to the United Nations Global Compact’s universal principles on human rights, labor the environment and anti-corruption.

SUSTAINABILITY COMMITTEE

Tropicalia’s Sustainability Committee is a cross-functional team that meets annually to discuss strategy, report progress and define goals for the upcoming year. The diversity of the Committee members has brought strength to this corporate governance body.

  • Members include senior level Cisneros executives hailing from a wide variety of roles and backgrounds, in addition to external advisors, which are convened depending on the particular topic and area of expertise that is needed.
  • In November 2018, we held our 13th Sustainability Committee meeting and discussed strategic decisions for the project’s short, medium and long-term development.
  • The strategic priority for 2019 is to segregate topics and define separate, but complementary agendas for three different working groups: The Tropicalia Sustainability Committee, the Communications Committee, and the Fundación Tropicalia Corporate Advisory Committee.
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Sustainability Committee

Tropicalia’s Sustainability Committee is a cross-functional team that meets annually to discuss strategy, report progress and define goals for the upcoming year. The diversity of our Committee members brings strength to this corporate governance body.

COMMITMENTS TO THE UNGC AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS

We continue to require our major partners to comply with the UNGC principles and the Sustainable Development Goals by incorporating these requirements into our contracts.

  • In September 2018, Bouygues Construcciones República Dominicana, committed to complying with Tropicalia’s environmental and social performance standards.
  • We are committed to SDG 5 for Gender Equality, and follow The Women’s Empowerment Principles, which were developed by UNGC and UN Women to offer businesses guidance in the workplace, marketplace and community.
  • In support of SDG 15 for Life on Land, we rolled out an all-new Biodiversity Management Plan in 2018 to protect native species in six ecosystems and mitigate the effects of eight identified invasive species.
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Commitments to the UNGC and SDGs

We continue to require our major partners to comply with the UNGC principles and other sustainability and environmental obligations by incorporating these requirements into our contracts, thereby making them legally binding.

Download our Management and Governance Mechanisms

KEY COMMITMENTS TO SUSTAINABILITY

ECONOMIC SUSTAINABILITY

  • In 2018, Tropicalia partnered with IDB Invest of the Inter-American Development Bank Group (IDB), and the International Finance Corporation (IFC) of the World Bank Group. The IFC loan is entirely financed through Green Bonds, as part of a broader shift toward a resilient, low-carbon global economy.
  • Tropicalia leveraged its sustainable design, environmental management, and ten years of implementing socioeconomic and community development programs in Miches to access US$119.5 million in development bank financing for the project.
  • Tropicalia issued an Environmental and Social Action Plan (ESAP) which consists of 19 actions, and 32 sub-actions that the project must implement in order to align environmental and social policies with IFC Environmental and Social Performance Standards (PS).

Economic sustainability is an intrinsic part of our project. The financing of Tropicalia by IFC and IDB Invest as their first sustainable high-end resort in Latin America and the Caribbean is a testament to our environmental and social commitments.

ENVIRONMENTAL BALANCE

  • Environmental permits for both Tropicalia and Four Seasons Tropicalia are current and require the implementation of a rigorous Environmental Management and Protection Program (PMAA). The PMAAs are drafted in accordance with the Environmental Compliance Reports (ICA) submitted to the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources (MIMARENA).
  • On average, our staff cleans the beachfront along Costa Esmeralda twice per month. This includes the collection of waste, as well as pruning trees and grass. Organic waste is used as nutrients and fertilizer for soil, while inorganic waste is separated on site into four types, including: glass, metal, plastic, and cardboard.
  • Approximately 30 m3 of plastic and 200 m3 of organic waste are collected per year. Tropicalia pursues recycling of inorganic waste to the greatest extent possible given the challenges posed by blended plastic polymers, and the limitations of existing recycling capacity in the region.
Key2

Tropicalia’s work to advance environmental sustainability complements its design process as well as its community engagement initiatives. We protect and conserve the natural environment using sustainable site development and destination management to maintain biological integrity, habitat connectivity, and green space.

THOUGHTFUL ARCHITECTURE

  • Four Seasons Tropicalia will be required to achieve a minimum of 20% energy and water savings, as well as 20% savings of embodied energy in materials. We anticipate achieving up to 50% energy savings thanks to the implementation of passive cooling design strategies, such as green roofs and open corridors.
  • At completion, the project is anticipating LEED Silver certification, corresponding to 50-59 points for sustainable design, construction and operation strategies ranging across seven categories: sustainable sites, water use reduction, energy and atmosphere, materials and resources, indoor air quality, innovation and regional priority.
  • A complete revision of the species selection for Four Seasons Tropicalia landscape design was developed by expert botanists in the Dominican Republic. The project’s landscape designers and general contractors will be using this list, which also contributes to biodiversity conservation.
Key3

In addition to aligning Four Seasons Tropicalia’s design with the United States Green Building Council’s (USGBC) standards to pursue LEED certification, the design of Four Seasons Tropicalia is positioned to comply with the IFC’s rigorous standards for Excellence in Design for Greater Efficiencies (EDGE).

COMMUNITY ADVANCEMENT

  • In 2018, Fundación Tropicalia celebrated its tenth anniversary. Over the last decade, more than 10,000 participants have registered for the various programs offered by the foundation, of which 65% are children and teenagers.
  • The community development efforts undertaken by FT are a key component of Tropicalia’s goal to build local capacity and expand economic opportunities while preserving the region’s natural and cultural heritage.
  • In 2018, Fundación Tropicalia initiated a gradual revision of its governance and organizational structure, resulting in the establishment of the foundation’s Corporate Advisory Committee. This committee’s purpose is to strengthen FT’s mechanisms for governance and due diligence, by providing strategic advice to the board and management team.

Since 2008, Fundación Tropicalia (FT) supports the socioeconomic development of the Miches community through multisector partnerships and high-impact and innovative programs related to sustainable agriculture, gender equality, education, environmental education, entrepreneurship, microfinance; in four key areas: productivity, environment, education, and sociocultural advocacy.

Download our Key Commitments to Sustainability

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Tropicalia Sustainability Report 2018 © All rights reserved Tropicalia República Dominicana