Seminar Programme | Speaker Biographies
Eco-Tourism With a Carbon Neutral Footprint. Can It Be Done?
Friday 31 October 2008, 08.30 hrs

Speaker: Arnfinn Oines, Area Environmental Conscience, Thailand & Vietnam, Six Senses Hotels, Resorts & Spas

Hotels make a heavy impact on the environment. Operators are increasingly aware of their responsibility to reduce their carbon footprint. Six Senses are taking this responsibility very seriously, and are recognised as one of the companies at the forefront of change. Arnfinn’s job, with others, is to assure that all new properties conform to a stringent set of criteria to reduce their carbon footprint towards neutral. His talk will outline what he does, covering the areas of sustainability, eco segments, monitoring & recording with certification and investment.
He will touch on clean energy and trends, Eco certification programmes, and of course Design, as well as Energy, Water & Nature Conservation, Waste Management, Social Commitment, Education & Awareness, and Carbon off-set. Finally, Arnfinn will cover the critical area of Return on investment, providing actual calculations.

Arnfinn Oines works as Area Environment Coordinator – Thailand & Vietnam for Six Senses Resorts & Spa. From his base at Evason Phuket & Six Senses Spa, he is overlooking all the social and environmental issues at the Six Senses properties in Thailand and Vietnam. He has set up the Environmental Management System, which led Evason Phuket to become the first resort in South East Asia to achieve the world-wide recognized ecolabel’s highest level – Green Globe Certified.

Arnfinn has also been heavily involved in the development Sector Benchmark Indicators for Spa Operations, world’s first ecolabel for spa, which Green Globe and Six Senses Spa have been collaborating.

Arnfinn initially worked as a freelance journalist before earning a BA in Adventure Tourism Management from the University of Birmingham in England. After his studies he co-founded and opened Earthworkers Hotel in Siem Reap, Cambodia where he was General Manager for a year. He then moved on to Andalusia, Spain, where he became Course Director for International Tourism Institute - a tourism and language institute.

After two years in Spain he returned to Asia to do an MBA in Hospitality and Tourism at Prince of Songkla University, Phuket Campus. As part of his studies he presented and published a research paper on Competitive Strategy for Upscale/Luxury Hotels and Resorts: Gaining Competitive Advantage Through Environmentally Friendly Development at the 2006 APTA & APac-Chrie joint conference in Taiwan.

Seminar Programme | Speaker Biographies