Xel-Ha Blog

GUADALAJARA, JALISCO; SEPTEMBER 9.- Jorge Villalobos, president of the Mexican Philanthropy Centre (CEMEFI), summoned Mexican and Latin American corporations to join social responsibility movements, which, he remarked, will represent an important distinction in the private sector of the 21st century. This occurred during the 2008 International Seminary for the Best Socially Responsible Corporate Actions, wherein Xel-Ha received the Award for Best Socially Responsible Corporate Action, in the environmental category.

With this award, received by Xel-Ha’s head of Sustainable Development, Ricardo Saenz, Xel-Ha became one of the 40 Latin American companies to receive this year’s acknowledgements for their extraordinary labour towards caring for the environment, and the preservation of culture and traditions, alongside important corporations such as Petrobras and Natura, from Brazil, Cemex, Vitro, and Cuahtemoc Moctezuma, from Mexico, among others.

The acknowledgement for excelling labour delivered by CEMEFI to Xel-Ha corresponds to its achievements in the Waste Recollection and Transfer Centre within the Park, which recollects and separates approximately 400 tons of waste annually.

The Waste Recollection and Transfer Centre in Xel-Ha has evolved from 1999 in its waste separation and management methods, for the residues generated daily as a product of tourist activity. Careful and timely classification of waste materials has allowed 73% of the waste total to be destined to recycling, currently avoiding almost 300 tons of garbage to be sent to landfills annually.

Between 1999 and 2007, over 1017 tons of organic material have been recovered, 104 tons of paper and cardboard, and over 16 tons of metal. This labour on behalf of tourist companies is fundamental, since it helps avoid the saturation of sanitary landfills and thus limiting their lifespan. This has an increasingly severe impact on the Riviera Maya, as well as the Cancun area, where controversial garbage management is reaching alarming reaching alarming levels.

Additionally, the WRTC is employed as an educational model for schools, organisations, and persons interested in approaching this experience. The facilities of the Transfer Centre include storage areas, as well as a warehouse for hazardous waste products, material and equipment holding areas, as well as its own sanitary facilities. The Centre also manages a compost area in which organic resides are submitted to a degradation process to obtain natural fertiliser. This work is aided by means of a waste compactor, a compost shredder, as well as two mechanical loader/carriers for the transportation of waste containers.

This project is in constant stages of improvement, thanks to the implementation of the ISO14001 system. Recently, on July 5th, Xel-Ha was also awarded the first place in the Awards for National Waste Recycling, on behalf of SEMARNAT and COPARMEX. Xel-Ha has also been acknowledged as one of the 100 Best Places To Work in Mexico for five consecutive years and certified as a Socially Responsible Company for seven consecutive years.

This entry was posted on Friday, September 12th, 2008 at 3:48 pm and is filed under Articles, Awards and acknowledgements. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.