The Ritz-Carlton Abu Dhabi, Grand Canal launches its own vertical farm

The Ritz-Carlton Abu Dhabi, Grand Canal launches its own vertical farm - More Cravings by Marriott Bonvoy™

The Ritz-Carlton Abu Dhabi, Grand Canal launches its own vertical farm

Posted on 01st May 2023.

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The Ritz-Carlton Abu Dhabi, Grand Canal's newest addition to its initiative towards sustainability is its very own Vertical Hydroponic Farm. This innovative farm provides the freshest, most nutritious produce possible, grown on-site and hand-delivered, in close proximity to the hotel's restaurants and special events.

The Vertical Farm demonstrates the hotel's commitment to helping the planet heal by reducing the carbon footprint associated with typical logistics involved in farming products. With the elimination of transportation, produce is harvested on-site, resulting in zero spoilage, and superior outcomes in terms of flavor and nutrition. Furthermore, without the use of pesticides, herbicides, or fungicides.

The Vertical Farm generates 15 kilograms of produce daily within a 41 square meters footprint, 365 days a year regardless of weather conditions. The farm grows the equivalent of 1 acre of land in traditional farming, or 30 times higher growth yields than traditional farming. Utilizing a practice for controlled environment agriculture (CEA), a technique where all aspects of the farm environment are managed. CEA also optimizes the growth of crops by providing the ideal growing conditions, such as lighting, ambient temperatures, carbon dioxide levels, nutrient conditioning of the water, and many other aspects, allowing crops to grow more efficiently, leading to 100% harvests.

The hotel team is also witnessing a significant reduction in food waste due to daily accurate harvesting.

Expecting to yield around 10 up to 15 kilograms of crops each day, the produce will be used in the property’s restaurants and bars. The team have already had their first harvest of herbs, vegetables, and salads.

This is just one component of The Ritz-Carlton Abu Dhabi, Grand Canal's sustainability portfolio that aims to reduce the hotel's environmental impact and enhance the local community's experience. The hotel has recently implemented a variety of key initiatives that have made an immediate impact on operations, such as a new recycle service glove for their Ladies & Gentlemen and replacing plastic bottle usage within the resort with their own glass bottle program.

Watch the passionate video to see Christian Hoehn, General Manager of the hotel and Vitaly Medvedev thrive on driving sustainable operations and elevating the customer dining experience. with the Vertical Farm.