Atlantis Dubai has strengthened its position as a leader in responsible tourism after receiving three of the industry’s most respected sustainability accreditations. Atlantis, The Palm and Aquaventure World have each achieved EarthCheck Gold Certification in its seventh consecutive year of certification, while Atlantis The Royal has retained EarthCheck Silver Certification for the third consecutive year. In addition, Atlantis, The Palm and Atlantis The Royal have once again been awarded VERIFIED™ Responsible Hospitality by Forbes Travel Guide. The two resorts have also retained the Dubai Sustainable Tourism Gold Stamp, recognising their continued commitment to environmental stewardship and responsible operations in the region.
Kelly Timmins, Executive Director of Sustainability and Marine Animal Operations at Atlantis Dubai said:
“These accreditations reflect the way we approach hospitality every day, delivering exceptional guest experiences while ensuring sustainability is embedded across our operations. Earning continued recognition from globally respected programmes such as EarthCheck, VERIFIED™ Responsible Hospitality by Forbes Travel Guide and the Dubai Sustainable Tourism Stamp demonstrates that meaningful progress comes from continuously challenging ourselves to reduce our environmental impact, support our communities and help protect the natural environments in which we operate.”
These achievements reflect Atlantis Dubai’s long-term investment in sustainability, with independent third-party assessments recognising excellence across environmental performance, resource conservation, responsible sourcing-and community engagement.
EarthCheck is recognised as the world’s leading scientific benchmarking, certification, and business advisory group focused on travel and tourism. It helps businesses, communities, and governments to evaluate their environmental footprint, improve sustainability and ultimately enhance business performance. This progressive certification programme recognises organisations for sustained environmental performance over time.
VERIFIED™ Responsible Hospitality by Forbes Travel Guide independently recognises luxury properties that demonstrate leadership in environmental stewardship, colleague wellbeing, community engagement and responsible operational practices.
The Dubai Sustainable Tourism Gold Stamp, the programme’s highest level of recognition, is awarded by Dubai’s Department of Economy and Tourism to hotels that demonstrate exceptional sustainability performance.
Following our ongoing commitment over the years, some notable achievements recognised through these assessments include:
- Atlantis, The Palm reduced energy consumption by 8.6% and greenhouse gas emissions (Scope 1 and 2) by 7.5% year-on-year, while recording just 1.8 litres of waste to landfill per guest night, significantly outperforming the regional benchmark.
- Atlantis The Royal reduced energy consumption by 20.2%, greenhouse gas emissions (Scope 1 and 2) by 18.9%, and potable water consumption by 19.4% year-on-year, substantially outperforming regional averages.
- Aquaventure World reduced greenhouse gas emissions (Scope 1 and 2) by 8.4%, energy consumption by 12.4%, and potable water consumption by 7.4% year-on-year.
- More than 2000 solar panels generate approximately 1.8 million kWh of renewable electricity annually across Atlantis, The Palm and Aquaventure World.
- Atlantis Dubai avoids more than 3.6 million single-use plastic water bottles annually through its on-site water bottling plant, refill stations and reusable bottles.
- 100% of contracted seafood is fully traceable through the SFS Trace platform aligned with the Global Dialogue on Seafood Traceability, supporting responsible seafood sourcing.
- Advanced recycling initiatives divert materials including glass, paper, cardboard, soap, cigarette butts, Nespresso capsules and e-waste from landfill.
- Winnow AI technology continues to optimise food waste management across culinary operations. Since establishing the baseline between 2022 and 2024, edible food waste per cover (unconsumed buffet leftovers) has reduced by an average of 69.72% across Saffron, Kaleidoscope and Gastronomy restaurants.
- Smart technologies, including occupancy sensors, intelligent lighting systems and automated air-conditioning controls, help to reduce energy consumption across the destination.
- Atlantis Dubai supports marine conservation through the Atlantis Atlas Project Contribution Programme, funding research and conservation initiatives in partnership with leading universities and environmental organisationsdistributing over USD 500,000 among 30 projects since 2021.
- 100% of paper products used across Atlantis Dubai are sourced from FSC-certified suppliers.
- Atlantis Dubai remains the first resort destination in the Middle East to be accredited as an IBCCES Certified Autism CentreTM, with more than 90% of guest-facing colleagues trained in autism and sensory awareness.
- Sustainability initiatives are championed by 79 Atlantis Atlas Ambassadors across 28 departments, helping drive awareness, engagement and continuous improvement throughout the destination
Atlantis Dubai continues to build on its sustainability journey, becoming an increasingly efficient, effective and responsible organisation. Looking ahead, the destination is exploring innovative on-site food waste management technologies to further strengthen circular resource management, while advancing climate transition frameworks aligned with the UAE’s Net Zero 2050 vision.
