Artotel Group is one of the major hotel operators in Indonesia, and has taken substantial steps to change its operations to protect and preserve the environment reflecting and responding to, the younger generation’s concern for the environment which is a very visible trend.
This trend is popular in the United States and many developed countries, and shows that the younger generation is already aware of the damage we are causing to the environment which can be assessed and reported under ESG (environmental, social and governance) programs, which clearly show how and where we can be sustainable.
ARTOTEL Group has an annual social awareness program which was previously known as ARTOTEL For Hope, but has now changed its name to ARTOTEL Earth.
Starting in 2016, ARTOTEL For Hope was a series of social awareness activities which took place every December and was carried out through social awareness campaigns using art-based activities.
Through these activities, ARTOTEL Group wanted to convey their message that art can be a very interesting communication medium to increase public awareness of the social issues that are being raised if used correctly.
Apart from that, ARTOTEL For Hope also collected donations from guests staying at all ARTOTEL Group properties to be given to selected communities or social organizations. In this way, ARTOTEL For Hope got a good response from guests, as well as the communities and social organizations who were interested in collaborating with the aim of increasing social awareness through the medium of art.
In 2016 ARTOTEL For Hope raised social awareness for children with special needs who excel in the arts, through the figure of child artist Aqil Prabowo who has dyslexia.
In 2017, ARTOTEL For Hope raised social awareness for people who have mental health disorders. Through the program these less fortunate people were given the opportunity to create art and exhibit it in art exhibitions held at all properties, and it turned out that art became one of their healing therapies through the designs they put on each canvas.
In 2018, ARTOTEL For Hope began to explore environmental issues in collaboration with social foundations in the environmental sector which focused on forest rehabilitation in Kalimantan.
Based on the same vision and mission, namely wanting to raise social awareness about forest conservation through art, ARTOTEL For Hope and the Nusantara Nature Conservation Foundation succeeded in inviting two artists to visit and see the forest conservation area first hand, then they expressed it in the form of works of art that were displayed in the ARTSPACE in areas all properties.
In 2019, ARTOTEL Group began to position this social care program more as a sustainable program for the environment, by changing the name of the program to ARTOTEL Earth and started collaborating strategically with WWF Indonesia Foundation (WWF-Indonesia) as an official partner of the Signing Blue program. Through the Signing Blue Program, WWF-Indonesia encourages the tourism industry to carry out responsible business practices in preserving marine beauty.
ARTOTEL Group has been registered as a member of the Signing Blue program and their registered hotels were assessed as environmentally friendly hotels, starting from reducing the use of plastic, managing environmentally friendly waste, and contributing to marine sustainability for now and in the future.
In December 2019, the first series of activation programs in collaboration between ARTOTEL EARTH and WWF-Indonesia was carried out with the theme Reducing Plastic Waste, and consisted of:
1. Collecting Donations
During December 2019, ARTOTEL set aside IDR 10,000 from each room sold to be donated to WWF-Indonesia which was be used for activities to preserve maritime life and waste management in Indonesia.
In return, guests received a comic by artist Mulyakarya which tells the story of Labuan Bajo, a tourist and nature conservation destination which is also assisted by WWF-Indonesia in efforts to tackle plastic waste.
2. Art Exhibition
An art exhibition by Mulyakarya, a group of artists from Yogyakarta founded by Danang Catur & Yudha Sandy, in the form of comics, posters, paintings and installations was held simultaneously at the ARTSPACES in all ARTOTEL Group properties from 1 December 2019 to 31 January 2020. Guests could also purchase the artworks where a percentage of the proceeds from the sale of the artwork was donated to WWF–Indonesia. The artwork displayed by Mulyakarya tells of their visit when Ito see firsthand an Indonesian tourist destination which is very famous for its beauty, but which really needs the support of everyone to immediately have good plastic waste management. The results of this visit were also displayed in the form of a video to raise social awareness about plastic waste.
3."Recycled" Souvenirs with TRI Upcycle
In cooperation with TRI Upcycle, a Social Enterprise that produces recycled goods (Upcycle) to reduce environmental waste, ARTOTEL Earth collected used linen from all properties to be converted into ARTOTEL Earth's signature merchandise in the form of bags for carrying shopping items that can be purchased by guests. The proceeds from sales of this Grocery Bag were also donated to WWF – Indonesia and TRI Upcycle. They allocated the funds received by TRI Upcycle for planting trees in Central Kalimantan.
Erastus Radjimin, CEO of ARTOTEL Group, added that through ARTOTEL Earth, he wants to show the ARTOTEL Group's commitment to caring for the environment because as a tourism industry player it carries the modern lifestyle brand.
"Caring for the environment is also part of today's lifestyle where we actively protect and preserve the earth to keep it green with a good ecosystem so that it can be enjoyed by future generations," said Erastus.
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