Voices from the Islands Coffeetable Book

Voices from the Islands

How the Asian Conservation Company made El Nido Resorts a showcase for sustainable tourism

By Yasmin Arquiza and Criselda Yabes

to those who guide us to guard and respect nature with warm friendly smiles

ON THE FRONT COVER: Women from El Nido greet guests with a welcome song at Lio airport (photo by ACF)

Voices from the Islands

How the Asian Conservation Company made El Nido Resorts a showcase for sustainable tourism

BY YASMIN ARQUIZA & CRISELDA YABES © Copyright 2017 by Asian Conservation Foundation, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic means, including information storage or retrieval systems without permission in writing from Asian Conservation Foundation, Inc. except for a reviewer who may quote brief passages in a review.

Photographs by Oggie Ramos and Asian Conservation Foundation, Inc. Book Design and Illustrations by Indios Bravos Published by Asian Conservation Foundation, Inc. and NCP Advisors Philippines, Inc. 1st Edition ISBN 978-971-94259-3-9 Printed by Primex Printers This book is printed using soy-based ink on Forest Stewardship Council (FSC®) Certified, carbon neutral, Neenah Environment and Mohawk Loop stock—paper produced from well-managed forests and other controlled sources. In addition, the thermal energy emission and 100% of the electricity used in the manufacturing of these grade are also offset with the purchase of Green-e certified Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) from windpower projects.

Table of Contents 6 Prologue 9 15 23 29 39 50 59 65 70 74

From Dive Camp to Luxury Eco-Resorts El Nido Resorts Adopts ACC Formula Investing in Green Infrastructure Conservation Makes Business Sense Happy Employees Mean Happy Guests Engaging the Local Community Teaching Eco-Practices to Resort Guests Reaping Awards for Sustainable Tourism Transition to New Stewards The ACC Philosophy Lives On

78 Epilogue 81 Acknowledgements 85 Sustainability Highlights

Prologue THE TOWN OF EL NIDO sits at the mouth of Bacuit Bay, pocketed by the sharp grayish black limestone cliffs hovering in the background.

In the 1990s, it was a sleepy village, and so small anyone could find ways around it. There were odd foreigners wandering about, the adventurers and backpackers who would go this far to the northern tip of Palawan, where it had a secret pretty much hidden from the outside world.

In the town proper, you only had to walk about to see there was little excitement. There was only the school and the church, and the post office where the quickest link to communicate elsewhere was the

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telegraph because the public phone station would be closed for days.

The bakery was the nearest thing to a cafÊ and once in a while, it sold frozen dressed chicken that was a luxury in those days. One would have to time an expedition to the makeshift market when boats from Manila unloaded vegetables and other provisions. Fish was peddled around by fishermen’s wives, so all you had to do was wait for the catch of the day.

It was a time warp; the kind of place Robinson Crusoe would have loved to stay for the romance of it. There were a few foreigners who fell for it, one setting up a mini-library of sorts for the exchange of books in different languages.

But in those days, one could linger for an eternity gazing at the sun drowning in the bay of Bacuit, a stunning display in the horizon made even more unreal by the landscape of the limestones that were islands in themselves.

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(Top) April 1973 postcard from old El Nido Facebook page; (Left) Aerial view of El Nido town, circa 1990s

Some enterprising locals were just coming around to the idea of tourism, when the few pensions along the beach served banana pancakes for breakfast. There wasn’t much else in terms of service—people went with it in the course of time, learning this and that to give a semblance of attraction.

But in those days, one could linger for an eternity gazing at the sun drowning in the bay of Bacuit, a stunning display in the horizon made even more unreal by the landscape of the limestones that were islands in themselves. The town got its name from the swiftlets’ nests resting in the crevices of the rocks, a local commodity that could fetch thousands of pesos from the Chinese market using the ingredient for medicinal purposes, and for their cuisine. Among the local folk, there was hardly anything to eat except fish.

Many relied on a minimal existence and resorted to illegally cutting trees deep

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There were boatmen making a living by taking the random tourists, domestic and foreign, now and then to the lagoons that were as breathtaking as the images of paradise itself. Perhaps nowhere else could the color of the water match the sky with shades of the cool green.

It flowed like molten emerald and turquoise, the gems of El Nido.

resorts were drawing in the kind of tourism they had never before experienced. Then, it was a hideaway for the jetsetters, flying in exclusively on the turbo-prop plane that was usually limited for guests. Miniloc and Lagen gave the isolation and privacy in coves that had the best of everything anyone could want for an escape; and with it came the start of ecotourism,* which was introduced in small ways, educating the people on values of preserving the environment. This was a tall order, because it meant changing mindsets. It had to start somewhere.

This is the story of how it was done.

Among the cluster of islands dotting the bay were two of the most luxurious resorts in this part of the country, one on Miniloc and the other on Lagen. To many of the townsfolk, they generated ambivalence: are they good for us or not? Most everyone agreed the

*The term ecotourism generally refers to environment-friendly practices in the travel industry. In this book, it is used interchangeably or as a component of “responsible tourism” or “sustainable tourism,” two concepts that were developed when the Asian Conservation Company operated the El Nido Resorts.

in the jungle for easy money. In the evenings there was the blast of disco music from somewhere, trying to break the boredom of a coastal town waiting for the world to change their lives.

Miniloc, 1982

CHAPTER 1

From Dive Camp to Luxury Eco-Resort ON BOARD A SPEEDBOAT sometime in November 1999, cruising in Bacuit Bay amid the towering limestone cliffs, seemed the perfect setting for the proposal. Board members of the environmental group World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) were pondering how they could use venture philanthropy for conservation projects, when Ten Knots President Alberto Lim, popularly known by his nickname Bertie, gave them an idea.

“Bertie Lim was there, holding a map that was flapping in the wind, offering El Nido Resorts to our group,” recalls Vincent “Vince” Pérez, one of the WWF board members. At the time, toward the end of the millennium, the majority shareholder that owned the upscale El Nido Resorts wanted to divest its shares and was looking for a buyer.

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“WWF liked what they saw, especially our environment programs,” said Bertie. He offered a joint partnership to the group.

EL NIDO

PALAWAN

(Screengrab from YouTube)

Renowned marine explorer Jacques Cousteau once described the west coast of Palawan island as one of the most beautiful seascapes he had seen. El Nido, on the northern tip of the main island, is its crowning glory.

Renowned marine explorer Jacques Cousteau once described the west coast of Palawan island as one of the most beautiful seascapes he had seen.

El Nido, on the northern tip of the main island, is its crowning glory. Dozens of limestone islands are strewn across the dreamy expanse of Bacuit Bay, and craggy cliffs provide a dramatic backdrop for the town proper on the mainland. A carpet of greenery stretches down to white sand beaches at every turn.

Ten Knots Group El Nido’s emerald waters, colorful marine life, and picturesque scenery have beckoned travelers through the years, starting with Japanese divers in the 1970s. Food retail giant Nissin Sugar Manufacturing Company set up Ten Knots Japan, named after the ideal cruising speed for leisure vessels, from the company’s diving enterprise DoSports Plaza to bring divers to El Nido.

In 1979, Nissin entered into a joint venture with Filipino divers and set up Ten Knots Philippines. They operated live-aboard dive tours for Japanese guests, mainly on M/V Via Mare, according to company records. Their destinations included Mindoro, Batangas, Cebu, Bohol, and Dumaguete, but it was Palawan—where Nissin’s dive operators claim to have “discovered” Tubbataha Reefs as a dive spot—and specifically, El Nido, that the company chose as its base.

When the company’s dive boat sank in 1981, the insurance payment was used

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to develop a dive camp on Miniloc island, where the famous small and big lagoons are located. Miniloc island resort opened in 1982 with 15 fancooled cottages that shared toilet and bath facilities. The number of rooms has since more than tripled, and air-conditioning as well as private toilets have been added.

In 1991, Andres Soriano Corporation bought out the original group of Filipino investors. The following year, the joint venture with Nissin was reorganized into two companies: Ten Knots Development Corporation (TKDC), which would operate the resorts, and Ten Knots Philippines (TKP), which would focus on property management. The latter was created in order to take care of a sizable area across the length and breadth of El Nido that Ten Knots had acquired through the years, and investment was needed to develop the land.

The first project of the Soriano-backed group was Pangulasian Island Resort, which opened in 1993 in the higher AA tourist category. It had 30 airconditioned cottages with en suite bathrooms, and unlike the cramped space of Miniloc, this one boasted a long stretch of white sand beach that had marvelous sunrise and sunset views.

Five years later, in 1998, Ten Knots opened the even more upscale Lagen Island Resort, with 51 rooms in the AAA category. The island faces Miniloc, and in the wake of environmental lessons learned from the two previous resorts, no tree was cut to build the property. Cottages were laid out around the trees, the swimming pool had an even depth of four feet to avoid touching the roots, and wood salvaged from old houses was recycled and used for the rooms and clubhouse.

From Dive Camp to Luxury Eco-Resort

At that time, investing with an environmental twist was a new concept in the Philippines. Worse, the private sector played a huge role in the degradation of natural areas, and very few worked to mitigate the environmental impact of their investments. Even fewer strived to have a positive impact on biodiversity conservation.

The prevailing business environment did not stop ACC from pursuing its goal. It went a step further by “moving beyond business as usual and prove that private sector can support the long-term conservation of biodiversity.”

Miniloc, 1999

The same year, however, misfortune struck the company. Pangulasian was razed to the ground just 10 days after Lagen resort opened. There were no casualties, but the fire added to what was then already a tenuous situation at Ten Knots due to internal strife, with the Soriano group divesting its holdings at the end of the year.

When the president of Nissin, Tametaka Morinaga, became ill, it was time to look for new owners. “Ten Knots was really the baby of Morinaga, an avid diver,” says Bertie. With the principal sponsor less involved, there was little reason for Nissin to keep investing in El Nido Resorts.

“Nissin’s management was taken over by bankers, and they made it known that they wanted to sell the resorts and focus on their core sugar business,” said Vince.

The general manager at that time, Hirohisa Fujimoto or “Fuji” as he was fondly called, explained that Tametaka Morinaga’s philosophy was to develop El Nido “slowly slowly” as the name

From Dive Camp to Luxury Eco-Resort

Ten Knots, which is the comfortable cruising speed for boats, suggests.

The over-arching aim was harmony with the local community, working hand in hand in conserving the environment.

This corporate culture was what attracted ACC to Ten Knots. Like in any joint venture, the two shareholders had different visions, but in the end, the two partners eventually got along since they shared the same values.

The Philosophy Behind Asian Conservation Company (ACC) The founders of ACC saw an opportunity to enter the ecoinvestment arena in the Philippines after realizing that traditional government and donor-based programs were inadequate in protecting the earth’s abundant natural resources. They saw the need to create a bridge, a sustainable funding mechanism, between private sector investment and biodiversity conservation.

From this vision to innovate and passion to conserve the environment, the concept of ACC was born.

In short, the mantra of its founders was “conservation makes good business sense.”

Like most investment companies, ACC had its own set of criteria. What was unique with ACC’s criteria was that potential companies where it would put its money had to comply with another metric: aside from the financial aspect, they would have to meet environmental management and biodiversity conservation criteria as well.

As an investment company, ACC would put financial viability, growth potential, and market leadership on top of the list of qualifications for possible ventures. But what set ACC apart was that it required companies to possess the ability to successfully integrate sustainability and conservation principles in their overall business strategy and day-to-day operations.

The mitigation of environmental impact must be top priority in decision-making.

The business enterprises must promote conservation among its peers in the industry, and help enhance biodiversity conservation in the community by supporting social programs for local residents. They must seek the best

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technical advice on environmental management and employ measurable indicators of conservation success, such as certification from international groups like the Marine Steward Council and the International Standards Organization.

The company was managed by Vince Pérez and Leigh Talmage, and later with Eduardo Martinez-Miranda —former investment bankers and known supporters of environment conservation— through Next Century Partners, an investment management firm. They focused on creating a portfolio of private sector investments that proactively conserve biodiversity while remaining profitable and competitive in their respective markets. They sought business ventures that were on the path to increasing revenues, while fulfilling environment standards and ecological sustainability at the same time. ACC’s dream was to “encourage ecologically enlightened investments” to become mainstream in the private sector.

Other investors in ACC included board members from WWF-US and WWFPhilippines. One was Ed Bass of Fort Worth Texas; he and his brothers were once the largest shareholders of Disney.

Another was the Summit Foundation of Vicki and Roger Sant, the founder of global power generation company AES and a former WWF-US chairman.

Others were Shari Sant Plummer and Dan Plummer, both active in oceans conservation, and Wolcott Henry, a renowned National Geographic underwater photographer. Finally, there was Carlos Soriano, founding trustee of WWF-Philippines and previously a joint venture partner of Nissin in El Nido.

(Clockwise from top left) Leigh and Vince with Bruce Bunting of WWF-US; Eduardo MartinezMiranda of NCP; Martin Bowen of Bass Brothers; Roger and Vicki Sant on their first trip to El Nido; ACC shareholders Carlos Soriano and wife Amalia, Eduardo and Pilar Martinez-Miranda, Leigh and Vince, Roger, Shari Sant Plummer, Wool Henry, and Dan Plummer; Ed Bass and Roger Sant

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From Dive Camp to Luxury Eco-Resort

In short, the mantra of its founders was “conservation makes good business sense.”

ACC Corporate Structure

Shareholders

Asian Conservation Company

NCP Advisors Philippines

INVESTMENT ADVISOR

Asian Conservation Foundation NGO PARTNER

On January 12, 2001, ACC was incorporated “to invest in profitable enterprises that promote the conservation and preservation of biodiversity and the protection of the environment.” Thus, ACC became the first investment holding company in Southeast Asia created with a Triple Bottom Line approach.

Ten Knots Development Corporation Ten Knots Properties Chirica Resorts Corporation Island Transvoyager, Inc.

Operational Flow management fee + profit share

NCP

Conservation Co. Investment management

fin environmental advisory

fee

an

cia

la

dv

ice

;B

oa

rd

funding

se

dividends

at

donation

WWF-Phil

Business enterprises environmental advice

From Dive Camp to Luxury Eco-Resort

In September 2000, this group of individuals was brought together

by Bruce Bunting of WWF’s Center for Conservation Finance. Amongst towering limestone cliffs and pristine waters in the Marine Reserve of El Nido in Palawan, the group brainstormed about how best to combine business and environmental conservation for the long term. Bertie’s proposal a year earlier for a stake in El Nido Resorts came at the right time, giving the group its first opportunity.

Its first acquisition target was the Ten Knots Group—the holding company of El Nido Resorts, an ecotourism operation with properties in the El NidoTaytay Managed Resource Protected Area. Ten Knots fulfilled all of ACC’s stringent investment and conservation criteria. After months of due diligence and negotiations, on March 23, 2001, ACC took majority control of El Nido Resorts, with the rest of the company still owned by Nissin. The investment gave them control over 82 rooms in Lagen and Miniloc islands, signaling the start of a 13-year adventure that transformed El Nido’s landmark island destinations into a model for sustainable ecotourism in the Philippines.

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This concept diagram of a “Philippine conservation corporation� was drawn

by Vince in September 2000 together with Bruce Bunting, then head of WWF-US Center for Conservation Finance.

CHAPTER 2

El Nido Resorts Adopts the ACC Formula THE DAY AFTER THE DEAL WAS SIGNED, Vince PĂŠrez was appointed by then Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo as Trade and Industry Undersecretary. Later, he was named Energy Secretary, which meant that Leigh had to step into managing the new venture. Since ACC had no prior experience in running a tourist resort and managing properties, they kept the management of both Ten Knots companies, and focused on innovations that would create world-class resorts in El Nido.

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Leigh found a valuable ally in Mariglo Laririt

Fortunately, Leigh eased her way into the resort venture smoothly.

“We weren’t really outsiders. We had been going to El Nido on numerous trips since 1987, and our WWF connection was very strong,” she recalls. One of the first things that Leigh observed was the acceptance of the status quo that prevailed in the resorts, resulting in financial losses.

“ACC had exposure to bigger picture initiatives and strategic thinking, so we brought that in and encouraged thinking ‘outside the box,’” she says.

thing about the ACC buy-in, however, was that they did not fire anyone, so staff morale was unaffected.”

When the ACC shareholders, some with multinational board experience at Marriott Hotels and Disney, found out that the resorts didn’t track “revpar”, industry parlance for revenue per available room, the staff were asked to begin setting targets.

“The financials had to change before anything else,” Leigh says.

In the internal behind-the-scene household order, the changes also had to deal with the budget. The management team instituted zerobased budgeting, which meant that the resorts would only buy what they needed to avoid wastage. As head of the house, Leigh wanted every item purchased to be justified, from the practical things to the major expenses.

It wasn’t simply a matter of scrimping, it had to do with the principle of necessity—anything not needed would be a waste. “There had to be control,” said purchasing manager Melita Tapalla, “from pens to fuel to rice.”

Bertie Lim, who was retained as TKDC President until he retired in 2007, explained that their problem in previous years was the lack of rooms, and the aircraft to bring in guests.

This was the reason Nissin decided to build Lagen, to raise more revenues.

“The Japanese philosophy is to take care of people and nature, then profits will follow,” recalled Bertie.

Leigh found a valuable ally in Mariglo Laririt, the resorts’ resident biologist who introduced environmental education to El Nido. Marigs, as she is known to everyone, relocated to the town with her family in 1999.

Under Leigh’s leadership, transparency became the norm in the Ten Knots group, Marigs says. All staff were asked to disclose business interests to avoid nepotism, and also to ensure that there was no conflict of interest in various aspects of resort operations.

Greening the Supply Chain

Every purchase therefore had to be monitored. If the housekeeping department asked for a change of bed sheets, it would have to show why it was necessary, for example. Personal

“They were conservationists so I welcomed them whole-heartedly.

I also knew them as guests who consistently showed respect for nature and the staff,” Marigs said of the ACC investors who were active with WWF. “The most important

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El Nido Resorts Adopts the ACC Formula

Greening the Supply Chain Early Believers in ACC Model

BEFORE: Non-recycled, non-natural packaging materials

Packaging Tape

Plastic Straw

Cardboard Box

Plastic Bag

NOW: GREEN PACKAGING

Annual Cost Savings

P300,000 Abaca String

Recycled Crate

items for the guests such as shampoos, soaps, cotton buds, were especially bought from suppliers who didn’t use chemicals known to be harmful to people and nature. A forecast in high guest arrivals would have the purchasing department ready to set aside fuel for the power generator, buy parts for the sewage treatment plant, and cooking gas for the kitchen.

Even in the kitchen, they had to stop using plastic bags for storage and replace them with reusable Tupperware containers. Instead of chocolate syrup in 680-gram bottles, they bought non-branded mixes in 4.7 kilogram packs. Imported marmalade in tiny 14.5-gram jars were replaced with locally made santol preserves in 4-kilogram containers. Aside from savings, such initiatives led to a decrease in non-biodegradable waste by more than 15 percent in 2010.

El Nido Resorts Adopts the ACC Formula

Melita worked hand in hand with Genny Roño, head of purchasing based in Manila. Melita alerted Genny about things brought to her list, pretty much the way a housewife would be running a household budget. She had worked for the resorts for 20 years and knew by heart the ins-and-outs of the daily operations. Non-recyclable materials such as packing tape and plastic straw were replaced with green packaging such as abaca string and recycled crates, yielding annual cost savings of 300,000 pesos.

The food shopping list was big on the budget. Chef Jose “Boyet” Ramos, who had been around before the practice of sustainability included the kitchen, recalls the days when items like pork and salmon and apples and grapes were imported; the bulk of it was equivalent to three seats of the company’s regular airplane that flew in guests.

ANDREAS MERKL, a principal at California Environmental Associates, was one of the very first people to help Leigh understand the potential of the Triple Bottom Line model.

He was open about his experience and network and gave key steps to ACC on how to think globally.

DR. MARK ERDMANN of Conservation International supported the uniqueness of the ACC model with its business, forprofit approach to biodiversity conservation. Mark was an inspirational leader in bringing the EcoReef Project to El Nido, following the template he introduced in Bunaken, Indonesia.

SAM KELLER of the Environmental Finance Group of the International Finance Corporation, the private sector arm of the World Bank, supported ACC’s application and implementation of the GEF grant.

SCOTT ATKINSON, a conservation specialist based in Hawaii, designed ACC’s grant application with the Global Environment Facility.

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“The biggest change that Leigh brought to the company was the way she humanized and became the face of management and shareholders,” says Marigs. Every two months, Leigh would visit the resorts and encourage the staff to learn new skills, level up to get promoted, designing programs that would allow them to become ocal supervisors. “She had no other agenda except that we wanted to be the best organization. It needed to be an employer that truly cared for its people,” Marigs says.

As the largest corporate employer in El Nido, the Ten Knots group was inevitably regarded as a patron of sorts, the benefactor whom everyone could count on. By 2005, the company was the biggest taxpayer in the municipality, providing more than 80 percent of tax revenues, according to corporate records. Its island resorts, collectively known as El Nido Resorts, employed 150 local residents at the time and also had a huge multiplier effect on the local economy due to demand for services.

Henry Gonzales, farm manager at the Inigtan farm

Under ACC, change meant going local. The fruits that often came from outside the country were replaced by the homegrown dalandan, guava, kaimito, and other favorites of the season. Rather than getting cheese from France (which was already difficult to begin with), it was brought in from the Malagos farm in Davao, whose quality of making goat cheese and other kinds are at par with international standards.

The pasta dishes came with sardines, not salmon. Smoked bacon was cured with local honey, not imported syrup. Chef Boyet experimented with pork adobo using local goat cheese and brie, relying on instinct most of the time.

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Eventually, with the newly established organic farm, food purchases made elsewhere or in Manila had to be selective. Most of the vegetables now came from the organic farm or local suppliers; the rest, about 30 percent of it, the usual cauliflower, broccoli, and carrots came from Manila. Local purchase of fruits and vegetables grew from 40 percent in 2008 to a high of 71 percent by 2010.

A Sense of Fairness The difference that ACC’s culture brought into the company inevitably led to some turnover in the management team in two years, Marigs recalls.

The ACC owners sought to change that perception. “We’re not gonna be Santa Claus anymore to the community, to the staff,” says Leigh. Instead, she instituted a sense of fairness and equity among their partners, and sent out the message that the company would no longer be expected to fund all kinds of community projects.

Marigs, who was later named President of Ten Knots Philippines, also started to relocate more than 100 squatters from the company’s scattered landholdings, which now covered almost 600 hectares. Land was fenced in, and the company went to court against some claimants.

The early years were challenging, as they came on the heels of the

El Nido Resorts Adopts the ACC Formula

kidnapping of tourists in Dos Palmas in May 2001, a well-known resort in central Palawan, and the 9/11 attacks in the US in September 2001. Tourist arrivals dropped to zero at one point, in what turned out to be the most challenging moment for ACC’s investment in Ten Knots. It had only been a few months since the new shareholders entered the scene, in March 2001, and many were probably wondering if they had made a mistake.

“It was the worst of times,” Leigh would recall later. She met with the employees to assure them that no one was going to be laid off, and in her Christmas message that year, Leigh wrote: “We appreciate your hard work, dedication and loyalty over the past year when challenges often seemed greater than opportunities.

Your incredible talents and outstanding Filipino hospitality allowed us to weather the storm that began in late May. Your warm smiles were often the only bright lights during the dark days. We have

overcome many obstacles and will continue to succeed by working together. With your support, we will maintain our ranking as one of the best resorts in the Philippines.

Thank you for sharing the El Nido experience with each and every guest—you are the best!!!”

A year later, El Nido Resorts was dealt another blow with the bombing of a popular tourist area in Bali, which led to another decline in tourist arrivals. Leigh focused on improving operations and educating staff during times of business challenges outside the company’s control, and the El Nido Resorts were able to weather the crises while posting modest profits at the same time.

Profits, Nature, People The formula that ACC pursued in El Nido—what they called the Triple Bottom Line of profitability, environmental protection, and community development—was

The early years were challenging. Tourist arrivals dropped to zero at one point, in what turned out to be the most challenging moment for ACC’s investment in Ten Knots. Leigh met with the employees to assure them that there will be no layoffs.

El Nido Resorts Adopts the ACC Formula

inspired by a May 2000 trip of the Pérez couple to several high-end tented safari lodges in Africa that successfully blended these three goals.

The safari lodges were owned then

by Conservation Corporation Africa or CCA, so in selecting the corporate name, they merely reversed the acronym to ACC, or Asian Conservation Company. To be fair, Leigh says, this corporate philosophy was already in place at the resorts when ACC came in, but “we emphasized profitability as the top priority in order to allow the other two goals to be fulfilled.”

Thus, Leigh sought to transform a business that resembled a mom-andpop enterprise—or to some observers, a hobby for its Japanese benefactor— into a professionally-run resort corporation. Leigh began adopting the best practices from environmentfriendly tourism operators such as the Soneva luxury resorts operating in Maldives and Thailand and Vietnam.

Costas Vafopoulos, who was with Soneva, encouraged Leigh to pursue her business model.

The team’s efforts were rewarded when El Nido Resorts started breaking even in 2002, and then reaping profits year after year thereafter. Upon its entry, ACC also paid off all outstanding debt of Ten Knots, which remained debt-free for several years.

The turning point was ACC’s decision to establish Island Transvoyager Inc (ITI) to replace Soriano Aviation, the previous air charter ferrying guests to the resort. ITI was operated separately from resort operations. The move gave the resort the freedom to control the scheduling of room bookings, and resulted in less revenue volatility. The company once allowed the commercial airline SEAir to get in, but decided to keep the company-owned airstrip private to manage tourism growth.

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(Clockwise from top left) Leigh christening Dornier 228 twin-prop aircraft; Lio Airport departure “terminal”; Old Pasay ITI Airport check-in counter; ITI GM Arvi Perez inside aircraft; ITI aircraft were named after birds commonly found in El Nido— Swiftlet, Hornbill, and Kingfisher.

Raoul “Arvi” Pérez, the former general manager of ITI, says the airline was subjected to the same strict standards as the resorts. He needed to set targets, and provide profit and loss projections, as an integral component of the ACC investment. After all, the air charter arrangement with Soriano Aviation was losing money for ACC when he came in. Within two years, the new airline brought in a second

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Dornier 228 twin-prop aircraft, and began making profits after securing the charter business for Shell Philippines Exploration, transporting staff to its Malampaya natural gas platform in the West Philippine Sea. In keeping with the conservation theme of the resorts, ITI’s three aircraft were named after three birds commonly found in El Nido—Swiftlet, Hornbill, and Kingfisher.

A turning point was ACC’s decision to establish its own airline and to keep its airstrip privately-owned to manage tourism growth.

El Nido Resorts Adopts the ACC Formula

In 2004, ACC took over the reins of El Nido Resorts after Nissin started recalling its senior management to Japan. There was a gradual management transition from Nissin veterans such as Vice President Kanji Nishihara and general manager Hirohisa Fujimoto, to an ACC-appointed management team led by Leigh and consisting of Luis Miguel “Mike” Vaca, Etienne La’Brooy, and Arvi Pérez.

On the environment front, ACC cultivated an image of sustainable tourism, and not the much bandied about eco-tourism identity. The company’s second bottom line of environmental sustainability was never far from the investors’ minds though.

Leigh recalls thinking, “How do we bring environment into operation?

How do we make it flourish inside the organization?”

The solution was to get Marigs into the management committee, to give her more clout in decision-making at the highest levels of the company. It was a milestone that changed the focus of El Nido Resorts. In 2006, the board created the Environment Department within the Ten Knots group with Marigs at the helm reporting directly to the president, institutionalizing her initiatives. One environmental officer was hired for each resort, a huge improvement from the years when only Marigs and her trusted boatman Mesach were doing all the conservation

Signing of purchase of Club Noah resort in 2010

work. Marigs was also given the power to grant environmental clearance for internal rules, such as the decision to stop the gathering of lobsters in front of the resorts to preserve the marine environment.

“Leigh is really the driving force behind this, being an environmentalist,” said Etienne. “When she could finally make a decision without being held back by boardroom politics, we made a lot of advances,” he says.

At the corporate headquarters in Manila, where money speaks and visions sometime clash, two sides were pushing for each one’s dream of a paradise. Finally, in 2006, when ACC acquired full ownership of the Ten Knots group, everyone went full blast

in implementing ACC’s triple bottom line philosophy for sustainable tourism.

More rooms were added in Miniloc, which underwent complete renovation.

Utilities and waste facilities in Miniloc and Lagen were upgraded to meet stringent environment standards.

Looking around for expansion opportunities, ACC began negotiations to acquire Club Noah Isabelle resort in neighboring Taytay Bay, on the eastern seaboard of Palawan. Club Noah had a similar design as Miniloc, which had been managed in the past by the Taytay resort’s owners led by Keizaburo Homma. After ACC purchased the property, Club Noah was upgraded and renovated, reopening as the 50-cottage Apulit Island Resort in November 2010.

The ITI Lounge at the Soriano Aviation hangar: Mike’s brother Eduardo “Dudo” Vaca brought in artists to paint murals of Palawan wildlife. Leigh wanted guests to feel that their holiday had already begun just as they are about

From Dive Camp to Luxury Eco-Resort

to leave. Travel writer Maya Jaggi said, “the woodpanelled hangar seemed to have materialized from a Graham Greene novel.

I took tea under a ceiling fan, among rattan furniture and pot plants. It all evoked a less frenetic era of air travel.”

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Leigh announcing ACC purchase of Nissin’s ownership of Ten Knots Group

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El Nido Resorts Adopts the ACC Formula

Solar panels on Miniloc rooftops

CHAPTER 3

Investing in Green Infrastructure COCKTAILS IN HAND, gazing at the fiery sunset from a beach bar in a secluded island resort, it is easy to forget what it takes to bring such luxuries to guests. Potable water has to be shipped in, off-grid generators have to supply electricity around the clock, and waste management needs to be stringent in order to protect the natural environment. The downside of setting up a resort business on islands was that they had to operate like mini-cities on their own.

As part of their vision to become a world-class tourist destination, the Ten Knots group invested heavily in environment programs even before the arrival of ACC. Desalinating plants were installed at Miniloc

Voices from the Islands

23

Mike Vaca and Etienne La’Brooy were part of the ACC-appointed management team

It was understood that El Nido was a jewel of nature, which had to be preserved if it was going to make a difference. and Lagen resorts to avoid depletion of water sources on the islands. A sewage treatment plant was also built at the back of Miniloc and Lagen resorts to curb seawater contamination, and provide recycled water for flushing toilets and irrigating the garden.

From the start, however, he knew changes were afoot. Etienne had worked at the famous beachfront resort Fridays in Boracay, the party place for tourists the world over. Here in Palawan, the atmosphere was subdued but privileged, a gleaming hidden paradise that was the Philippines’ last frontier.

It was understood that El Nido was a jewel of nature, which had to be preserved if it was going to make a difference.The direction came mainly from Leigh, who sat at the helm of the “environmental guidance” that was to embark on a cutting-edge shift towards sustainable tourism.

At the outset Etienne had to deal with the big structures: Miniloc itself, he recalled, was literally tearing itself down. The clubhouse was rotting, floorboards were breaking, termites ate wood columns, and furniture had to be changed. Renovation was high on the agenda. For the first three months, Miniloc saw a physical overhaul in its

secluded pocket of cogon-roofed, nipa hut-style cottages and stilted rooms on the cove guarded by majestic limestone towers.

Architect Popi Laudico, who helped design Miniloc during its renovation, says ACC went to great lengths to preserve the resources of El Nido.

“If we did not do our job responsibly, it would literally mean death, stagnation, and the loss of what nature has created and sustained for thousands of years,” Laudico said.

Camouflaged Sewage Treatment Plants Then it came down to the dirty part: the sewage treatment plant (STP), which had been there in Miniloc since 1991, was about to burst at the seams. On Lagen island, the other resort larger than Miniloc and elegant in its landscape, the STP was hardly working at all. Etienne

Engr. Benson Allam (below) and the Lagen Sewage Treatment Plant (right)

These initiatives were bolstered when ACC came in, with additional steps such as measuring of waste and carbon footprint, upgrading the “back of the house” infrastructure for desalination, sewage treatment, and power, and cleaning up the back of the hill that had become a dumping ground for discarded items.

When Etienne arrived in March 2004 to serve as general manager of El Nido Resorts, he was expecting to see modern facilities that ranked among the best in the country, but he saw that Miniloc, for one, was gradually falling apart.

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Voices from the Islands

Investing in Green Infrastructure

could see the mucky liquid streaming out of it, the plant not big enough to churn the waste for the entire resort.

The resorts had properly complied with rules imposed by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), but clearly the sewage treatment plants had to be overhauled. An engineer was hired to do the first one in Miniloc, followed by Lagen—an undertaking that took about one and a half years.

Now hidden inside a camouflaged structure, its walls painted with a calming scenery of plants and flowers, the stateof-the-art sewage treatment plant for the upscale resort rises from a pocket Lagen desalination facility beach in Lagen, a little secret concealed at the back. Native reed beds help filter the waste to ensure that gray water from laundry and kitchen is not discharged to Management had to look after the desalination plants often for repair. the sea.

It also came to their attention that there was no rain catchment. The roofs At the Miniloc resort, electrical engineer had no gutters. Water storage with Benson Allam leads the way to a similar a capacity of about 500 cubic meters sewage treatment facility hidden on the had to be built, to help augment water slopes of the rocky outcrop at the back. coming out of the desalination plant.

The aging plant was upgraded in 2011, and now handles up to 10 metric tons In due time, Lagen made its own of waste. He points out the various tanks rainwater catchment. Behind the where wastewater goes through cliffs, away from the eyes of the a process of digestion and aeration guests, one would be able to see before emerging as sludge, which the machines enclosed by a veneer is used as compost, and gray water, of decorative green as if they were for flushing and watering plants. part of the view. The resorts also installed low-flow shower heads and low-flush toilets in the bathrooms Water Conservation to save the precious resource.

And then there was water, or the lack of it.

Miniloc and Lagen had one desalination Clean Energy plant each, but as the one more thing that ACC management had to add on There was a problem too, with power. the list, they weren’t producing enough The generator sets powered by diesel water. The process of churning seawater were old and cranky, stored in a for practical use was also the key to a powerhouse that was poorly constructed. livable world. It wasn’t magic turning it The emissions did not look good at all. into potable water—this one had to be To reduce the use of fossil fuels, ACC shipped in for guests and for cooking— installed solar panels on the roof of the but it solved the daily chores of deluxe water cottages in Miniloc, and laundry, bathing, and housecleaning.

Investing in Green Infrastructure

also at the Entalula and Dibuluan Beach Clubs. Solar power might have been the best option for running island resorts in a place like Palawan, but Etienne noted that it was better off having had it installed from the start, as part of the general layout and architecture, rather than having it there as an afterthought or an adjunct.

Inside the guest rooms, all bulbs were replaced with Compact Fluorescent

Solar panels at Entalula Beach Club

Voices from the Islands

25

after having gone through a series of trainings with the environmental officers. If the working counters had to be complete with all utensils, all ingredients, so too were the trash bins at the back, properly placed and labeled for the leftovers and waste: Rice/Fruits/ Shells/Plastic/Cans/Papers/Bottles.

All seven of these contents make their way to the resorts’ Materials Recovery Facility, the MRF, which is like a little colony of its own. Every day at four o’clock in the morning, the resort bancas transport the waste to a coastal hamlet, Sitio Dagal-Dagal in Corong-Corong outside of town. It is a quick boat ride from Lagen, the staff off-loading the waste in their proper places.

Materials Recovery Facility in Dagal Dagal

Light (CFL) in 2008, bathrooms have been fitted with energy efficient water heater, and conversion to inverter air-con units was initiated. Later, CFL bulbs were replaced with LED bulbs.

back on the shores and that would be the end of what the resorts stood for. As it happened, they were “under pressure to cut cost,” with previous management having made losses over the previous years.

Garden in the Garbage Dump

The key was segregation. The kitchen staff was by now familiar with the rules,

It was a busy time getting the ball rolling, in the name of sticking to a goal of being good to the environment.

Waste management was obviously a primary concern: the resorts were on islands, where else could they possibly throw the trash? Etienne saw that garbage disposal was done improperly, seeing that it was being thrown in the crevice of another cove.

If they were to be unprincipled about it, the filth would find themselves

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Voices from the Islands

Kayak repurposed into a planter

The men in charge of the MRF do the final segregation. A weighing scale in the first station records the amount of waste generated by each resort.

Recyclable waste is sorted and placed in separate bins—one each for cans, plastic, bottles, glass, even leftover candles. Discarded toilet equipment, shells, and palm fronds are placed in separate compartments behind bamboo fences. weighing them first according to which resort they came from and then each of the materials.

Majority of the waste is biodegradable and mostly from the resort kitchens and restaurants. There’s a grinder for fruit peels, to hasten decomposition; they end up in what used to be an empty lot, now a healthy watermelon patch. Baskets are used to sift kitchen waste before they are thrown into a compost pit, ten of them dug in a row with the material transferred on a daily basis until the last day, when it becomes ready for use as compost in the resort’s organic farm.

The MRF is not just a dumping ground.

It also has a garden from the leftover seeds and a nursery of narra and ipil seedlings,

Investing in Green Infrastructure

ready for tree planting activities.

Old baskets and kayaks have found a secondary use as planters, herbs such as basil thrive in tin cans, while squash vines coiled around a trellis provide much-needed shade in the afternoon heat. From the start of the cycle in the kitchens and elsewhere, the waste that ends up here is more than enough to show that the resorts are in the serious business of doing right by action.

dealers. El Nido Resorts also entered into a partnership with ABS-CBN Foundation, an NGO that runs waste management projects such as Bantay Baterya (Battery Watch) and Bantay Langis (Oil Watch). Used batteries and used cooking oil are donated to the Foundation, which sells the material to government-accredited facilities and use the funds for their own conservation projects.

A local partner from Barangay Bebeladan collects residual waste and brings them to the municipal dumpsite, in exchange for recyclable items that can be sold to junk shop

Recognizing that waste reduction starts with individual habits, the kitchen department also started to reuse old containers for refills, instead of buying cooking oil in new containers each time.

Greening the Resorts’ Boats The island resorts’ lifeline had to be the boats. From the airport in Lio, a few kilometers north of the town, guests are ferried by speedboats and then by motorized outriggers, the bancas, to reach either Miniloc or Lagen. A good deal of their activities relied on boats, from diving to snorkeling to island hopping and picnics. In anticipation of either cutting cost or streamlining operations for the brand of sustainable tourism, something had to be done about the boats.

Sifting through waste for compost production

Investing in Green Infrastructure

Voices from the Islands

27

MBB workshop in Lio with kayaks filled with empty plastic bottles, featuring Nancy Alcanzado from the Motor Boats and Bancas Department of El Nido Resorts. The MBB ensures that all four resorts have well-maintained marine transportation. Nancy, being the only lady from the team, can build and repair the kayaks and dinghies without sweat! She believes that hard work and excellence know no gender. As young as six, Nancy shares that she had been dreaming of building a boat someday.

(Source: El Nido Environment)

Angelo Olondriz, a boat builder from Subic Bay, provided his experience and guidance in the overhaul and “greening” of the resorts’ boats. He introduced the idea of manufacturing their own kayaks and trained the local community in kayak making.

With the resorts operating the largest fleet of motorboats in town, ACC decided to be proactive and make the switch to the more fuel-efficient and environmentallyfriendly 2-stroke outboard engines with lower horsepower with minimal smoke emission.

According to former Fleet The winning resort of the Paberdehan Challenge is awarded a biik (piglet)

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Voices from the Islands

Manager Manu Mantecon, the move was meant to reduce both noise and water pollution, in line with the new greening policy.

The staff also had to be clever about it.

In the annual company contest called Paberdehan—loosely translated as ‘who gets to be the greenest’—the department running the Motor Boats and Bancas (MBB for short) was one of the winners. Their innovation: using empty water bottles for the bottom hull of the kayaks to keep them afloat, instead of foam that eroded or disintegrated too quickly.

Boat maintenance crew Joie Ulanday says their kayaks are now made locally from fiberglass that are easy to repair and last longer, still in use after eight years

compared to kayaks made of plastic that they had to replace every two years. He said the local ones are also much cheaper, each costing between 25,000 and 30,000 pesos, or less than half of the price of the plastic imported ones.

The vessels used for the island tours have to maintain regular safety features. Boat captains have to be properly licensed and undergo yearly training; the crew has to be in uniform and trained as well, logging in trip schedules. They cannot drop their anchor anywhere; the boats have to latch on to designated anchor buoys.

The boat has to be equipped with railings, anti-slip rubber mat, life vests, and should not exceed the average number of passengers on board, ranging from 10 persons to a maximum of 35. The boat and banca crew of nine usually hold ‘scenario’ training with the airline staff as well, a joint exercise in case of emergencies.

Investing in Green Infrastructure

Swimming with a school of damselfish at Miniloc

CHAPTER 4

Conservation Makes Business Sense WITH ITS AWE-INSPIRING SEASCAPE and wealth of marine resources, there is indeed a lot to protect in El Nido. In 1984, several nesting areas were declared marine sanctuaries for the olive ridley, hawksbill, and green turtles. Its seagrass beds were the feeding grounds of the rarely seen dugong, while whales and dolphins found a haven in its bountiful waters.

Marine biologists counted 803 species of fish and more than 100 species of corals in a survey in 2006.

On land, the numbers are just as impressive, with 103 species of birds and 12 species of mammals recorded so far. Palawan hornbills and macaque monkeys are familiar sights in the beach forest of the island resorts.

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Recognizing the ecological value of El Nido, the government declared it a marine reserve in 1991, funded by a debt-for-nature swap by WWF and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources. Later, the area covered was merged with the neighboring municipality to become the expanded El Nido-Taytay Managed Resource Protected Area in 1998.

It covers more than 90,000 hectares of land and marine waters with extensive coral reefs, mangroves, seagrass and seaweed beds, beach forest, limestone forest, semi-deciduous forest, and lowland evergreen rainforest.

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Strict management was necessary, as the ecosystems were facing numerous challenges including illegal fishing, unregulated extraction of forest resources, and increasing number of fish pens.

From the 1980s to the 1990s, the Japanese and Filipino owners of the Ten Knots group had made initial efforts in conserving the unique

(Clockwise from top left) El Nido’s diverse flora and fauna: Bigeye Snapper, Palawan Hornbill, Egrets, Long-tailed Macaque, and Irrawaddy Dolphin

Conservation Makes Business Sense

Recognizing the ecological value of El Nido, the government declared it a marine reserve in 1991, funded by a debt-fornature swap by WWF and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources. resources of El Nido. Bertie recalls their support for the Task Force Pawikan, which sought to protect the marine turtles of El Nido, even on a shoestring budget. Their manager at the time, Rea Yamsuan, valiantly fought off illegal logging in the mainland that was causing erosion and smothering coral reefs. The Ten El Ni-Dos, now a mainstay of environmental education in the resort, was the brainchild of Bertie’s executive assistant Lulu Punongbayan-Jaleco and first drafted by then-community manager Victor “Kiko” Francisco.

WWF-HARIBON-DENR Debt for Nature Swap Secondary Debt Market US$ Debt note

US$ WWF

US$ Debt note

Program management

Program implementation

Haribon

US$ Debt note Bonds in local currency

Philippine Government

Management Committee (WWF, Haribon, DENR)

Haribon

• Management of protected areas • Training • Research

Conservation Makes Business Sense

DENR

In June 1988, the Philippine government, Haribon Foundation and WWF signed the very first Debtfor-Nature swap in Asia.

In the initial phase, WWF transferred US$390,000 to Haribon Foundation at the cost of only $200,000.

These funds were allocated for infrastructure projects, management plans, and the administration of the Saint Paul Underground River National Park and El Nido National Marine Park, both in Palawan. The second phase allowed for the acquisition of US$2 million worth of debt instruments

at a discounted value in exchange for 100% of its value in Philippine Pesos.

By coincidence, it was Vince who assisted WWF with its debt-for-nature swap in 1988, when he was head of emerging markets at Lazard investment bank in New York. This deal eventually led him into an increasingly active role with WWF.

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Lulu also started the sunset tour in Aberawan, a scenic mangrove river on the mainland where egrets roosted at dusk, to foster nature appreciation among guests.

Lulu says they worked closely with the community and relied heavily on local knowledge. She recalls a

funny incident when marine biologists could not locate the coral tiles they had installed to monitor siltation, and local divers found them even without the aid of GPS devices.

Kiko and Lulu also began putting mooring buoys in popular dive

sites to save the reefs from anchor damage caused by dive boats.

They initiated the practice of requiring guests to wear life vests, both for personal safety and also to avoid stepping on the corals.

Every barangay was encouraged to have a marine sanctuary with a no-take zone.

(Top to bottom) Bertie Lim was TKDC President and later became Tourism Secretary; Ken Nishihara; Hirohisa “Fuji� Fujimoto led the development of Lagen Resort.

(Left) Ten El Ni-Do’s at Lio airport

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Conservation Makes Business Sense

Nature Interpreters Marigs was a young biology teacher at the University of the Philippines in 1994 when she was tapped to do some research for El Nido Resorts.

The company had obtained funding from the European Union to conduct a baseline survey of El Nido’s natural

Marigs conducting marine studies with divemaster Chris Ng

resources. The owners wanted to find out the carrying capacity of the tourist destination, and how they could develop land holdings that had expanded to 560 hectares.

After three years, Marigs submitted the results to the Ten Knots group. “You have to find out what you’re protecting, and what you’re protecting it against,” she says. When the company did not do anything with the data, she developed a fact sheet instead and started teaching the staff to standardize information sharing in the resorts. “They were making up stories about the animals,” Marigs recalls in horror, looking back at her early beginnings with El Nido Resorts.

Twice a week, Marigs would conduct lectures and workshops covering subjects such as geology, ecology, and the socio-cultural profile of El Nido. The program had two objectives: to transform the staff into nature and

Conservation Makes Business Sense

WWF International President Yolanda Kakabadse and Director General Jim Leape on a weekend retreat in El Nido with WWF Asia-Pacific chairpersons

WWF-Philippines and El Nido Resorts share an advocacy for sustainable tourism and development in El Nido, and have collaborated on various projects through the years.

With ACC’s close ties to WWF, El Nido Resorts naturally embraced the conservation group’s global initiative Earth Hour, and even went one step further: they celebrate Eco-Hour every full moon from March to May, the peak tourist season. The initiative serves a double purpose, with savings from the electricity shutdown used to purchase seedlings for the Carbon Offsetting Program of ITI and rehabilitate the El Nido watershed.

Together with WWFPhilippines’ Palawan-

based program officers RJ dela Calzada and Mavic Matillano, El Nido Resorts coordinated with the Philippine Navy in pursuing poachers within the El Nido-Taytay protected area. The resorts also supported WWF’s conservation program for the endangered Irrawaddy dolphins in Malampaya Sound in Taytay by encouraging dolphin watching tours.

The Asian Conservation Foundation, an affiliate of ACC, received technical assistance from WWFPhilippines during the coral reef surveys and in setting up an environment education kiosk for tourists on one of the islands in Bacuit Bay. A partnership between ACC and WWF was also formally forged

to facilitate the development of the framework for the Sustainable Tourism Master Plan. This process was undertaken through WWF’s Sustainable Tourism Community of Practice initiative.

This initiative entails the participation of other ecotourism practitioners promoting best practices on key elements of ecotourism namely: natural resources management; tourist satisfaction and community benefits.

Using these elements as the operational principles, the Sustainable Tourism Master Plan was developed and will serve as the basis for the promulgation of relevant local policies to put forward and sustain the ecotourism in El Nido.

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culture interpreters for guests, and through them, to create a ripple effect in the local community that would make them active partners in protecting natural resources.

El Nido Foundation’s Community Learning Center (CLC) was inaugurated

by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in April 2005 with provincial and municipal officials. The CLC was funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF).

Sam Keller, former project officer of the International Finance Corporation (IFC): “As an Executing Agency for the GEF, IFC was tasked with finding innovative private sector projects that would help to conserve globallysignificant biodiversity, so I was thrilled to discover ACC. We knew that biologically rich marine areas in the Philippines were being damaged and depleted due to overfishing and destructive fishing. ACC offered a novel way to address the problem.

It was a private equity investment company that took majority stakes in for-profit ventures that could benefit biodiversity conservation.”

In addition to the bi-weekly seminars of Marigs, the resort invited three scientists—a forester, a marine biologist, and a geologist—to give lectures to the staff, Bertie says. According to Nissin documents, the company spent P10 million for conservation efforts in five years, before the turnover to ACC. Scaling Up When ACC came in, the company continued notable projects, such as the maintenance of mooring buoys in 21 dive sites around Bacuit Bay. These were deemed critical in high-traffic areas like the area near the Small Lagoon and the popular South Miniloc dive site.

Together with the Protected Area Office, ACC scaled up the tagging of endangered marine turtles and safeguarding of nesting beaches.

During the hatching season, El Nido Resorts offers a Turtle Tracking Tour, giving guests the opportunity to track observe the sea turtles in their natural habitat, learn about turtle biology, and participate in turtle releases.

Another endangered species that came under their protection are the giant clams, which are harvested indiscriminately. El Nido Resorts transplanted giant clams to the front reef of Miniloc Island Resort and Lagen Island Resort.

The company also went a step further, leveraging their private equity investments in El Nido Resorts to attract

Mooring buoys were installed in dive sites around Bacuit Bay

“I loved working with the ACC team because they were striving to go way beyond running a typical ‘eco-resort.’ They had come up with an innovative investment vehicle to bring in capital from high net worth individuals and foundations who were interested in earning a financial return and a ‘conservation return.’ And in their approach to the El Nido Resorts, they were thinking far outside the box—to come up with ways to maximize the social, economic, and environmental benefits that they could generate for the marine ecosystem and communities of El Nido.”

Juvenile turtles for release (photo courtesy of El Nido Environment Department)

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Conservation Makes Business Sense

government. The same team made a follow-up survey in May 2011, and found an even bigger number of more than 1,000 fish species. There was also a significant number of new species in both El Nido and Taytay.

The “no-take zones” of Noa Noa and Tres Marias indicated a marked increase in species sightings.

Gerry Allen and Mark Erdmann conducted extensive surveys and recorded 850 species of reef fish.

Their findings were published in “Reef Fishes of El Nido.”

grants for biodiversity conservation.

In 2004, ACC secured funding from the Global Environment Facility (GEF) for a six-year project on coastal and marine resource management.

Through El Nido Foundation, the collaborative program engaged the municipal government in implementing the town’s Environmental Management Plan. This was the product of many years of stakeholder consultations that started in 1996, culminating in the crafting of El Nido’s Comprehensive Land and Water Use Plan.

To protect El Nido’s wildlife, ACC invited experts to undertake scientific studies, providing board and lodging, boats, dive gear and other equipment to support their work. Dr. Lyndon deVantier and Mr. Emre Turak studied the carrying capacity of dive sites.

Dr. Gerry Allen and Dr. Mark Erdmann conducted surveys during the month of June in 2007 and 2008, and recorded an estimated 850 species of reef fish and 11 potential new species.

Their findings were published in the book “Reef Fishes of El Nido” in June 2009, done in cooperation with El Nido Foundation and the municipal

Conservation Makes Business Sense

The resorts’ environment officers organized regular clean-up of the outer coasts, collecting plastic food wrappers and other rubbish that floated from as far as Vietnam. They also made guidebooks on waterproof paper, and wrote children’s bedtime stories with characters based on the wildlife found in El Nido.

To sustain conservation efforts, ACC initiated the collection of environmental fees, currently pegged at P200 per guest. The funds go to the Protected Area Management Board (PAMB), for use in protecting the natural resources of El Nido. As part of its investment, ACC also negotiated an

(Top) Because their days were not structured, the environment officers had the freedom to carry out various activities. This included joining an undertaking to stop a massive outbreak of the menacing starfish known as the crown of thorns.

(Above) Bedtime story about El Nido wildlife.

At the community level, ACC chose to make coastal clean-ups a regular activity, clearing beaches of marine debris twice monthly instead of sticking to the annual celebrations.

To protect the waters of El Nido from blast fishing and other illegal activities, El Nido Resorts assisted in patrols and helped apprehend violators through the Marine

Monitoring Task Force. Taking a step further, the company assisted in drafting ordinances and lobbying for stiffer penalties, both in the Protected Area Management Board and El Nido’s municipal council.

Ten Knots also joined the El Nido Environmental and Legal Enforcement Council as part of its commitment to support the enforcement of marine laws.

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ACC’s Sustainable Funding Mechanism Profit

Not-for-Profit

ACC

INVESTMENT COMPANY

Assist in grant application

GRANT FUNDS

Investment

Portfolio Companies

GEF Seacology

Grant

Fee/donations

Asian Conservation Foundation El Nido Foundation WWF-Philippines NGOs

Employment Taxes

Local Community

annual donation from Ten Knots for the protection of the environment.

Protecting El Nido’s Marine Life With the reefs in front of the resorts delineated as marine sanctuaries, fishing was banned to give life again

Health/ social welfare/ environmental programs

to corals and other threatened underwater life. Some regular guests who counted on fishing as one of their favorite activities were disappointed and didn’t come back.

But today, after more than a decade, fishing was renewed in a way that it was tied up to the local fishermen and their livelihood. For half the

Former environment officer Macy Añonuevo could not forget the incident with the Philippine Cockatoo, locally known as Katala. This particular bird was raised domestically for two years by a foundation supported

by Senator Migz Zubiri. The resort, along with the foundation and the government, had planned to translocate

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amount of 5,000 pesos paid to the resort, the fishermen earn from taking the guests fishing as guides. For a maximum of three hours of fishing, the guests afterwards could offer their catch to the fishermen or take it back to the resort where the kitchen would be willing to cook them for their meal.

For the local fishermen, it was a blessing; it made up for their dwindling harvest at many times throughout the seasons. The demand for fish in El Nido, as a result of the tourism boom, has sent many of the restaurant owners looking for fish and seafood in other coastal towns, as far south as Taytay or San Vicente.

That has not stopped poachers from encroaching the waters for commercial fishing that was rampant around Palawan. El Nido has been declared a protected area, but that didn’t always stop the wrongdoing. Local enforcers were hampered for many reasons to put an end to destructive practices, the lack of budget (and corruption) among them. Bacuit Bay, for example, had only less than 30 guards on shifts on the lookout for the bumbungero, the men involved in blast fishing.

the endangered katala back into the wild, an experiment that began at a secluded cove on Lagen island in November 2006.

But at the resort, one katala made a mess of picking fruits from the buffet table and another one competed with guests for nuts at the poolside bar during happy hour.

Macy had to steer them out of the way to stop the birds from

bothering the guests.

She had to use a net and was worried that doing so might land her in jail because of laws protecting wildlife that prohibit netting and injuring.

The project had to be scrapped in May 2007 due to problems with “bird-human interaction,” making the experiment a failure but one that was fun while it lasted.

Conservation Makes Business Sense

sanctuaries. The El Nido Resorts has Rey Reyes and the Nat Geo boat to do his patrolling in, although he is not able to cover a wide base. He could, at most, coordinate with other enforcers and tap the help of environment advocates around the waters. Rey had been a park ranger before, and later worked for the resorts as a marine sports guide.

He’s been familiar with the way around things, how to manage incidents, who to deal with, the process of arresting illegal fishers. Rey is also in charge of the MRF.

Rey Reyes, a former DENR Marine Ranger, patrolling Bacuit Bay as environmental enforcer

“We tell the local folks to avoid using dynamite, that it won’t do them any good,” he said. But out at sea, his job also involved “intercepting” the bad guys.

In the aftermath of 9/11, the Philippine Armed Forces set up Joint Task Force Malampaya to protect a natural gas offshore platform 60 kilometers northwest from El Nido. The Navy deployed patrol boats in El Nido and on several occasions, interdicted illegal poachers around the island.

As it were, various non-government organizations have had to field their own enforcers to keep watch over the

The airline had re-usable wooden chips for boarding passes. Some passengers were so enamored with them that they were willing to pay a P700 “lost” fine just to keep them as souvenirs. Unfortunately, these wooden passes were discontinued for practical reasons, but its popularity in those days made it to the internet.

He would know the sound of the motor engine when a boat was up to something fishy; if he could get on board he could check for signs and report them to the police or coast guard. But if the boats in question try to get away, he would fire a warning shot “which is difficult when you have to try to catch a boat running at full speed.”

Arvi with DENR and LGU officials at the launch of Be Green, Fly Green

How Carbon Offset Works

The marine reserves could be dangerous when the bad guys move in stealth. But the message time and again has been made clear— that El Nido has to stay a paradise.

Be Green, Fly Green

Manila

El Nido

1 flight = 2,268 kg CO2

CO2

O2

Water

Conservation Makes Business Sense

6 trees per passenger = 1 round trip flight

Arvi Pérez, who served as general manager of the resort-owned airline ITI until 2012, says the airline’s Carbon Offsetting Program was inspired by the overall philosophy of ACC to protect the environment. He had worked previously at the Philippine Airlines but knew very little about climate change, so he joined the advocacy group Klima. Arvi attended seminars to find out how to calculate airplane carbon

Voices from the Islands

37

Signage banning carrying of shells and sand at Lio Airport

emissions, and mitigate their impact by planting trees. With assistance from WWF Philippines, the airline estimated that it would need to plant six trees for each of its 19 passengers for one round trip to offset the carbon emissions from the flights.

One of the activities funded by GEF is the Coral Reef Restoration and Education Program in Tres Marias, a picturesque cluster of limestone islets in Bacuit Bay. A former dive site, the coral reefs of Tres Marias had been pulverized by dynamite fishing, and also suffered damage from coral bleaching and typhoons. Seacology, a US-based NGO, donated $20,000 for the purchase, assembly, and installation of EcoReefs that resembled snowflakes to rebuild the reefs. When they were installed in 2006, El Nido was only the second in the world to receive the ceramic modules, after Bunaken National Park in Manado, Indonesia.

The area was closed off to tourists, and the multi-stakeholder Task Force Tres Marias was organized to manage the project.

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Arvi said it was also during the time of ACC that the airline decided to stop carrying live fish because it was promoting the use of cyanide, which destroys coral reefs. Baggage are checked diligently for shells, sand, and other natural resources that some tourists collect as “souvenirs” when they leave El Nido.

Arvi is understandably proud of the fact that ITI became the first airline in the Philippines to offer a carbon offset program to its passengers.

“I felt we were ahead of everyone in terms of sustainability and care for the environment,” he says. Each passenger contributes P200 that goes to nurseries for endemic seedlings, tree planting, and the upkeep of three watershed areas totaling 333 hectares.

The tree-planting project also involved the municipal government of El Nido, the Protected Area Office, and the barangay of Villa Libertad—where Lio airport is located—in a long-term Watershed Rehabilitation Program.

Conservation Makes Business Sense

Miniloc staff waving goodbye

CHAPTER 5

Happy Employees Mean Happy Guests ALONG WITH REVENUE GENERATION and environmental protection, ACC sought to get popular support for their philosophy.

This meant getting the staff to be part of the decision-making process, in contrast to the top-down approach of the past. Leigh credits former TKDC President Bertie Lim for bringing in a fourth dimension, employee satisfaction, to achieve quadruple bottom line results.

“Happy employees mean happy guests,” says Bertie. This is necessary in practicing the Japanese concept of “omotenashi”—or anticipating

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(Below) Lagen staff; (Right) Fun Day 2006 for resort staff

the needs of clients—expressed in the warm welcome and goodbye rituals that have long been their trademark and has been copied elsewhere.

Tapped as Tourism Secretary after he left El Nido, Bertie is proud to see many former employees bringing lessons learned at Ten Knots to resorts across the country.

In 2003 ACC embarked on Melissa Gil (right) taking Ten Knots with Leigh to the next levelbuilding on the already established reputation and brand and creating a future that would include a vision where El Nido could compete globally. Ex-McKinsey consultant Melissa Gil, who was also an ACC director, was asked to review the Marketing Strategy and conduct an Organizational Diagnostic—a first after years of El Nido operations.

Melissa spoke with a cross section of employees—many of whom were from the towns of El Nido and Taytay.

She recalls:

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Sample Quadruple Bottom Line (QBL) Management Plan Financial Growth

2013

Update

1. Exceed reservations by xxxx vs 2012 2. Increase market presence 3. Improve digital marketing via developing mobile app 4. Established ATR aircraft opns by Q1 5. Increase farm produce by 20%

1. Forecast to exceed by xxxx vs 2012 2. Articles published by Conde Nast, NY Times, WSJ 3. Mobile app still underway

4. Done

5. Increased farm produce more than expected

2014

Update

1. Implement Farm Management Accounting and Reporting by Q3 2. Build additional 3 greenhouses and 2 pigpens 3. Complete LIO runway renov & CAAP certification

1. Done and will be incorporated in the next accounting period 2. Done

3. To be completed

by Q1 2013

1. Will be done by a professional within 2013 2. Done

3. Done

Environmental Stewardship

1. Produce new Be GREEN videos 2. Designate a site as Marine Sanctuary

3. Gather 2 intl awards

1. Be GREEN video for updating 2. Planning a coral rehab project in Apulit with ACF 3. Awarded Asia Rooms Best Eco-Friendly Initiative, Tourism for Tomorrow Award for Community Benefit category

1. Produce new sustainability and dive videos 2. Quarterly case studies of environmental practices 3. Accomplish maintenance dashboard for water, power, fuel, solid waste monitoring

Community Engagement

1. Database mapping of natural and human resources of barangays 2. Conduct two training sessions with fishermen and Women’s Coop in El Nido town 3. Conduct community training on F&B, housekeeping, and environmental protection

1. With ACF, conduct manpower resource profiling per brgy 2. Working with Ayala Foundation, focus on Villa Libertad and Sibaltan brgy first 3. Scheduled training on Customer Service and First Aid

1. Database mapping of natural and human resources of brgys 2. Conduct Be GREEN training sessions in El Nido town 3. Organize wellness lectures in the community

1. To be completed by 2013.

2. Conducted 4 sessions with 240 participants

3. Conducted Dengue, Hypertension, and Leptospirosis awareness in El Nido town

Organizational Development

1. Invite speakers from American Hotel and Lodging Educational Institute to train front liner staff 2. Improvement of staff living conditions in all properties in Q4

1. To be scheduled on the first week of August

2. PIR – staff kitchen and basketball court,LIR – interior renov, MIR – interior renov, AIR – construction of MQ/ re-planning of staff room assignments

1. Accomplish reorg and incentive plans for S&M 2. Inter-resort cross training of resort staff 3. Target 3 recruitment programs in partnership with Palawan’s top 3 universities 4. Printing of employee handbook by Q3

1. Done and implemented by Q3 2. Done during the closure of Lagen 3. Done with 5 recruitment programs in PP, Taytay, El Nido town 4. Distribution to be completed

by December

Difficult to achieve

On-going

Done

Happy Employees Mean Happy Guests

“It was incredible, the level of detail each staff member spoke about their guests they remembered returning guests, anecdotes about what made particular visits memorable for the guests, what they had done to create these memories.

Each story was told with pride and joy even if it had meant getting up at dawn to prepare for a sunrise kayak and ending the day past midnight because of an island dinner.”

Melissa remembers how the employees, one after another, spoke about the preparation for guests, the long days ahead, the coordination with Manila, with so much pride because they felt they had pulled off something special. Daily rituals like the welcome song or the goodbye at the wharf could have been monotonous after a few weeks, but there was always something to look forward to since each guest and each experience was seen as unique.

In trying to get the staff involved, Leigh found a kindred spirit in Marigs, who had been in charge of El Nido Resorts’ environment activities. Firm action was necessary, starting with the core of the company. The challenge would be to engage the employees, of which 85 percent came from the poblacion of El Nido or other parts of Palawan.

A high quality of hospitality service is the key to a great guest experience, and human resource managers of the resorts such as Fe Muit and Mimi Reyes gave priority to hiring locally.

At times, they even organize job fairs with the Palawan State University and the Western Philippines University—the two biggest tertiary institutions in the province—to recruit prospective staff.

Happy Employees Mean Happy Guests

Be GREEN Campaign Thus an idea gave birth to “Be GREEN,” GREEN which stood for Guard, Respect, Educate El Nido. It entailed a series of training for the staff, to make them think and understand, to make them do what’s right for the environment.

There were quizzes and contests. This was to be among the pillars of the Quadruple Bottom Line philosophy.

It was business combined with preserving the environment, and consequently adding satisfaction to both the guests and the employees.

“There was a commitment to oneness,” said Etienne. “We just walked the walk,” instead of simply talking about it. That had started with Leigh, he said, and then it was he and Mike Vaca (the chief financial officer) and Marigs (the environmental expert) coming down to implement it.

Marigs brought in her small army of young ‘environmental officers’ to do the educating, the changing of mindset among the staff. These young girls, who were fresh graduates from the University of the Philippines far away in Manila, were going to be the movers of change.

Macy Añonuevo was the first to arrive on Miniloc. Fresh out of school, she relished the thought of an adventure—in El Nido, no less. For a biology graduate, this was the place to be for a start. Two others followed, Kring Soriano and then Rima de Dios.

They were to be the ‘officers’ of the Environmental Management Team, with the independence to run things as they saw fit.

Marigs gave them the wherewithal of training the staff. In four consecutive days—which was going to be the first of succeeding ones under the Be GREEN program—the staff was given a rundown

Environment Officers Kring Soriano, Macy Añonuevo-Arcega, and Rima de Dios

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of the four major topics that would also include environmental laws. A tool kit for the Environmental Management System involved the following: Solid Waste Management/Water Conservation/Energy Conservation/ Biodiversity Conservation.

Be GREEN programs: putting up Miniloc and Lagen consumption charts; planting and recycling, staff training

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The young officers made it as informative as possible, explaining matters in simple terms and foregoing the mind-boggling scientific jargon.

They were as simple as suggesting that taking a walk between short distances might be better than revving up a motorcycle engine, or that one doesn’t have to leave the tap water running while brushing teeth. But most of all,

they have to avoid telling guests their kwentong kutsero or tall tales about the wildlife around the islands.

The trainings were hammering down a point, that their jobs in the resorts were not merely setting tasks and routines. They had a bigger responsibility and they had to know why. They had to be reminded that Palawan is a biodiversity hotspot, what with the heavy loss of forests and marine life in recent years. They had to understand that ‘endemic’ species of which Palawan was in abundance didn’t give anyone the right to poach or kill them off—which eventually came down to being ‘endangered.’

Happy Employees Mean Happy Guests

It was their duty to know this by heart and to live it. The resorts that gave them employment depended on them to steer the flagship of sustainable tourism. Slowly, but it had to be done properly in incremental steps.

‘What can a member of El Nido Resorts staff do?’

This was a question Kring would often raise in the trainings. First, they have to be aware of where El Nido stands— a protected area in the wider scheme of Palawan, where, like in other parts of the country, there has been rampant illegal logging, illegal fishing, and just about anything that people think they can get away with; and what happens in Palawan ripples outward, to the rest of the country, to the world.

It wasn’t always quick and easy for the environmental officers to be laying out the rules; some of the staff challenged their authority, unwilling to let go of their preconceived notions. When that happened, they stuck to research, finding out what is right.

The limestone forests that draw in tourists year after year have been around for ages. Bacuit Bay holds 45 islands of these natural towers, Miniloc and Lagen among them.

The corals are living organisms, not lifeless underwater rocks as the local people had mistakenly thought all along; and in the corals life begets life that could feed people.

The environmental officers were aware that they were outsiders. They were ready for challenges, following their dreams to this corner of paradise. Having little in common with the local staff, they banded

Happy Employees Mean Happy Guests

together. “We were not always on the same wavelength,” Rima remembered.

“We wound up hanging out by ourselves, talking among ourselves.”

The camaraderie with the rest had to take its own course, and although they had all the time in the world for this “fun job” they got themselves into, there were matters they could not solve nor change right away.

After some time, Macy got bored.

“There was no clear picture as to what they wanted me to do on a day-today basis,” she said. She shuffled everywhere, from helping out at the front desk to being a custodian, even helping out guests to put on a pair of diving fins. And then she had a flicker of an idea: with her Canon camera that had a measly four megapixels at that time, before the age of selfies and smartphones, she had put together video segments of “Enchanting El Nido.” It was an amateurish attempt, but they are by now recorded documentation of the early days of the byword eco-tourism, easily downloaded from YouTube.

Pulling along the two other girls with her, they went on to shoot their own videos about the species in the water and the scientific studies made about them, and the wonders of the flora and fauna of El Nido. They talked about the organic farm and the material recovery facility for waste compost and recycling.

They talked about many other things for the sake of educating people about the practices of caring and nurturing the environment. Unknown to them, they were to serve as impetus for a paradigm shift, especially among the largely local staff that was still used to the old ways.

Scaling the Kitchen Ladder With ACC, management exerted efforts in giving the local kitchen staff an opportunity to rise from the ranks. About ten kitchen crew were sent to train in five-star hotels in Manila, at the Mandarin and the Sofitel. It was done during the low season, a trip paid entirely by the company—round-trip flights, board and lodging, and monthly salary.

They were picked from different departments: the kitchen, food and beverage, purchasing, accounts, etc. This was a chance for their promotion, and if they could prove they’ve got what it takes to reach supervisory or managerial level, it’s theirs for the taking. This was part of ACC’s quadruple bottom line, giving employees a chance to learn good work ethic and benefit in the growth of the company.

Chef Jose “Boyet” Ramos

One of the managers the resorts brought in was Jun de Castro for the Food and Beverages department. Previously with the InterContinental and Marriott Hotels, he raised the quality and service of the entire F&B team to an unprecedented level, developing new dining concepts such as sunrise breakfasts on hilltops, sunset cocktails on rafts, private sand bar dinners, and candle-lit dining for honeymooners.

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From the kitchen, one of the staff who scaled the career ladder was Jose Ramos, known to everyone by his diminutive name Boyet.

He has come a long way, migrating from Cavite province to get a menial job in Palawan. Boyet began working as a construction hand at the resort, and wound up helping out in the kitchen as a dishwasher. Coming from a family that loved cooking, it might not have been so strange that he easily filled in the vacancy for the staff’s cook, concocting his variety of Filipino dishes. That little kitchen was fondly labeled the “Jollibee,” which made the staff feel at home with their comfort food, as opposed to the westernized dishes served for the guests.

Boyet was so good he was pulled up to the bigger kitchen doing the tournant, taking his turn from handling the ‘cold’ dishes of salads, to the ‘hot’ ones. Under the guidance of Head Chef Ramon Antonio, he learned that “when he tells you to do a fried dish, for example, you give it your

Chef Ramon Antonio with his kitchen crew

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best, not more, not less.” Chef Ramon saw his potential and made him the third in command, the Chef de Partee.

“I made the rounds of my day-to-day duty,” said Boyet of that time.

“There was no rest and it took me two to three years to adapt. For the guests, we couldn’t be mediocre.”

Unconventional in his learning and methods, Chef Ramon passed on his hat to Chef Boyet, who now runs the kitchens of Miniloc and the newlyopened boutique hotels in Lio owned

by Ten Knots. There really was no hat to speak of, as Chef Ramon did away with the formality of wearing a chef’s toque; instead he made the men cooking in the kitchen cover their head with a cowboy-type bandana or shave it altogether, just to make sure not a strand went mixing in with the food by accident.

When his turn came to be the top chef, Boyet recalls telling himself, “this is it, it’s mine to create.” He has lived by the rule that guests should not be made to

wait for more than twenty minutes, and that his kitchen should have its miseen-place all set out. This was quite a turnaround from his construction days at the resort, earning 80 pesos per day, to what is now many times his monthly salary. At 39, he’s at the height of his career and a father of four children, the eldest following his footsteps by studying at a culinary school.

The boats that were critical to the daily operations were the motorized outriggers that could each fit about two dozen passengers. A fleet of those 16 bancas was early on leased from Ellis Lim, a local merchant in town.

Following a devastating typhoon, he decided to sell them off, leaving the resorts’ management worried the boats might end up in the wrong hands.

That was when Orly de la Cruz came into the picture. He was an employee and his future was about to change, serving as an example of the trust and opportunity offered to the men and women of El Nido Resorts.

Buffet spread on boat for Henrik, Prince of Denmark

Happy Employees Mean Happy Guests

(Top) Orly dela Cruz; (Clockwise from left) Palawanmade dinghies; MB Pawikan ferries guests to the airport; Bancas for island-hopping

Orly’s dream had always been to have a boat of his own. He finished a college degree in marine engineering, but jobs had been scarce so he wound up working temporarily as a room attendant in the resort. That chance led him to another, taken in by the purchasing department followed by accounting. However, he didn’t lose sight of the sea, which was his love.

He took a course in scuba diving that was partially sponsored by the resort, until he learned to be a dive master.

He became a guide for the marine sports department, from where he moved up to being a supervisor.

Still, his dream was clear and for that, he saved much of his salary, opening a bank account in Manila during one of the free yearly trips given to employees. When his savings piled up, he went back to Manila again to buy the materials for his boat. In five months, his first boat was done.

He leased it out to the resort on a daily arrangement, and from that income he bought his second boat two years later.

When ACC management came to him with a proposal, it became a chance of a lifetime for Orly and his wife, who was working at the resorts’ housekeeping and restaurant. Management offered

Happy Employees Mean Happy Guests

to get him a loan to buy out the local merchant’s fleet, which Orly himself would run exclusively for the resorts.

It was an agreement that Orly could not turn down. In all he had 15 in his fleet, eventually: 13 acquired from the merchant (the three others were irreparable) and the two of his own.

For about five years now, he’s been the master of the El Nido boat service, upgrading the boats as time goes.

“I’ve been so lucky,” he said, “they saw me as someone they could trust.”

Professionals in the Province The focus on sustainability was conveyed to the employees, many of whom were from the towns of El Nido and others from around the island province of Palawan.

In the surge of tourism, the town could not keep up with the sudden construction boom of pensions, eateries here and there, outriggers crowding the shore of the bay.

Leonardo Viana—Dondon to many— saw this happening and worried where the future might lay. He had been one of those “brainwashed,” his good-natured term for the

Be GREEN training he underwent, into the do’s and don’ts of keeping the surroundings safe. He was among those promoted to a supervisory position, he was there at beach dinners and gatherings animating the guests, he was called frequently for interviews for the awards, and he was lucky to have been sent to Manila for training at the Mandarin hotel.

It struck him that his work was in essence a mission for El Nido, for his neighbors and the town itself. It was through employees like him that ACC built its pillar for sustainable tourism.

“Here we have the heart for work.

We work because we love our work.”

Leonardo “Dondon” Viana

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What they and others have learned in the resorts were translated into action even after they have left, as a matter of choice. Dondon Viana left when he was offered to run the operations of a boutique hotel in town, called Spin Hostel catering mostly to backpackers and young travelers. This was his chance to duplicate the virtues of Be GREEN.

(Screengrab from YouTube)

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As was done in Miniloc and Lagen, Dondon made sure that his new set of guests, mostly backpackers, were briefed on environmental rules.

He put waste management in place and installed a sewage treatment plant, sustainable practices he learned like second nature in the almost 20 years of working in El Nido Resorts.

After some time, things did change and their efforts paid off. Getting the French television production of ‘Survivor’ got the El Nido Resorts back in the headlines, which Joy described as a “milestone” after being in the blacklist. Their reputation was sealed when, at an annual travel trade event of the Philippine Travel Exchange, a French tour operator gave the El Nido Resorts the appointment that others were desperately waiting in line for.

As part of their marketing strategy, the El Nido Resorts began hosting filming of various national editions of Survivor, Koh Lanta, and the U.S. reality TV hit, Amazing Race. In 2011, ACC shareholder Shari Sant Plummer introduced to the resorts her neighbors in Malibu California, Cathleen Summers and Patrick Crowley, Marketing Sustainable Tourism who was a producer of the Jason Word of mouth soon spread throughout Bourne movies. This led to the filming the world of tourism about the changes of the spectacular El Nido closing scene of “Bourne Legacy” with at El Nido Resorts. Occupancy rose, Jeremy Renner and Rachel Weisz. and Miniloc and Lagen were taking on the reputation of being the ‘green Under ACC, the resorts took an active hotels’ in the country, where guests approach toward sustainability, in were given the “feeling like you’re in Joy’s words. This drove her sales and your house,” said the marketing team of Joy Denoga-Bautista, Bambi Samson marketing team to meet revenue targets while pushing for the ‘green and Apple Lina. marketing’ in which potential guests have to be likewise involved. They They were putting the word out used eco-friendly paper for their there from the head office in Makati, sales collaterals (even if it was more but it wasn’t easy after the terrorist expensive than the normal paper), kidnappings in May 2001, one that reduced their print volume, and happened at the Dos Palmas resort emailed e-flyers to agents and clients. off Honda Bay further south in central They also lessened air travel, doing Palawan. Joy remembered those teleconferencing instead. They difficult days of trying to sell tourism monitored and controlled expenses. again during the “wrecked years of marketing efforts.” At one tourism Selling the attraction of Miniloc forum for Southeast Asian countries, no tour operators would meet with her and Lagen wasn’t as easy as having to sell other destinations, simply team. “They dropped us like a sack of because it’s pricey, Bambi explains. hot potatoes, refusing to sell anything from Palawan,” she said. “We really had It required a minimum number of days, the resorts were remote and to work hard to get back in the game.”

Happy Employees Mean Happy Guests

“Here we have the heart for work.

We work because we love our work.”

with limited facilities and amenities, and guests had to fly over on smaller aircraft. Hard work and passion reversed the situation, and soon “clients saw our authenticity and our integrity,” becoming loyal customers who would return regularly.

Josie Manabat-Miranda, who was sales and reservation manager from 1996 to 2010, had seen the impressive change happen. She saw the struggle of offering high rates compared to competitors, and how this had to be compensated for the value of money. They were looked up to by travel partners and tourism organizations in the country; and in El Nido the local community likewise blended in with their environmental initiatives.

(Top) Joy Denoga-Bautista; (Middle left) Joy and Josie Manabat-Miranda [right] with a travel agent; (Bottom right) Joy with Mitzi Canafranca [second from right] and DOT officials The El Nido Resorts Sales and Marketing Team waved the green flag. They met revenue targets while pushing for ‘green marketing’ in which potential guests have to be likewise involved. They used eco-friendly paper for their sales collaterals (even if it was more expensive than normal paper), reduced their print volume, and emailed e-flyers to agents and clients. They also lessened air travel, doing teleconferencing instead. The environmental pitch was intense but the guests, as it turned out, eventually appreciated it.

Happy Employees Mean Happy Guests

The environmental pitch was intense but the guests, as it turned out, eventually appreciated it. In emails sent to them, the marketing team showed to them the value of the turtle hatchery, for example, or the coastal cleanup. Every day, emails went out to potential guests. “It wasn’t selling in the beginning...but then we started getting inquiries about it.

We realized people were interested,” said Josie. From then on, the El Nido Resorts Sales and Marketing Team waved the green flag.

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Bernard Enero

Chris Sugale

Angelo Romero

Ronald Ranit

Wilmer Guzman and Eric Llanera

Sea Scouts training

They are in the front line for every El Nido guest. Guides from the Guest Activity Marine Sports department, or GAMS for short, have undergone trainings for Be GREEN, first aid, and the Sea Scouts. They are expected to be knowledgeable about local flora and fauna, especially those endemic to Palawan. Most of the marine guides grew up in Palawan, so they share the local culture and folklore with a sense of pride.

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They are assigned to the same guests for the duration of their stay, accompanying them in their daily activities of island hopping, hiking, snorkeling, kayaking, fishing.

Bernard Enero started as a construction hand in Miniloc in 1992, then moved to gardening before becoming a marine guide.

He is now the GAMS Assistant Supervisor for Miniloc.

Chris Sugale and Angelo Romero both started in housekeeping before becoming marine guides in Miniloc.

In 2004, Jeff “Kayak� Angeles arrived with a delivery of newlyordered kayaks from Coron. He decided to stay and become a kayak instructor in Miniloc.

Joie Ulanday started as a waiter, and later became GAMS

Supervisor in Miniloc. He is currently the Marine Boats and Bancas Supervisor.

Arnel Tamayusa started as an airport representative before he became a guide in Lagen.

Abet Alagao from Puerto Princesa started as a marine guide in Miniloc before moving up as GAMS Team Leader in Lagen, where he is often seen sailing Hobie cats with guests.

Happy Employees Mean Happy Guests

Jolly Gomez

Joie Ulanday

Jolly Gomez started as a gardener in Lagen in 1999 before becoming a marine guide and dive master. He became the GAMS Supervisor for Lagen in 2008, and GAMS Supervisor for Pangulasian in 2013.

Arlie Juarez started as a marine guide in the original Pangulasian resort in the 1990s, before moving to Lagen as a dive master and later as GAMS Supervisor.

Marine guides training

Arlie Juarez

Arlie later competed nationally in windsurfing.

for a Sangguniang Bayan post in El Nido town.

The resorts also attracted dive masters from Manila such as Dave Gorres, Chris Ng and Alex Paglinawan, who all started their careers in Miniloc. From Palawan, among the local dive masters are the veteran Papa Dong Adriano, Arnel Cardente, Nonoy Fabregas, Bernie Malana. Sonny Llaneras, one of the dive masters, later ran

One of the veteran dive masters in El Nido Resorts is Rommel Suan from Cuyo, an island municipality in northern Palawan.

He trained in the Red Sea when he was working in Saudi Arabia from 1993 to 2000. When he returned to the Philippines, he persistently called Ten Knots’ then Human Resource manager

Happy Employees Mean Happy Guests

Rommel Suan

for a job. He had always wanted to work in El Nido ever since he was a young boy.

Rommel appreciated the Be GREEN program, learning about nature interpretation and practicing what he learned even outside of his work.

Asked why he chose to stay with El Nido Resorts for almost 16 years, he simply replied: “As a Palaweño, I was placed here by God, to be in El Nido.”

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Lio Airport singers

CHAPTER 6

Engaging the Local Community EL NIDO IS A CELEBRATION OF NATURE and with it, the senses.

This is how Chef Ramon remembered it, how it brought out the artist in him and by which he ran the kitchen of the island resorts.

He didn’t want to be called a chef, although that was what he was hired for. In his world, he was a kusinero who created his recipes out of El Nido’s natural ingredients where everything was fresh.

He saw the “entire spectrum” of what could be done to please the palates and the stomachs. Being in El Nido magnified the memories

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of his childhood in Cebu where a garden consisted of vegetables, not flowers, and where his family gathered in the kitchen in a healthy competition of outdoing each other’s recipes. He worked for a Swiss company in charge of a restaurant that became his ‘stage’ in the art of cuisine. In the kitchens of Miniloc and Lagen, he was the master.

El Nido overwhelmed him. For one thing, it had a massive trove of edible plants, and he was amazed by the colors that decorated his dishes.

He liked spices, mentioning a kind of ginger called galangal. There were four kinds of limes not easily found elsewhere in the country. There was simplicity in his creation, and yet he knew it would have to be a different kind of satisfaction for the guests. It was not going to be the standard cuisine.

were no longer served. One of the bold moves from ACC, which showed its seriousness in conserving El Nido’s resources, was the decision to remove these prized marine delicacies from the menu in an effort to allow the species’ populations to recover, as their numbers were dwindling in the wild.

Kitchen staff were also instructed to measure fish upon delivery, to make sure that these have already spawned, so that their life cycle is not disrupted.

Fish that were less than 5 cm. in size were banned, and so were crabs that were gravid. Those caught by illegal means, with the use of explosives or poison for instance, were rejected outright.

The fishermen who came to the resorts with huge crates of their catch found themselves at a loss; the old ways of harvesting at whatever cost, whatever means, were not to be tolerated by the ACC bosses

“The job was hard but you won’t feel it because of the huge sensory thing,” he said, despite the fact that ninety percent of his job had to do with managing food operations. When he opened the walk-in freezer in Lagen’s kitchen for the first time, when he arrived in 2005, he was taken aback in shock seeing the chopped heads of leftover lechon hanging by the hooks “as if it came from the Game of Thrones.”

The sight was disturbing. “They died in vain,” he said. He had to teach the staff the idea of “respecting the produce.”

Promoting Sustainable Menus For Chef Ramon, as he would be called nonetheless, there’s a story for every food that goes on the chopping board, and in the pots and pans.

In practical terms, he was adhering to the principles of sustainability that ACC was putting in place and was becoming the law, so to speak.

In a dramatic change of the menu, the sought-after groupers and lobsters

Engaging the Local Community

Chef Ramon Antonio

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About once a week, a cargo boat, the batel, would bring loads of vegetables and spices that were sold at the open market. The prices were staggering for the ordinary folk who could only live by fishing. And for a long while too, even in the kitchens of Miniloc and Lagen, a fairly big chunk of the budget went to food shopping in Manila. For the staff alone, two sacks of rice were consumed each day to provide the staple food.

Screening of fish delivery to the resorts

of El Nido. Fish that are smaller than the minimum size limit rescribed by the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources are not accepted, a lesson for fishers not to harvest juvenile fish that have not yet reached reproductive age.

The education had to begin in the kitchen, among Chef Ramon’s staff of about 80. Because he was from Manila, he was viewed—like others who came before him—as the outsider, somewhat akin to an imperialist, by his underlings from the villages of El Nido, the locals who had their set ways throughout their lives.

The kitchen crew had to learn how to deal with waste that could be used for compost, instead of mixing up the garbage and throwing out the lot altogether, anywhere. They had to know the value of recycling, that every item in the kitchen has its own purpose. They had to be mindful of shutting off the lights to save energy when not in use, or the tap to save precious water.

Back to the lechon he saw in the freezer, Chef Ramon simply showed them how the carcass could be made into another dish, one that could be just as tasty and delicious mixed with herbs and spices. At the start, he wasn’t happy with the petty pilferage that had been a practice in the past:

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stashing a few things here and there under their buckets supposedly used for collecting food waste for pig slop.

That too had to be stopped.

Understandably, life wasn’t easy in the mainland, where a good portion of the population lived. The municipality has known poverty, as El Nido’s land was not suitable for agriculture; semienclosed by the limestone mountains, the tiny town was a flat valley for some grazing. They raised chickens for animal protein in their diet, though that was vastly limited; they ate pork as luxury. They had seafood every day when the sea was their bounty.

He’d noticed there was something off in the kitchen, some of them missing instructions or ignoring what he’d say.

Without the staff telling him what the problem was, the paranoia among them grew, “the feeling of being inferior, that they might be caught being deaf.”

It took some time for Chef Ramon to discover that there was a hearing deficiency among the staff who were related to one another. Chef Ramon knew where they were coming from; some of them hadn’t finished school, unable to read or write. “In the kitchen,” he said, “it’s not about the salt and pepper, it’s about the human factor.”

For nourishment, the town itself had to rely on food mostly from Manila.

Sourcing Food from Local Communities Little by little, the kitchen staff found an alternative to managing food resources while helping local communities thrive.

Chef Ramon went with Marigs’ team, talking to mayors in different towns from El Nido in the north and down to San Vicente. They made a business offer of supplying the resorts with each of the town’s main livelihood, and by doing so with higher yields, the extra produce was sold at the tabuan, the weekly market, at regular prices. The dynamics of small-town entrepreneurship began to change, likewise affecting the lives of the communities in positive ways.

One prime example was the mango, for which Palawan is famous for having just the right sweetness of the fruit.

In the high season of the resorts’ occupancy, somewhere from October to May, each resort could consume as much as 90 kilos per day. The kitchen took in as many local products as they could, thereby adding authenticity to the cuisine and in turn giving value to the toil and hardship of the local farmers.

Overall, doing this brought down the food shopping cost to 20 percent.

In due time, as the ACC priorities to protecting the environment took shape, other ideas unfolded.

The El Nido Resorts were ready for organic farming.

Engaging the Local Community

The Inigtan Farm greenhouses filled several kinds of salads, the lettuce, arugula, romaine and others, supplying 65 percent of the kitchens’ needs

The four-hectare farm hidden in Sitio Inigtan in the mainland became the savior for the kitchens. It used compost for organic fertilizer, combining pig manure, carbonized rice hull, and vermicast to make the soil grow vegetables and herbs that were otherwise difficult to do in El Nido’s hard clay soil. Nine

Engaging the Local Community

greenhouses filled several kinds of salads, the lettuce, arugula, romaine and others, supplying 65 percent of the kitchens’ needs. The farm was an ideal garden of bounty, a plant at every turn, lemongrass and mint growing at corners; beans, cucumbers, bell peppers, okras, kale sprouting.

It also has a piggery providing feeds of natural bran, juice, molasses, and a free-range poultry as well—the ‘happy’ pigs and chickens as they were branded. ‘Happy’ in that the resort kitchens were buying locally grown pork and chicken, and that what they had were served for the goodness of the food table.

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(Above left) “Happy Pigs” project in collaboration with the El Nido Foundation; (Top) Rosario “Chat” Jaboli; (Left) The yellow outrigger boat of Marigs fondly called “Nat Geo”

Building Local Partnerships Marigs’s staff assistant, Rosario Jaboli, remembered the early years of establishing relationships with the communities, the difficulties and differences in dealing with local leaders who wanted to have their say. Rosario, nicknamed Chat, was equipped with communicating with them since she was a native of El Nido and understood the verbal nuances and body language.

She was the liaison to the local government units from whom she had to obtain or renew permits for the resorts.

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Engaging the Local Community

A major factor in El Nido’s transformation as a model of sustainability is the fact that the town has been run by a straight succession of lady mayors and vice mayors since 1998: Edna Gacot-Lim, Leonor Corral, and Nieves Rosento all value the importance of protecting the environment of El Nido.

(Clockwise from top left) Mayor Edna Lim with Leigh and Marigs; Mayor Nieves Rosento with Vince; Mayor Leonor Corral inaugurating new genset

In those early days she and Marigs went around the island communities in a yellow outrigger fondly named “Nat Geo.” From one place to another, they listened to the voices of the people, what they needed or demanded, what they expected from the resorts in terms of jobs and privileges.

When a problem cropped up, Chat said she had to be the ‘front’ shielding Marigs from the petty squabbles.

Because the resorts’ management was perceived as the power dominating El Nido, the source of wealth and employment, there was a natural tendency to look up to them for answers and favors. Nevertheless, a major factor in El Nido’s transformation as a model of sustainability is the fact that the town has been run by a straight succession of lady mayors and vice mayors since 1998: Edna

El Nido Foundation had set up a laundry cooperative in a local barangay for a livelihood project when spring water was tapped and piped down to the village.

Laundry bags of linen

from Lagen were brought there to be washed by the women.

After a while, the guests started noticing that their bedsheets did not smell fresh.

There were whiffs of scents from a kitchen

Engaging the Local Community

Gacot-Lim, Leonor Corral, and Nieves Rosento all value the importance of protecting the environment of El Nido.

Dealing with governance at the local level was challenging. That was a given in most cases, and the resorts as well as other non-government organizations sometimes had to find ways of making the communities responsible for their needs.

and of food. As it turned out, the women had been hanging the wash outdoors to dry where they were cooking their meals with firewood. The project had to come to an end.

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Local women make buri bags and hats for the resorts

As tourism boomed, Chat supported the LGU regulations of how things ought to be ran, encouraging the town to deal with the changes both good and bad. The rapid success of tourism had its pitfalls when it came to the standards of environmental

The resorts promote cashew nuts from El Nido

each of the villages could offer to sell or produce for the resorts, thereby winning a deal for either side: the resorts would have better access to local goods and the communities in turn could earn from it. This led to In the survey of their visits, Marigs and Chat were able to identify what product a livelihood for the making of cogon, bamboo, nipa to be used for the buildings of the resorts’ cottages inspired by ethnic taste. Women Judith and Tani Distal of weavers made bags and slippers Art Café were the pioneer out of buri or abaca for souvenirs. protection. The hurry to do business often neglected the consequences of physical damage to natural resources and the communities.

general sales agent in El Nido town appointed by ITI since 2007. This allowed local community and other tourists to fly on ITI. Judith and Tani first started printing T-shirts for the resorts and later opened the popular Art Café. Judith is a Swiss native from St. Gallen who settled in El Nido and became a Filipina citizen after she married Tani, the founder of the El Nido Tour Guide Association.

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They set their sights on community leaders who were industrious and eager to work. They handed out seeds to plant new crops suitable to dry land. In the low season, however, it became a problem when farmers dropped their sacks of produce at the resort office in town expecting to be paid, exceeding the order of what the purchasing department had agreed to buy, and Chat would have to find a middle ground.

Engaging the Local Community

In any case, Marigs, Chat and the rest of the Ten Knots Central Office Team of Alex Dalabajan and Bernard Maraguinot saw to it that there was an equal partnership with the communities along the lines of keeping the environment true to its nature.

As part of their service to the community, the resorts’ resident doctors would make regular visits and

Managing the Protected Area As early as 1994, when the Ten Knots group created the El Nido Foundation (ENF), there was a clear realization that the company needed to become more involved in local activities to become a genuine partner in protecting the unique marine environment of the town. Carlos Soriano, one of the Filipino investors of ACC, is credited for leading the establishment of ENF. “We needed an ambassador in the community to develop our credibility, to become our social development arm,” says Bertie, who remained the chairman of ENF after leaving Ten Knots.

attend to the medical needs of the barangays. On a few occasions, resort doctors such as Rico Quimbo, Allen Tria, JP Malenab and Vanessa Garner have even rushed to a medical emergency in town such as the difficult delivery of a baby, or the serious injury of a tourist who fell while climbing the limestone cliffs at the back of the poblacion.

The Board of El Nido Foundation was a dedicated and diversified group. Aside from Bertie as chairman, Empire East CEO Charlie Yu serves as President and Irma Rose Marcelo as Executive Director. Renowned academics such as national scientist Dr. Edgar Gomez, mangrove expert Dr. Flor Tesoro, Conservation International regional director Dr. Mark Erdmann, the late

Marigs and Chat were able to identify what product each of the villages could offer to sell or produce for the resorts, thereby winning a deal for either side. meteorologist Rey Punongbayan and the late Health Secretary Quasi Romualdez, were joined by business executives Oscar Reyes and Facundo Roco, both formerly of Shell Philippines. Also on the board were local community leaders Carmelita Acosta and Susan Lualhati, together with international NGO expert Jojo Pastores, with Leigh as the representative of El Nido Resorts.

ENF was instrumental in the creation of the Protected Area Management Board of El Nido-Taytay Managed Resource Protected Area in 1998, and served as its secretariat for some time. The board plays a critical role in evaluating proposed projects in the environmentally critical area, as well as law enforcement.

Bertie looks back with a tinge of regret that Ten Knots lobbied for the road that connects El Nido to Puerto Princesa, saying the biggest challenge to the municipality now is that it is being overwhelmed by tourists.

President Macapagal-Arroyo meeting with El Nido Foundation’s Bertie Lim and Maius Marcelo, with Leigh, Vince, Arvi, Mayor Edna Lim, Vice-Mayor Leonor Corral and Governor Joel Reyes.

Engaging the Local Community

When ACC came in, the Ten Knots group continued its active community participation through the El Nido Environmental Law Enforcement Council. Resort staff joined patrols, while the Management Committee held annual meetings with municipal officials to discuss key projects and other areas of collaboration.

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The Asian Conservation Foundation In 2002, ACC created the Asian Conservation Foundation (ACF) as a “super NGO that would look for partners and receive donations” in line with the company’s sustainable financing efforts, Leigh says. The original incorporators of ACF were Leigh and Bertie, Ed Tongson and Luz Baskinas of WWF Philippines, and Joy Duran, former president of Culion Foundation. The goal of ACF is long-term conservation of marine and coastal biodiversity through innovative partnerships involving private companies, LGUs, foundations, and the local community. It became the conduit for the funds from the carbon offset initiative with ITI that was used for watershed rehabilitation, with the ACF getting wild seedlings from the forest instead of relying on nurseries, executive director Chestnut Amatong says. Aside from passenger fees, the resorts provided an annual donation from every guest to ACF. In addition, ACF received donations from guests of Fernando Zobel who celebrated his 50th birthday in El Nido, in lieu of material gifts.

(Clockwise from top left) Environment Information Center for tourists built by ACF; Jolly Gomez and Chestnut Amatong; Jacquez Arzaga monitoring turtle nest hatching

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The funds were used to provide grants for qualified projects, organizations, or community-based activities that would help ACC achieve ecological sustainability and realize environmental standards. Projects included the rehabilitation of buoys in nine dive sites, fish and coral reef surveys, and geo-mapping of Taytay and El Nido. On the island of Dilumacad, ACF set up a turtle hatchery, and a nature information center for boat operators and tourists inaugurated by Prince Albert of Monaco.

Engaging the Local Community

Marigs, Bertie and Apple Lina releasing a rescued turtle with young guests

CHAPTER 7

Teaching Eco-Practices to Resort Guests WITH NEW ECO RULES IN PLACE, guests were made aware of the changes when they make their booking.

After stepping off the plane at Lio airport in El Nido, they are welcomed with Palaweño songs right at the wharf and a short briefing before boarding the boat or van to their respective resorts. Guest experience at El Nido was going to be different from then on.

Lovely leis made of palm fronds and a refreshing pandan or lemongrass drink await them upon arrival at the resort, where they are given an orientation on what’s to be done. They get a leaflet showing a number of species that they could expect to see: the marine turtles, the birds, and colorful fishes.

In fact, it was common to be greeted by a flock of Palawan Hornbills.

Biodiversity had to be taught in its most elementary form. That lesson was called ‘Nature Interpretation.’

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To reduce the use of plastic water bottles, guests were encouraged to use in-room refillable jugs and refill aluminum bottles from water stations located around the resorts

The staff had to impart the message of sustainability to the guests, who got their education from their guides when out there on a tour of the lagoons, or on picnics at sandbars. When any guest inquired by happenstance about unknown matters, the staff was to respond with, “I’m not sure, but we will check it for you.”

Guests are taken for a tour, if they ask for it, to the two-hectare compound in Bebeladan that has become a demonstration site for environmentally responsible

disposal of garbage. Set up in March 2006 along the rocky shoreline, the tree-lined enclosure has become an unexpected tourist destination, as it resembles a garden patch more than a garbage dump.

Potable drinking water, still, was a necessity. That’s the first thing guests would look for, and, yes, the resorts made a profit out of selling safe bottled water. Who would have thought that managers would clash over it? Water is vital. It is the one more natural commodity on earth that is at risk of being depleted.

Right there and then, Leigh wanted to make a statement about the resorts the minute guests were welcomed on Miniloc and Lagen: they were given recyclable aluminum bottles and those were to be with them for the duration of their stay. They were free to refill them at the water station, they could have as much drinking water as they needed, all in good measure, instead of plastic bottles to be thrown away just like that, not to be discarded as habits people have of empty plastic water bottles once consumed.

The water station was done for the sheer “positive vibe.”

No More Lobsters and Groupers

“El Nido is pristine, filled with amazing corals and hundreds of species of fish. More than that, the El Nido Resorts protect them as they are. They actively involve their guests in environmental monitoring and conservation.

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Naturally, there were guests who missed the days of having lobsters and the coveted lapu-lapu or grouper on their table. “People coming to the resort would say, we came here because it’s Palawan, so why give us what we’re used to eating?” This was

Teaching Eco-Practices to Resort Guests

the feedback Chef Boyet received from the guests. Instead, the kitchen laid out talakitok, maya-maya, tanguigue, malasugi. Chef Boyet, who loved fishing, could make the catch of the day taste good by just adding the right amount of salt.

Guests, especially those from Manila, sometimes asked why the dishes came in different sizes. “Ma’am,” Chef Ramon explained to one guest, “I get the best prawns, I saw them jumping at my face fresh from the water.” In their abundance they came in various sizes, unlike those that were bred in ponds or hatcheries. “All our produce is wild, it’s from here, it’s from mother earth. They taste a hell of a lot better than what you get in restaurants in Manila. I don’t want to kill fish for the sake of killing, not the young ones, not the parents,” he said.

The process had to be selective, according to the rules of biodiversity thriving around the islands. Chinese guests especially came looking for the soup made of the quaint birds’ nests collected and sold at exorbitant prices. That had to be stopped too, partly because the resort management refused to be complicit to the trade that was damaging to the lives of the swiftlets. It came down to educating the guests on the importance of their roles in saving the environment.

Sand bar dinners and candlelit settings were arranged for special events

Teaching Eco-Practices to Resort Guests

Chef Ramon and his staff organized cooking stations, where guests could pick any of the fresh and raw ingredients on the buffet table and have them cooked at their pleasure, by grilling or frying, or roasting.

Here the staff was the “superstars” to the guests, being so natural when they explain the local origins of the food. There was an interaction that was amiable and homey, like with the Consort Prince of Denmark who would come to the breakfast buffet picking on the salted eggs every day.

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Low-impact activities such as kayaking, paddle boarding, and Hobie cat sailing replaced motorized marine sports

But for other foreign guests pining for their home-cooked meals, Chef Ramon was prepared. For a group of Indians who missed their usual spicy food, he used up a gallon of chili powder in less than three days. The Belgians from the cast of a reality TV show were fed with

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French fries, using potatoes that had to be flown in from Manila.

Ordinarily, the staff offered the typical Pinoy fare for the outside adventurers.

Guests could also have their private lunches or dinners on a secluded island

for the sheer romance of it, or on a raft floating on the turquoise waters, or on the sandbar that gives the impression you’re in the middle of nowhere, free from the stress of daily urban life. (To be sure nothing would go wrong, they had an almanac for the moods of the tide).

Teaching Eco-Practices to Resort Guests

In Lagen, the walkway from the reception is the start of the nature trail around the cove, filled with lush plants of interesting origins, such as the sea poison tree which actually heals a stomachache and the deceiving purple fruit similar to star apples, called a suicide tree. Behind the rooms are ferns blooming wide open and the figues of the ficus family that are edible for the birds only. By the pool, one can see a healthy monitor lizard sunbathing in the garden.

In Pangulasian, the trail leads to the hilltop, with trees clearly marked along the way. Down by the beach, the fringing reef is alive with yellowtails and baby sharks. And in Apulit, rappelling is the main attraction; behind the island is a labyrinthine cave with stalagmites, as well as a lush bamboo grove.

(Top) Resort marine guides were often involved with turtle rescues; (Above) Monitor lizards roam the resort grounds

One day, the environment officers found a bloated Hawksbill turtle unable to swim. Since there was no veterinarian on the island, they considered flying it Communing with Nature to Manila for help. One of the guests, To reduce noise pollution and save fuel, seeing their dilemma, challenged them: “If you don’t take the turtle, you’re not banana boat rides and water skiing a green resort.” What were they to do? were discontinued. Motorized marine sports were replaced instead with lowimpact activities such as kayaks, paddle boards, and Hobie cats. These water sports were more in line with ACC’s focus on sustainability.

Resort guests assist in monitoring wildlife through the El Nido Biodiversity Online, a database of El Nido’s flora and fauna launched in 2008. The database contains photos and information about sightings of wildlife, allowing guests to immerse in the outdoor wonders of the islands on Miniloc, Lagen, Pangulasian, and Apulit— the four island resorts of El Nido.

The popular Miniloc has its small and big lagoons that are the tourists’ favorites and the best places for snorkeling where one could even swim with the giant jack trevallies and the resident three-armed turtle fondly called ‘Putol.’

Teaching Eco-Practices to Resort Guests

El Nido Resorts marine guides have been known to go to extremes to make their guests’ experience memorable, such that frequent guests are known to request for the same guide when they return to the resorts. Once, a guest lost her pearl earrings while snorkeling in front of the small lagoon in Miniloc.

Her marine guide swam several times to the sandy bottom, but it was simply impossible to find white pearls against the shifting white sand.

The disappointed guest returned to her resort, but later in the day, she was surprised when her marine guide came back with her lost earrings on his palm.

He had apparently returned to the spot and kept diving until he found her earrings.

Every Christmas, lawyer Chito Buenaventura brings his entire family to stay in Lagen for the holidays.

The senior partner of Romulo Mabanta Buenaventura law firm says: “We love how the staff take ownership over their environment in addition to giving guests a wonderful experience. It is the best example of providing a highquality guest experience while not feeling that the land is being exploited— that the two can co-exist.”

Cecilio Pedro, owner of Hapee Toothpaste and a repeat guest for more than a decade, sums up the sentiment of El Nido Resorts’ satisfied clientele: “It’s the last frontier for the perfect combination of God’s creation and man-made resort, with excellent food and service.”

General Manager Lyba Godio

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The Be GREEN campaign had been inculcated deep into the daily practice of the staff, and it wasn’t made to be a marketing tool to sell a fad. “It was a way of life.”

They brought the turtle to an uninhabited cove, plunged a syringe to extract the air out of its intestines, and waited for it to heal before releasing it back into the water.

understood in line with both saving and protecting the environment.

“We became the policemen,” said Lyba. “Every time we see a guest break the rules we really take action.”

When snorkeling, they cannot step on the corals. They can’t collect starfish or shells either. “If you don’t have a strong sense of what to do, you give it up. It’s not easy

to implement the rules especially if they don’t make the guests happy,” she said.

Lyba remembered having to tell off disobeying and disgruntled guests.

“It wasn’t easy to handle them outright,” she said. The Be GREEN campaign had been inculcated deep into the daily practice of the staff, and it wasn’t made to be a marketing tool to sell a fad.

“It was a way of life,” Lyba said.

Another guest had gone to town and came back to tell them that a Sea Eagle was caged right beside the local environment department’s Protected Area Office, the irony of it. Again, what were they to do about it?

“The guest wanted the resort to resolve the issue but it was not under our jurisdiction to enforce this,” said Rima.

The guest had the right to demand, given that the tourism office collected twenty pesos daily for a fund that was meant to help the local environment.

In the end, the Protected Area Office did its duty and arranged for the release of the sea eagle back to the wild.

A few guests did try to push their agenda contrary to the rules, said former general manager Lyba Godio, who had been a mainstay of the El Nido Resorts. She was a Guest and Marine Sports Supervisor in Miniloc for two years in the late 1990s, and then became assistant resort manager before leaving for stints with Aman resorts and the Maldives. Lured back to El Nido by Leigh as General Manager in 2010, she had the firmness of handling difficult guests and smoothing out a transition for a ‘green’ resort. The rules were

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To engage guests in wildlife monitoring, each one is given the Eco-checklist so they can record sightings during their stay

Teaching Eco-Practices to Resort Guests

El Nido Resorts feature in Town & Country, September 2009

CHAPTER 8

Reaping Awards for Sustainable Tourism TELLING GUESTS ABOUT COMMITMENTS to the environment wasn’t always easy, but it was never difficult, on the other hand, to lure tourists to the magnificent nature of El Nido—with its picturesque islands from where they could see the towering limestone forests, the endemic species of Palawan, the sparkling blue-green waters.

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Reaping ReapingAwards Awardsfor forSustainable Sustainable Tourism Tourism

The ACC was the first to put a stamp on Philippine eco-tourism on the international map, winning both local and international awards. As the company grew, the unique business model of ACC began to gain recognition outside Palawan. Soon, ACC was invited to share its story at conferences in Manila, Kuala Lumpur, Osaka, Singapore, Hong Kong, and as far as Durban in South Africa for the World Parks Congress.

In 2003, the Wharton School featured ACC as a unique business case study on venture capital and entrepreneurial management; and at the same time, the Philippine Business for the Environment featured ACC as a showcase of “how private equity investment can play an important role in preserving biodiversity and protecting the environment.”

The Financial Times wrote in August 2013 about El Nido Resorts as a “pioneering group of private island resorts that is combining luxury with sustainability.”

“Since 2001, El Nido Resorts has been owned and run by the Asian Conservation Company, founded the previous year after a brainstorming session in the area, organised by an arm of the WWF, on how to finance conservation.

The company professes a so-called ‘quadruple bottom line’ that makes goals of conservation and community development alongside employee satisfaction and shareholder profit.”

ACC was sharing its lessons learned with the business and non-profit communities, El Nido Resorts was being noticed by internationally renowned publications and award committees, including the prestigious Conde Nast Traveler magazine that put both Miniloc and Lagen on the map.

(Opposite) Local and international publications put El Nido Resorts on the map; (Above) Philippine Business for the Environment featured ACC as a showcase of “how private equity investment can play an important role in preserving biodiversity and protecting the environment.”

Over the years, the numerous awards garnered by El Nido Resorts have included the following 2006

Conde Nast Green List 2007

Finalist for the Tourism for Tomorrow on Investing in People category Travel & Leisure “Our 15 Favorite Green Hotels” (US Edition) 2008

ASEAN Green Hotel Award for Miniloc and Lagen 2009

Wild Asia Responsible Tourism Award

Reaping Awards for Sustainable Tourism

2010

Sustainable Hotel Award at the Hotel Investment Conference Asia Pacific 2011

Gold Award for Environment Education from the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) for the Be GREEN (Guard, Respect, Educate El Nido) Campaign 2013

Tourism for Tomorrow award for Community Benefit

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“Very close to my heart are the wins for Environmental Education,” said Marigs.

“How many resorts can claim an advocacy program that cuts across the board and has been going on for many years, not just for the staff and guests but also for suppliers and communities near and far?”

Having pioneered many of the endeavors that went into the awards, Marigs says the biggest win of all was the Tourism for Tomorrow’s Community Benefit in April 2013, which acknowledged the resorts’ contributions to the local community.

This prestigious award was the biggest in scope and was sponsored by the World Travel and Tourism Council.

It was one of the few that went through a huge vetting process, going to the extent of sending a representative to validate claims by applicants.

The Tourism for Tomorrow Community Benefit Award was a fitting recognition of Ten Knots’ efforts to bring a sustainable environment to the community in which it works.

The acceptance speech of Marigs in Abu Dhabi in April 2013 eloquently encompasses the 30-year vision of Ten Knots that led to this award.

Marigs gives the acceptance speech at the Tourism for Tomorrow Awards, April 2013

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Reaping Awards for Sustainable Tourism

“The journey to this stage, for me, did not begin when we submitted our awards application in November 2012. Neither did it start when I joined the company in 1995.

It began 31 years ago when Ten Knots opened a dive camp in Miniloc Island with the vision of achieving harmony between nature and the local community. This award is a tribute to our company forebears who were clearly ahead of their time. They may not have called it sustainable tourism back then but their vision was perhaps so sensible that it withstood the test of time.

Thirty one years, I believe, is long enough time for us to be able to claim that we have proven that harmony begets sustainability.

I thank my shareholders, all generations of them, for never having wavered in their commitment to the local community, not even in the days of bad press for our country and zero occupancy at our resorts. I thank my colleagues at work—HR, for ensuring that our percentage of local hire increase year after year, our chefs for continually revising our menus to accommodate local ingredients and consequently improve livelihoods for both the fishermen and the

Reaping Awards for Sustainable Tourism

farmers, and everyone else at Ten Knots who push themselves hard to create space for more things local.

I thank our community partners who continue to rise to the challenges posed by our growing business, such that we continue to engage in dialogues and projects that benefit both of us.

I thank all of you here tonight— WTTC—for sharing with us this ride called sustainable tourism.

You make our job easier in communicating to the market that it does matter whether a destination is environmentally responsible and whether local communities benefit and how much.

We had been witness here in Abu Dhabi to the enormous wealth our planet holds. Tourism, we realize, has the tremendous capability to unlock that wealth, but sustainable tourism ensures that a greater number of people benefit.

Thank you all.”

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Sunset in Bacuit Bay

CHAPTER 9

Transition to New Stewards AS THE RESORTS SURGED FORWARD in improving their operations, the impact of burgeoning tourism in Palawan began to affect them. The major change came from the paving of the road from Puerto Princesa to El Nido. For the first time, El Nido Resorts started getting plenty of walk-in guests. The town proper of El Nido became crowded with tourism establishments that had little regard for environmental protection. Ten Knots was no longer the only major player in town, as mid-range resorts started sprouting in the mainland and competition for the tourist dollar became fierce.

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Within ACC there were differing opinions among the shareholders on how to develop the resorts and land bank, in the face of El Nido’s rapid development. They could not expand any further without infusion of capital, and they wanted a partner with a shared vision to be able to utilize Ten Knots’ expansive land holdings.

Jose “Junie” Jalandoni, head of hotels and resorts for Ayala Land then, was the lead person at Ayala Land who negotiated the joint venture with Leigh. “We were aligned with the philosophy of the existing ACC shareholders of El Nido Resorts, and we wanted to continue what was started by Nissin Sugar and ACC and continue their legacy,” he says.

“ACC had preserved El Nido and kept it pristine and untouched as the last frontier, and we viewed ourselves as future stewards of El Nido.”

The two companies were not exactly strangers, as the Zobel de Ayala family, like Vince, were founders of WWF-Philippines. Even before the turnover, Ayala has had a long history with the El Nido Resorts enterprise.

Former Ten Knots President Bertie says Ayala was eyeing El Nido as early as 1989, when the company approached Nissin about a possible joint venture; Nissin eventually ended up with the Soriano group. Vince said Ayala Land was actually invited to join the ACC group in 2001 but its top executive then, who was more into malls, turned down the offer.

In 2011, ACC entered into a joint venture with Ayala Land Inc. to build a luxury eco-resort in Pangulasian island. It was a buy-in at first, with Ayala getting a 60% stake through a substantial cash infusion. The additional funds from Ayala Land led to a frenzy of activity: construction

Transition to New Stewards

Jaime and Fernando Zobel de Ayala shared the vision for El Nido

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of the 43 eco-luxury villas of a new Pangulasian Island Resort, the paving of a 1,000-meter runway on Lio airport, and the acquisition and renovation of the former Club Noah Isabelle in neighboring Taytay municipality into the Apulit Island Resort. For the first time since 2001, the company also

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borrowed funds to acquire a larger 42-500 ATR turbo-prop aircraft.

Leigh was not worried about the loss of environment protection activities, given their shared principles with the new owners. “We knew and trusted the Zobel brothers, Jaime and Fernando.

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(From left) Junie Jalandoni, Al Legaspi and Laurent Lamasuta of Ayala Hotels continued to institutionalize the environmental sustainability practices of the resorts

She was more concerned about the employees, knowing that Ayala’s corporate urban mindset might not fit the provincial thinking of the staff and the community in which they operated.

In terms of professionalism and concern for the environment, however, she is optimistic that the staff would pass on what they learned to their families. “It will never go back to the way it was before,” Leigh says.

last holdout among the shareholders.

His condition was that he would only agree to an outright sale once the Philippine economy reached investment grade, which was achieved in March 2013. The Tourism for Tomorrow recognition a month later was the feather in the cap for the ACC shareholders. With the resorts gaining a reputation for sustainability and were garnering one award after another, they felt that finally, its quadruple bottom line philosophy was globally recognized as a leading example of sustainable tourism. ACC had successfully accomplished its mission.

“It was the right time to let go,” says Leigh, who remembers Vince as the

Former ACC director Melissa Gil remembers:

They never questioned the retention of the environment department. We knew at the top they were never going to change any of the projects,” she says.

1979 Incorporation of Ten Knots Philippines (TKP)

1982 TKP constructs Dive Camp on Miniloc Island

1992 Incorporation of Ten Knots Development Corporation (TKDC), a joint venture between Nissin Sugar Manufacturing, Co. of Japan and A. Soriano Corporation (ANSCOR) Acquisition of Pangulasian Island resort, the first project of TKDC

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“Interestingly, when we were trying to understand what the vision for El Nido Resorts was relative to where we were in 2003, Leigh spoke about being on the cover of international travel magazines, about being globally competitive and being known for sustainability. It was putting the Philippines back on the map. And that is exactly what ACC has achieved.”

Thus, on November 13, 2013, the real estate conglomerate Ayala Land finally bought out ACC altogether, and became the new owner and steward of El Nido Resorts.

1998

Pangulasian Island resort destroyed by fire in March Lagen Island resort completed in June

2001

Asian Conservation Company acquires majority stake in TKDC

2002 Incorporation of Island Transvoyager Inc., an airline charter company

ANSCOR divests holdings in Ten Knots group

Transition to New Stewards

(Clockwise from top left) The four island resorts of Apulit, Miniloc, Lagen, and Pangulasian; Lio Tourism Estate

2004 IFC obtains approval from Global Environment Facility for project of Asian Conservation Company

2006 Asian Conservation Company completes purchase of TKDC

Transition to New Stewards

2007 Asian Conservation Company completes purchase of TKP

2010 Asian Conservation Company acquires former Club Noah Isabelle Resort and rebrands it as Apulit Island Resort

2011 Ayala Land Inc. (ALI) acquires majority of Ten Knots group

2012 TKDC opens newly constructed Pangulasian Island resort Lio airport upgraded into a 1,000-meter paved runway

2013 Asian Conservation Company bought out of Ten Knots group by Ayala Land

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Financial Times article featuring El Nido resorts

CHAPTER 10

The ACC Philosophy Lives On VINCE PÉREZ BELIEVES the remaining staff will continue what ACC has started, and those who have moved on will bring with them the principles of being green.

“We were able to institutionalize a lot of things,” says Vince.

He believes the remaining staff will continue what ACC started, as “they’re the natural stewards of El Nido.”

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Eduardo Martinez-Miranda, one of the founders of ACC, supports the positive outlook of Vince. He believes the staff in El Nido have absorbed many of the business and ecological principles introduced by ACC to the resorts. “In a way it’s in good hands,” he concurs.

There can be no doubt about that from testimonies of the staff, past and present.

In a sense they became a family, a “great group of people” working together and enjoying it, as Mike Vaca describes it. He served as CFO from 2003 to 2006 and as President of El Nido Resorts from 2007 to 2009, seeing the evolution of the employees. He himself has his share of transformation.

Arvi Pérez, who was general manager of the airline, knows what effect that has made in his current job and lifestyle, primarily learning how to minimize the use of electricity, and down to recycling any materials. One of the habits he took from his stint was to avoid using plastic.

As the one in charge of business development and community relations for two of his nine years, Ian Mayer Varona has now gone into starting his own destination management company. In his current work, he has followed the process of handling waste, engaging with the community for local sourcing, and highlighting the tourism experience of “responsible interaction with the environment.”

The El Nido Resorts “had a very solid reputation for being pioneers” in the move for conservation and the staff too was proud of it even though there had to be some adjustments that had to be done with the local community, he says.

In El Nido, Ian trained sea scouts for rescue and emergency situations. There was also the clean-up program that he was involved in, especially when the ‘crown of thorns’ starfish invaded the coral reefs around Bacuit Bay.

a diver and felt that was a mission for the preservation of marine biodiversity.

“My proudest moment was being able to prove that our sustainable business model actually worked,” he says of those days. “We were able to prove that financial, social (internal and external) and sustainability targets are not mutually exclusive but can exist together and have synergy with one another.”

His relationship with colleagues was not only “great,” it was as if they were part of “something greater than ourselves.” They worked on the same wavelength when it came to achieving their “lofty goals.” He now works for a manufacturing company using the practices from running the El Nido Resorts, during which he oversaw the construction of the sewage treatment plant.

The plant had cost more than other designs they could have used, but they felt the investment was wise. He was there when solar panels were installed on Miniloc, a pioneering move at that time. For him, the organic farm and its greenhouse made a huge difference in lowering the “gas footprint of food delivery.” He was also part of a project restoring the fragile reefs, since he was

The ACC Philosophy Lives On

(Clockwise from top left) Rey Borcillo, Alex Dalabajan, Bernard Maraguinot, and Jen Zafra

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Mostly, Ian said, it was the waste management that turned things upside down, from the old ways of doing things when the resorts shipped the trash to the mainland, only to discover later that it was thrown overboard to save on cargo space. “This justified the expense for the expansion of the waste management facility” that saved money in the long run, he says.

Marketing executive Joy DenogaBautista reiterates the numerous initiatives and advantages that were set out by ACC, as others have recounted about their experiences in El Nido.

In her current job, she has followed a similar path by organizing Project ECHO, which stands for Environment, Community, and Heritage for her company called One-Of Collection. In this undertaking, she copied the daily operations of the El Nido Resorts.

The same goes for Jeffrey Miranda,

who was resort manager for seven years under the ACC and is now working for a hotel in Manila. Water and energy conservation became key to his work. His wife Josie, who was sales and reservations manager, continues where she had left off in El Nido, not only in her current job but in her home as well.

“I still have it in me,” she says.

“I pick up litter when I see them at the park and on the streets, I try to preach to those around me the importance of individual efforts to keep our environment clean and healthy. I know it’s a small effort but if we put all our small efforts together, we could have a better place to live in. And I will keep on preaching this to my daughter and everyone around me. I owe all these to ENR for educating us on the importance of these practices,” says Josie.

Vince Pérez believes the remaining staff will continue what ACC has started, and those who have moved on will bring with them the principles of being green.

Even after he left El Nido, former resort manager Etienne still follows the Quadruple Bottom Line “wherever possible and practical” in the properties he manages.

The first batch of young girls of the environmental team is still at it: Macy Añonuevo engages in environmental education as much as possible, minimizing waste, conserving water and energy. Kring Soriano goes to the resorts in El Nido when asked to help out in projects, whenever she is able to get time off from medical school.

“Most of my time is spent studying,” she quips, “but I grab every opportunity to tell people about environmental and resource conservation through blogs, practicing it in my daily life.”

As for Leigh, Vince and Eduardo, they have adopted ACC’s quadruple bottom line philosophy in their renewable energy ventures, and they still visit their beloved El Nido year after year.

After ACC left, El Nido Resorts under the leadership of Junie Jalandoni, Laurent Lamasuta and Al Legaspi of Ayala Hotels continued to earn additional awards and international recognition, thereby proving the institutionalization of the environmental sustainability practices supported by the company.

(Clockwise from left) Mike Edisora, Melita Tapalla, and Lucille Fontanilla

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Perhaps the legacy of ACC can be best captured in the last email sent by Leigh to the management of Ten Knots on November 13, 2013:

The ACC Philosophy Lives On

(From left) Ian Varona, Jun de Castro, and Bernadette Ulanday

“As most of you know, Asian Conservation Company was bought by AyalaLand Hotels and Resorts Corp. Yesterday we completed the transaction with the sale of ACC, thereby closing out the ‘venture philanthropists’ investment in El Nido Resorts.

On behalf of the ACC Shareholders and Vince and myself, we would like to thank each of you for your leadership, support, and dedication to Ten Knots/El Nido Resorts during ACC’s time. Without your years of leadership and guidance, Ten Knots would not be the amazing company it is today.

You are part of what I have called the “Dream Team Mancom” —a team of leaders that take responsibility, initiative and support each other and the President (me) while developing the talent within their own departments. The result is a company that operates smoothly with a shared vision, open communication (not always

The ACC Philosophy Lives On

easy), and positive financial results that reflect the successful coordination of operations and management.

Not only did you lead by example, but also you carried out the ACC vision of integrating the famous Quadruple Bottom Line into the lifeblood of the company. (Hey—the QBL is forever remembered in the invocation at one of the Christmas parties!!) You shared your lessons and support with the OpsCom, thereby allowing your legacy to live on even as most of us ‘moved on.’

In looking back, I am honored that you allowed me to give you the platform to perform to your highest levels. You also indulged and implemented some of the ‘big picture’ ideas that we would hear about from our international contacts. The belief of the ACC shareholders in our plans, gave us the confidence to take those risks. Many of those ideas worked out (luckily)!

I am truly proud of each and every one of you. Needless to say, when Mariglo accepted the Tourism for Tomorrow Community Benefit Award, I believe that each of us had a part of our soul and spirit in that award. Our hard work, acceptance of new ideas, and belief in our own home-grown employees/ community allowed us to achieve this accolade. Kudos to Mariglo for writing the winning application and staying on board the ship to ensure the company stays on course!

Thinking back on the years of the Dream Team, each of us will have favorite memories. Most of mine include a whole lot of laughter while being challenged to do something that seemed impossible at the time.

We thank you for your part in this Asian Conservation Company journey. We hope you build on the shared experiences and continue to “do good” for the Philippines and the world. Thank you again.

Happy Holidays!

Leigh and Vince”

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Epilogue UPON LANDING IN EL NIDO, there was a bustle of energy that wasn’t there about fifteen years ago.

The paved airport in Lio, just outside of town, had a welcome party of traditional Cuyonen songs and snacks of native cakes for passengers that had just arrived in what is now one of the most sought-after places in the world.

There was a throng of tourists heading for the islands, ferried on motorized outriggers to Miniloc, Lagen or the newest eco-luxury Pangulasian resort, or by van to the secluded Apulit resort—gaining a reputation as the top resorts in the trade of travel and tourism. Others came to stay in town, where dozens of pensions and small hotels hug every space on the beach, sidled up against each other in the labyrinthine alleys. Cafes and eateries were brimming in every corner. The town was bursting at the seams; some preferred going

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further out for lodgings. It seemed there was never enough of El Nido that can draw tourists. El Nido has made its name on the map.

It’s been easier now than what it used to be. The airline has been rebranded as AirSwift, with four daily commercial flights from Manila and Cebu, though the fare is roughly more than double than that of flying to the capital city of Palawan in Puerto Princesa. Even then, the flights are usually packed and those flying into Puerto Princesa take the four-hour bus ride up to El Nido—where roads have been paved compared to the rough dirt road journey that it was before.

In town, there are better hotels equipped even for backpackers, including one trendy boutique hotel whose manager was one of the pioneer employees of El Nido Resorts. In many ways, those who have trained and

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The one crucial thing inculcated by ACC in the minds of their staff and guests: responsibility and respect for nature.

El Nido must always remember that.

earned their living in the resorts have contributed to the outlook for a better local environment: what must be done and how they can keep it from sliding into disaster, as had been the case in other sought-after island provinces.

The newly elected mayor in 2016 is an environmental advocate who once worked for the resorts.

Today boat traffic in Bacuit Bay is madness. At about every corner in town, there are signs offering boat tours to the clusters of islands, classified as A, B, C, and also D. For a price of 1,200 pesos per passenger in a motorized outrigger, one can state their preference for island hopping. Expect a somewhat quickie tour: take a dip, take selfies, and then on to the next one.

Miniloc has become a favorite home for families—they weep when their vacation is up, as if leaving behind a home they have grown fond of. Lagen is the haven for the quiet souls, a place for reflection and intimacy. Exclusive Pangulasian is for romantic walks on the beach and candle-lit dinners, or simply gazing at the awesome sunrise and sunset views.

Apulit has the wild and isolated feel of El Nido before it was discovered.

That was the key to the success of the resorts and the changes they have done to make their guests imbibe the principles of conservation. They also learned to exist in harmony with Palawan’s marine diversity and its wildlife kingdom—that saving and caring for them created a ripple effect for a better world.

At this stage, the El Nido Resorts have evolved into friendlier destinations where Within a decade or so, El Nido has guests can take their time with nature. become the prized jewel of Palawan.

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It turned out to be the place to go, with its geological wonder of limestone towers sprouting on the breadth of the bay; and with it land also became as good as gold.

Soon an enormous ecotourism estate will rise, several hundred hectares wide starting from the Lio airport spreading further up north.

The premium of the island resorts has risen higher since the beginning of the tourism industry here. They honored the price of nature, and in doing so, received the green awards that weren’t easy to come by. They earned their reputation from the byword of sustainable tourism because of the one crucial thing inculcated

by ACC in the minds of their staff and guests: responsibility and respect for nature. El Nido must always remember that.

Acknowledgments

We fell in love with Palawan years ago. Whether riding on roof of a jeepney bouncing on dusty roads with our faces wrapped with a shirt like a ninja, or cruising on a rickety banca around the islands, the province lured us. With Leigh and my brother Miguel, we quietly ventured into sea farming in Culion, scallop hatchery in Ulugan Bay, and blue crab fishery in Malampaya Sound. We even briefly owned Puerco island off Roxas. But it was when we got ourselves intimately involved with El Nido Resorts that Palawan completely embraced our lives.

Sometime in March 2016, Leigh, Mariglo and I met over tapas and wine, and we decided it was time to document the sustainability initiatives of Asian Conservation Company (ACC) with El Nido Resorts. Sharing our efforts to implement first a Triple Bottom Line approach, and later our Quadruple Bottom Line philosophy, was always at the back of the minds of the ACC shareholders since the beginning. We wanted the eco-tourism industry to partake of our lessons, particularly on how we tried to implement our ambitious model and philosophy.

Leigh and Mariglo didn’t want to put out a vanity coffee table book, or a dry business case study or an academic textbook. The challenge was to find authors who understood the uniqueness of El Nido Resorts and the community and environment within which it operated on Palawan.

It was without any question that we sought Yasmin “Yas” Arquiza to work on this book project. Yas has collaborated with the resorts in the past, had lived in Puerto Princesa and had written on many environmental issues. She had other commitments when we approached her, but we were prepared to work around her schedule. Yas made a brilliant decision to bring in Criselda “Cris” Yabes to co-author this project. Cris had written about the indigenous people of Palawan and had even stayed briefly in El Nido. So we were blessed to have two multi-awarded authors who fully understood ACC’s love for El Nido and for the environment.

Thank you Yas and Cris for eloquently narrating the sustainability efforts of ACC, and for your patience with the numerous additional anecdotes that we kept coming in the process.

Photographer Oggie Ramos captured the essence of the officers and staff, past and present, during their interviews with the authors.

We are grateful to Jerry Manalili of Indios Bravos Design for his meticulous layout of this book. He patiently sat down with us organizing the hundreds of photos that were submitted for this book project, and turning around consecutive drafts even during the holiday season.

Special thanks to Margot Prado of Primex Printers for sourcing FSC-certified recycled paper.

Rowena Olano, Glen Buenaventura and Deo Robediso assisted in collating materials for this book project.

Acknowledging all those who contributed to this book is the same as acknowledging all those who assisted ACC with El Nido Resorts.

Alberto “Bertie” Lim was the very person who first suggested El Nido Resorts in 1999 to the future ACC shareholders. He served as president of Ten Knots until 2007. He gave insights into the pre-ACC years of El Nido Resorts, while Lulu Punongbayan-Jaleco and Victor “Kiko” Francisco shared the conservation efforts started under Nissin. Pioneer resort manager Rea Yamsuan would offer advice from time to time.

Hirohisa “Fuji” Fujimoto, former general manager of El Nido Resorts and now with Hilton hotels in Japan, led us to the “ten knots” philosophy of Nissin president Tametaka Morinaga, whose vision and sense of adventure brought El Nido to the world map. We enjoyed working with Masami Sumii of Nissin during the joint venture years.

Acknowledgments

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As a former managing director and vice president of WWF-US, Bruce Bunting created the Center for Conservation Finance and was the glue that brought the various WWF Philippines and WWF-US individuals together in late 2000 to form the shareholder group of ACC. We are forever thankful to the support, trust and encouragement of our fellow shareholders: Edward “Ed” Bass, Vicki and Roger Sant, Shari Sant Plummer and Dan Plummer, Wolcott Henry, and Carlos Soriano. Martin Bowen and Shari actively served as members of the ACC executive committee, guiding us to strategic decisions over the years.

The principals and officers of Next Century Partners, the investment manager of ACC, eventually became the senior management of El Nido Resorts. Eduardo Martinez-Miranda was a director of Ten Knots from the very beginning. Luis Miguel “Mike” Vaca stepped in first as chief financial officer and later as president. Raoul “Arvi” Pérez assumed the stressful role of general manager of Island TransVoyager Inc., with Roland Benzon, Dennis Mendiola, and Miguel “Mikko” Pérez as ITI directors. Franchesca “Chestnut” Amatong became executive director of Asian Conservation Foundation. All of them gladly adjusted from private equity professionals into resort and airline managers.

The law partners Manuel “Manolo” Roxas, Melissa Rosario-Lichaytoo and Valerie Gonzales of Roxas Delos Reyes Laurel and Rosario and Leagogo (RRLRL) Law Office were there to advise us from the initial investment into Ten Knots in 2001 to the buy-out of Nissin in 2006, and to the acquisition of Club Noah in 2010, and the buy-in and eventual sale to Ayala Land in 2013. Val was also active with Asian Conservation Foundation (ACF).

Melissa Gil, Rafael “Paey” Reyes and Alfonso “Tito” Yuchengco III were former directors of ACC who sat with Leigh on potential acquisitions beyond Ten Knots. Melissa was instrumental in undertaking an organizational diagnostic of the resort employees.

Andreas Merkl, a principal at California Environmental Associates, was one of the very first people to help Leigh understand the potential of the Triple Bottom Line model. He was open about his experience and network and gave key steps to ACC on how to think globally.

He is currently CEO of Ocean Conservancy and remains involved with the Philippines.

Scott Atkinson, a conservation specialist based in Hawaii, designed ACC’s grant application with the Global Environment Facility.

Louis Boorstin and Sam Keller of the Environmental Finance Group of the International Finance Corporation, the private sector arm of the World Bank, supported our application and implementation of the GEF grant. Sam later proposed and married Pascaline Cure, their wedding ceremony held on Pangulasian island.

Dr. Mark Erdmann of Conservation International supported the uniqueness of the ACC model with its business, for-profit approach to biodiversity conservation. Mark was an inspirational leader in bringing the EcoReef Project to El Nido, following the template he introduced in Bunaken, Indonesia. He introduced ACC to Dr. Gerry Allen to head the extensive Reef Fish Survey and Dr. Lyndon DeVantier and Dr. Emre Turak to lead the coral surveys.

Duane Silverstein of Seacology accompanied his board to El Nido on few occasions and backed the Eco-Reef installation in Tres Marias.

Senator Juan Miguel “Migz” Zubiri and Indira Widmann of the Katala Foundation, Inc. had their story about the Philippine Cockatoo Translocation Project.

The Board and staff of El Nido Foundation worked hand-in-glove with ACC in engaging with the local community. Special mention goes to Bertie Lim as chairman, Empire East CEO Charlemagne “Charlie” Yu as President and Irma Rose “Maius” Marcelo as Executive Director. Together with Dr.Mark Erdmann, the other board trustees of ENF who were

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Acknowledgments

supportive of ACC’s community engagement were Dr. Edgar Gomez, Dr. Flor Tesoro, the late meteorologist Rey Punongbayan and the late Health Secretary Quasi Romualdez, business executives Oscar Reyes and Facundo Roco, both formerly of Shell Philippines, local community leaders Carmelita Acosta and Susan Lualhati, and international NGO expert Jojo Pastores.

Together with Arvi, Capt. Teodoro Fojas and the dedicated Island Transvoyager pilots, flight officers, maintenance crew, and ground staff led by Maris Macahilig, all ensured the safety of their passengers.

With ACC’s close links to WWF, former vice chairman Lorenzo “Lory” Tan was on board with us, along with former programs vice president and later CEO Joel Palma. Luz Baskinas put in time preparing the GEF grant application, Ed Tongson was one of the original incorporators of ACF, and RJ dela Calzada and Mavic Matillano of WWF Palawan helped out.

Fernando and Jaime Zobel de Ayala shared our vision for El Nido, and so did former Ayala Land CEOs Jim Ayala and Tony Aquino. During the transition period with Ayala Land, Jose “Junie” Jalandoni worked closely with Leigh, with the support of Arturo “Art” Corpuz, Joselito “Joel” Luna, Laurent Lamasuta, Al Legaspi, Ma. Luisa “Malou” Chiong, Liza Chan-Po, Marly Laraya and Sheila Marie Uriarte-Tan. Throughout those years, ACC received government support under President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, who visited El Nido Resorts in 2005. Several environment secretaries gave valuable assistance, particularly Elisea “Bebet” Gozun, Michael “Mike” Defensor and Jose “Lito” Atienza. We also wish to thank tourism secretaries Richard “Dick” Gordon, Joseph “Ace” Durano, and Ramon “Mon” Jimenez.

El Nido Mayor Nieves Rosento, who has always been an advocate of the environment, worked at the resorts. With previous mayors Edna-Gacot Lim and Leonor Corral, we thank all three for their public service over the years, helping preserve the beauty of El Nido.

This book would not have been as comprehensive without the inputs of past and present managers and employees of El Nido Resorts who took their time filling in our questionnaires for the project. They sat down with Yas and Cris for interviews done both in Manila and in El Nido.

Mike Vaca, Etienne La’Brooy and Arvi Pérez told their version of El Nido Resorts’ transformation under ACC, as well as the challenges they encountered and the sustainability projects they initiated.

Lyba Godio, Jeff Miranda, Ian Varona, and Leonardo “Don-don” Viana shared how they implemented the Quadruple Bottom Line philosophy in their roles as managers of the resorts.

Joy Denoga-Bautista, Bambi Samson and Josie Manabat-Miranda recounted the travails of the sales and marketing team during the dark period after 2001, and how they succeeded in branding El Nido as “green resorts”.

Chef Ramon Antonio and Chef Jose “Boyet” Ramos gave a run of what went on in the kitchen cooking up sustainable menus and sourcing produce locally. Jun de Castro as Food and Beverage manager raised the quality and service of his F & B team with creative dining concepts.

Genny Roño and Melita Tapalla were instrumental in “greening” the supply chain of the resorts. Farm Manager Henry Gonzalez gave a tour of the organic farm.

Engineer Benson Allam showed the “back of the house” infrastructure. Architect Popi Laudico renovated Miniloc using native hut techniques from the Mangyans of Mindoro.

Andy Locsin conceptualized the villas of Pangulasian.

Acknowledgments

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The pioneer environmental officers, Macy Añonuevo-Arcega, Christine “Kring” Soriano and Rima de Dios, and later with Jamie Dichaves and Elaine Tagudando, described the beginnings of the Be GREEN program and narrated their numerous adventures educating staff and guests about conservation. Rey Reyes revealed his dangerous role in enforcing environment regulations within Bacuit Bay. Manu Mantecon explained how the resorts switched to more fuel-efficient marine engines. Joie Ulanday described how they use locally produced fiberglass to make kayaks.

Orly de la Cruz narrated his life-changing story of how he became the new master of the resorts’ fleet. We are grateful to Angelo Olondriz for managing the resorts’ boat fleet, the most extensive in Palawan.

Jolly Gomez shared his memorable time as a GAMS supervisor. He is currently project manager for a solar project and private beach house in El Nido. He and Jacquez Arzaga were there for Yas and Cris during their visit to El Nido.

GAMS guides Bernard Enero, Angelo Sugale, and dive master Rommel Suan each talked about their early days in El Nido.

The Ten Knots central office of Rosario “Chat” Jaboli, Alex Dalabajan, Bernard Maraguinot had plenty of stories to tell about how they partnered with the local community.

We also heard personal stories on how the resorts changed their lives, from Arvin Acosta, Michael Edisora, Lucelle Fontanilla, and Bernadette “Badet” Ulanday.

We wish we could acknowledge all the officers and staff of Ten Knots during our ACC years. We not only enjoyed working with you but getting to know each of you. You will always be remembered, your friendly smiles and your loyalty.

Judith and Tani Distal also shared their experience as exclusive general sales agent for ITI. Their Art Café continues to be popular and we appreciate their warm hospitality.

Chito Buenaventura and Cecilio Pedro, both loyal resort guests, offered to tell us why they keep returning to El Nido year after year.

I wish to give my profuse gratitude to ACF executive director Franchesca “Chestnut” Amatong for her unselfish dedication in managing this book project. From preparing the initial questionnaire in English and Filipino, to scheduling the dozens of interviews, to indexing the hundreds of photos and documents as material for the book, Chestnut made this book project possible. We spent many late hours, some on weekends, and we even cried when we got emotional looking back nostalgically during those ACC years.

Finally, the testament behind this book, as well as the real success of the sustainability efforts of ACC in El Nido, is truly the collaborative effort of two unique women. They came from two different backgrounds, one a banker the other a biologist. One a native of Tucson, Arizona and the other a native of Pulupandan, Negros Occidental. Yet fate brought them together in the paradise called El Nido, with a shared passion for the environment, the community, and the well-being of the employees. The success of ACC rest mainly on the laps of this sisterhood of sustainability, Leigh Talmage and Mariglo Laririt. We thank both of you.

VINCENT S. PÉREZ Chairman, Asian Conservation Foundation January 12, 2017

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Acknowledgments

Sustainability Highlights

CHAPTER 1

CHAPTER 2

9 Ten Knots philosophy was “To be in harmony with the local community, working hand in hand in conserving the environment.�

14 Zero-based budgeting required the resorts to only buy what they need to avoid wastage.

9, 34 ACC philosophy led to the creation of a sustainable funding mechanism between private sector investment and biodiversity conservation.

9 ACC moved beyond business as usual to prove that private sector can support conservation of biodiversity.

9 Mantra of ACC was that conservation makes good business sense.

9 ACC businesses supported social programs for local residents to enhance biodiversity conservation in the community.

9 The Triple Bottom Line approach of ACC emphasized financial viability, biodiversity conservation, and community engagement.

Sustainability Highlights

15 Soaps and shampoos without harmful chemicals to people and nature were preferred.

15 The kitchen used re-usable Tupperware containers instead of using plastic bags for storage.

15 Imported marmalades were replaced with locallymade preserves.

15 Non-recyclable materials such as packing tape and plastic straw were replaced with green packaging such as abaca string and recycled crates.

16 Imported fruits were replaced by homegrown dalandan, guava, kaimito and other seasonal favorites.

16 Imported cheese were replaced with goat cheese from Davao.

16 Pasta dishes came with sardines, not salmon.

16 Smoked bacon was cured with local honey, not imported syrup.

16 Local purchase of fruits and vegetables grew from 40% to 71% in 3 years.

17, 18 The company-owned airstrip was kept private to manage tourism growth.

18 Resort aircrafts were named Swiftlet, Hornbill, and Kingfisher, in keeping with the conservation theme.

19 The airport lounge showcased murals of Palawan wildlife to make guests feel their holiday had already begun as they are just about to leave.

19 The company created a separate Environment Department reporting directly to the President.

19 The Environment Department was given power to grant environmental clearance for internal rules.

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19 Gathering of lobsters in front of the resorts was stopped to preserve the marine environment.

CHAPTER 3 21 Desalination plants were installed to avoid depletion of ground water in the islands.

22 Sewage treatment plants were installed to curb seawater contamination and to provide recycled water for flushing toilets and irrigating the garden.

23 Native reed beds were planted to help filter gray water.

23 Rainwater catchment basins were installed on roofs to conserve water.

23 Low-flow shower heads and low-flush toilets were installed in the bathrooms to save on water.

23 Solar panels were installed at the beach bar of the beach clubs.

24 Lighting fixtures were replaced with Compact Fluorescent Light (CFL) and later replaced with LED bulbs.

24 Energy efficient water heaters were fitted in bathrooms.

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24 Inverter air-con units were installed in bedrooms.

24 Resort bancas transported solid waste every dawn to a company-owned material recovery facility.

24 Old kayaks found a secondary use as planters.

25 Used batteries and used cooking oil were donated to a foundation for recycling.

25 Old containers of cooking oil were used for refills instead of buying new ones.

26 Kayaks were made from fiberglass, instead of buying brand new ones.

26 Empty water bottles were inserted in the bottom hull of locally made kayaks, instead of foam that disintegrated quickly.

26 The resorts switched to fuel-efficient and environmentally friendly 2-stroke E-TEC outboard engines with lower horsepower.

26 Resort boats latched to designated anchor buoys instead of dropping anchor anywhere.

CHAPTER 4 29 The resorts supported Task Force Pawikan to protect marine turtles of El Nido.

29 Resort Managers fought illegal logging to stop smothering of coral reefs.

29 The resort came out with Ten El Ni-Dos as its mainstay of environmental education.

28, 30 Sunset tour of a scenic mangrove river fostered appreciated among guests.

30 Mooring buoys were installed in popular dive sites to save the reefs from anchor damage.

30 Required wearing of life-vests helped snorkelers avoid stepping on corals.

31, 35 The resorts coordinated with the Philippine Navy to interdict illegal poachers around the islands.

31 EU funding was obtained to conduct a baseline survey of neighboring natural resources to determine carrying capacity of the bay.

31 Workshops on geology, ecology and socio-cultural

Sustainability Highlights

profile of El Nido were conducted twice a week for resort employees.

32 Giant clams were transplanted to the front reef of the resort.

31 The resorts celebrated Eco-Hour every full moon, similar to the annual Earth Hour of WWF.

33 GEF funding was secured for a six-year project on coastal and marine resource management.

31 The resorts supported WWF’s conservation program for the endangered Irrawaddy dolphins by encouraging dolphin watching tours.

33 Coastal clean-ups were made a regular activity twice monthly instead of the annual celebrations.

31 The resorts partnered with WWF to develop a framework for a Sustainable Tourism Master Plan for El Nido.

32 Three scientists— a forester, a marine biologist, and a geologist— were invited to give lectures to the staff.

32 Environment workshops for local staff helped create ripple-effect in the local community making them active partners in the protection of natural resources.

32 Resort staff helped tag marine turtles and safeguard nesting beaches.

32 Resort guests were offered a turtle tracking tour and participation in turtle hatching releases.

Sustainability Highlights

33 Guidebooks were printed on waterproof paper.

33 Children’s bedtime stories were written with characters based on El Nido wildlife.

33 The resorts collected P200 environmental fee from each guest which was given to the Protected Area Management Board.

34 The resorts gave an annual donation to Asian Conservation Foundation for the protection of the environment.

35 The resorts fielded their own environment enforcers to arrest illegal fishers.

35 The resort airline had re-usable wooden chips for boarding passes.

36 Funding was obtained to install Eco-reefs to rebuild a reef pulverized by dynamite fishing.

36 The resort airline was the first airline in the Philippines to offer a carbon offset program to its passengers.

36 The resort airline stopped carrying live fish as cargo.

36 Passenger baggage were checked for shells, sand and other natural resources when tourists board to leave El Nido.

CHAPTER 5 37 Quadruple Bottom Line added employee satisfaction to the existing Triple Bottom Line philosophy.

38 To give the guests the warm feeling of home, resort staff gave a welcome and goodbye ritual for each arriving and departing guest.

39 The resorts organized job fairs with local universities to prioritize the hiring of local staff.

39 The Be GREEN series of multi-day staff training on environment stood for Guard, Respect, Educate El Nido.

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39 An Environment officer was assigned to each resort to educate staff on conservation of water, biodiversity, and solid waste.

CHAPTER 6

41 Video clips called “Enchanting El Nido” of environment activities around the resorts were posted on YouTube.

50 Delivered fish to the resorts were measured to make sure juvenile fish and gravid crabs were not bought.

Those caught by illegal means were rejected.

41 Local kitchen staff were sent to train in five-star hotels in Manila.

44 The resorts hosted filming of various reality TV editions of Survivor, Koh Lanta, and Amazing Race as part of its marketing strategy.

45 Sales and Marketing focused on “green marketing,” sending e-newsletters to potential guests and travel agents on topics such as turtle hatching and coastal cleanup.

45 Sales and Marketing used eco-friendly paper for their sales collaterals.

46 Guest Activity Marine Sports guides were assigned to each guest party for the duration of their stay.

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49 Sought-after groupers and lobsters were no longer served to promote sustainable menus.

50 Resort chefs toured neighboring towns to source local food, which brought food cost down by 20%.

51 Resort-owned farm used compost for organic fertilizer to supply 65% of the kitchens’ need for lettuce, arugula and romaine.

51 Freshly-caught locally available seafood was primarily served to guests.

51, 52 The resort-owned farm had a piggery fed with natural bran and molasses. It also had free-range poultry.

54 Local women made bags and slippers out of buri and abaca as guest souvenirs.

55 Resort doctors attended to the medical needs of the barangays.

55 The resort created the El Nido Foundation to become more involved as a genuine partner of the local community.

56 The Asian Conservation Foundation undertook fish and coral reef surveys in El Nido and Taytay made possible by funding from the resorts.

The foundation also set-up a tourist nature info kiosk for tourists and boat operators.

CHAPTER 7 58 Guests were offered the option to visit the resort’s Materials Recovery Facility.

58 Instead of plastic bottles, guests were given recyclable aluminum bottles to refill at water refilling stations for free.

59 Birds’ nest soup was not served to guests in order to reduce further pressure on swiftlets.

Sustainability Highlights

61 Banana boats and water skiing were discontinued to reduce noise pollution and save fuel.

65 The ACC investment in El Nido Resorts was featured as a Wharton Business School case study.

Benefit Award by the World Travel and Tourism Council in 2013.

61 Guest activities focused on nature interaction such as turtle hatchling release, hilltop trekking while identifying tree species, or rapelling and spelunking.

65 Financial Times featured El Nido Resorts in 2013 as a pioneering group of island resorts combining luxury with sustainability.

CHAPTER 9

61, 62 Motorized marine sports were replaced with low-impact activities such as kayaks, paddle boards and Hobie cats.

62 Guests assisted in monitoring wildlife through an Eco-checklist.

62 Rules on protecting the environment were strictly enforced on guests.

62 Guests were not allowed to collect starfish, shells, not even sand from the beach.

CHAPTER 8 65 ACC shared its unique business model and its lessons learned with the business community and non-profit organizations.

Sustainability Highlights

65 Conde Nast Green List cited Miniloc and Lagen resorts in 2006.

65 ASEAN Green Hotel awards given to Miniloc and Lagen in 2008.

65 El Nido Resorts was a finalist of Wild Asia Responsible Tourism award in 2009.

65 El Nido Resorts recognized as Sustainable Hotel at the Asia Pacific Hotel Investment Conference in 2010.

65 Be GREEN campaign was given a Gold Award for Environment Education by the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA).

65-67 El Nido Resorts recognized with a Tourism for Tomorrow Community

69 Ayala Land shared similar philosophies with ACC and viewed themselves as future stewards of El Nido.

69 ACC’s quadruple bottom line philosophy was globally recognized as a leading example of sustainable tourism.

70 The vision for El Nido Resorts, which was to be known for sustainability, to be featured on international travel magazines, to be recognized with awards, was accomplished in 2013.

CHAPTER 10 72 Environmental sustainability practices of El Nido Resorts were institutionalized.

74 El Nido Resorts under Ayala Land continued to earn additional awards and international recognition.

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About the Authors

Marigs Laririt with authors Yasmin Arquiza and Criselda Yabes

Yasmin Arquiza has worked as editor and reporter for Agence France-Presse and the Associated Press, managed the website GMA News Online, and co-founded the award-winning community newspaper Bandillo ng Palawan. Her environment stories have won recognition from the JVO Awards for Investigative Journalism and the Asian Development Bank Institute.

She obtained her journalism degree from the University of the Philippines in 1985. With a scholarship grant from the Ford Foundation, she finished her master’s degree in development management from the Asian Institute of Management in 2003. She was awarded a Bellagio fellowship at Oxford University in 2005. Her publications work ranges from books on marine conservation to case studies on labor and indigenous peoples’ rights.

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Criselda Yabes has written eight books, including the novel Below the Crying Mountain that was nominated for the Man Asian Literary Prize in 2010. In the late 1990s she spent time with indigenous groups in southern Palawan for the book Letters From Pala’wan. A journalism graduate of the University of the Philippines in Diliman in 1985, she worked as correspondent in Manila, covering politics as well as news events overseas for the Associated Press, Reuters, Newsweek, and The Washington Post. She lived in Paris after a journalism fellowship.

She was a writing fellow at the University of Nevada in 2012, and has recently finished a short program with the International House of Japan.

She travels regularly and takes solace in long walks, reading novels, and birdwatching.

ON THE BACK COVER: View from Lagen Resort (photo by Vince Pérez)

Published by the Asian Conservation Foundation, this book provides an intimate look into the philosophy of the Quadruple Bottom Line and how it can bring positive changes to any tourism enterprise.

It is hoped that the stories in these pages may inspire students and professionals to pursue careers in sustainable tourism and environment conservation.

If you manage an island destination in a protected area, if you are passionate about nature, or if you simply love Palawan, this book is for you.

Projects funded by ACF include the buoy rehabilitation of Bacuit Bay, fish and coral reef surveys in the bays of Bacuit and Taytay, and the geo-mapping of the municipalities of Bacuit and Taytay. On the island of Dilumacad in El Nido, ACF built a turtle hatchery and a nature information center for tourists and boat operators. Since 2014, ACF has been sponsoring WWF-Philippines’ annual Conservation Heroes Awards.

To know more about ACF, please visit www.asianconserve.com.

ISBN 978-971-94259-3-9

9 78971 9 425939