It’s that time of year again. 2015 travel trends are emerging, and as you may know, the millennial traveler now makes up most of the market and has much different expectations and needs than previous generations – specifically that hotels meet or exceed “green” standards.

Long before “green was the new black,” Bucuti & Tara Beach Resorts owner Ewald Biemans was leading the way in eco-friendly practices. Bucuti continues to set the bar higher each year by going beyond these demands while still providing a luxurious, tranquil retreat.

As the leader of the resort’s Green Team, Biemans has led the resort to earning the global recognition of more than two dozen environmental awards and certifications, including the Highest Achievement Award as the top-performing sustainable travel and tourism business in the Caribbean by Green Globe and ISLANDS’ top 100 worldwide sustainable organizations.

As an industry leader in eco-friendly practices, he was able to achieve 15 consecutive years of Green Globe Certification for the resort as well as the distinction of being the first hotel in the Americas to earn the highly coveted ISO 14001 environmental certification every year since 2003. Biemans continues to raise the bar as the resort is currently working to obtain its fourth green certification, LEED.

Upon check in, guests are provided with water canteens to use throughout the resort, thereby eliminating the use of plastic water bottles. This past summer, Biemans led a session aptly named “Boutique Resorts: Innovations and Eco Certifications at The Caribbean Symposium for Innovators in Coastal Tourism” in Grenada. Also this past summer, the resort took the pledge to be a part of the Water Sense H2Otel Challenge. Water Sense is a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) partnership program designed to help save water for future generations. Bucuti is currently the only resort outside of North America that has taken this initiative at this time.

Bucuti & Tara Beach Resorts, www.bucuti.com