SIGAS

What does SIGAS mean?

At Monteverde Country Lodge, we are 100% committed to the environment, its proper use and conservation.

In our new administration and according to the vision of its owner, Monteverde Country Lodge hosts an ambitious and committed program of environmentally responsible operation and management, proper use of resources and conservation.

This is why we started the Integrated System of Environmental Management and Sustainability under the acronym SIGAS, where we integrate elements of the Environmental Management System according to the INTE/ISO 14001:2004 standard in hotels and other tourist accommodations.

Through this program, Monteverde Country Lodge aims to achieve a sustainable level of efficiency and to transcend positively in our strategic allies, community neighbors, members of our work team, guests and clients.

On the other hand, Monteverde Country Lodge has already started a process in which, together with other hotels and companies, it is participating in a national initiative sponsored by the Government of Costa Rica to become a Carbon Neutral country in 2021.

What are we doing in the SIGAS?

• Monteverde Country Lodge is building a wastewater treatment plant or Biodigestor to decontaminate wastewater.
• After being treated the water is transferred to an irrigation system that takes it to our gardens, enabling it to return clean to nature and providing a safe and clean supply of nutrients for the plants.
• Our plan is to build a tempered pool, which will use a special heating device that does not affect the environment, since it does not use CFC's.
• Since the reopening of the hotel and in close cooperation with Hotel Poco a Poco, we have started a program for selecting, processing and sending recyclable materials. Both guests and co-workers are encouraged to adopt these same actions in their homes.
• We have acquired large, non-disposable containers that are filled as far as possible, by our suppliers to discard the least possible amount of resources. Avoiding the use of individual packaging: sugar, mayonnaise, ketchup, soap and others are purchased in large quantities and used according to needs only. Table linen, cutlery, napkins and others are non-disposable items.
• There has been a great deal of dedication and effort to provide our employees with valuable training and information in the field of environmental education. With the support of local organizations, friends and allies we now have a small team of educators, who lead the environmental education process in a community school.
• We try to work and buy as much as possible to local producers: safe vegetables, cheese, milk and others.
• All cleaning products are biodegradable. Dispensers are available in showers and toilets. Disposable trash bags are oxo-biodegradable.
• More than 75% of the plants in our gardens are endemic. Most of them have natural history labels in both Spanish and English.
• Since our reopening, we have developed an energy management program, in coordination with the Department of Energy Conservation of the Costa Rican Electricity Institute (ICE).

Programs, Accreditations and Certifications:

• Since our remodeling, we have been working on an Environmental Management System in accordance with INTE/ISO 14001:2004 for hotels and other lodging companies.
• We work hard to be incorporated officially in the program of Certification of Tourism Sustainability, granted by the Costa Rican Tourism Institute (ICT).
• While the construction and remodeling are carried out, we have incorporated the principles of Neutral Carbon and INTECO-ISO 14064 standards.

Social Responsibility Actions:

• Monteverde Country Lodge supports various reforestation programs sponsored by local organizations or initiatives at the national level: our guests, co-workers, children and families have planted native trees for reforestation in our facilities, yards, farms along rivers, streams and Springs. As part of our Environmental Education program, children at the Lindora school have planted trees around their classrooms while they learned about the importance of protecting forests.
• The Escuela Creativa is a leading educational facility in Monteverde, Monteverde Country Lodge supports its artistic and recreational programs, and currently works with collecting of used cooking oil for its experimental biodiesel station.
• Costa Rica is struggling vigorously against any kind of child exploitation. The Costa Rican Tourism Institute (ICT) has promoted a Code of Conduct with which we are committed and we respond. A zero-tolerance policy is implemented in favor of children and their rights.
• Purchasing policies at the hotel are focused on maintaining high quality standards, within which local products are prioritized and native ingredients are incorporated into our menu. Through these actions we help create a better and more homogeneous distribution of wealth and a greater number of families are directly benefited by the tourism industry.