Eliminating single-use plastic water bottles at one of the world’s most luxurious resorts
Atlantis Dubai, which includes Atlantis, The Palm, Atlantis The Royal and Atlantis Aquaventure, pledged to eliminate all single-use plastic bottles by the end of 2023. This aligns with The Crown Prince’s ‘Dubai Can’ sustainability initiative, which aims to eliminate single-use plastic across the city over several phases.
Key information
- Location:
- Dubai, UAE
- Date started:
- 2021
- Completion date:
- 2022
- Client type:
- hotels and hospitality
- Main services:
- project management, cost and commercial management
Finding an alternative
To set its sustainability ambitions in motion, the resort decided to invest in an on-site water purification and bottling plant to treat the existing water supply. In doing so, Atlantis, The Palm alone aimed to remove 2.7 million plastic bottles per year from its operation.
Approaching the market
Our team provided project- and cost and commercial management services, from feasibility through to completion.
Together with Atlantis Dubai, we approached various vendors in the market for proposals on filtration and bottling equipment based on the output parameters of the hotel. We were also required to develop the scope for the civil and Mechanical Engineering Procurement (MEP) works of the bottling plant, as well as procure operating supplies and equipment (OS&E) items.
Sustainability credentials
The project officially completed in July 2022 and is now supplying 1,544 rooms and suites at the resort, producing up to 800 litres of purified water an hour, and operating around the clock with 2,500 one-litre refillable glass bottles in circulation.
The water is put through a stringent four-step filtration process starting with prefilters, then a remineralisation filter, before going through the main filters, and finally disinfection using copper-silver ionisation and UV lamps.
The initiative was awarded the Hotelier Middle East’s Sustainability Project of the Year Award for 2022 and was named ‘Innovation of the Year’ in the Leaders in Hospitality Awards 2023.
