THE PUNCH BEACH CLUBS
Potato Head: An approach to
sustainability leading to a far better experience for the consumer.
Desa Potato Head is a creative village by the ocean where music, art, design, food and wellness play together. Set on the sand and surf of Petitenget Beach, Seminyak, Bali, the property is made-up of Potato Head Beach Club and a hotel, composed of 226 guestrooms. More than a place to visit or stay, the Desa is intended to inspire creativity, balance and progress for the future.
“We believe that our approach to sustainability has led us to a far better experience for the consumer. We do not want to be the people that deliver a sub-standard sustainable answer.”
COMMITMENT 1
Sustainable Management
By documenting and implementing a clear sustainability plan, Desa Potato Head and its team are demonstrating their commitment to the environment and their communities.
COMMITMENT 2
Sustainable Building & Design
By designing clean and functional buildings & products, Desa Potato Head is minimizing the use of resources, unnecessary waste, and harmful emissions.
COMMITMENT 3
Cultural Interaction & Heritage
By incorporating authentic elements of traditional culture in their operations, Desa Potato Head is committed to celebrating and preserving Bali’s local cultural heritage.
COMMITMENT 4
Sustainable & Local Sourcing
By giving priority to sustainable, local, Fairtrade, organic and/ or recycled produce, Desa Potato Head is emitting less carbon emissions while celebrating the local economy.
COMMITMENT 5
Equal & Local Employment
By giving equal opportunities to local residents including management positions, Desa Potato Head is promoting diversity and elevating employees engagement.
COMMITMENT 6
Staff Engagement
By engaging their staff in the implementation of the company’s sustainability goals, Desa Potato Head is increasing sustainability knowledge, competence and action.
COMMITMENT 7
No Single Use Plastic
By not using single use plastics, Desa Potato Head minimizing by millions the amount of plastic ending up in the streets, in the rivers and in the ocean.
COMMITMENT 8
Waste Management
By having a clear waste management plan in place with actions to reduce, separate and reuse / recycle waste, Desa Potato Head is not only minimizing the amount of waste in Bali; the brand is also leading the example to their employees and customers.
COMMITMENT 9
Sustainable Packaging
By using sustainable, natural, recycled and/or biodegradable packaging, Desa Potato Head is significantly reducing their environmental impact.
COMMITMENT 10
Energy Conservation
By using equipment and practices to conserve energy, Desa Potato Head is contributing to reduce the demand for carbon-intensive power plants which in turn benefits the environment by reducing carbon dioxide emissions.
COMMITMENT 11
Water Conservation
By using equipment and practices to conserve water, Desa Potato Head is contributing to the well-being of the environment and their communities.
COMMITMENT 12
Biodiversity Conservation
By actively supporting, protecting, and promoting biodiversity, Desa Potato Head is contributing to ecosystem productivity and improving the life support system for our planet.
COMMITMENT 13
Community Support
By supporting their local community through various ways, Desa Potato Head is offering jobs, providing goods, services, and financial support to their community.
COMMITMENT 14
Accessibility for All
By having their site, activities and operations accessible for all, Desa Potato Head is promoting equality and diversity in Bali.
COMMITMENT 15
Guest Awareness
By providing accurate and transparent communication regarding the company’s sustainable practices and goals, Desa Potato Head is helping guests make better purchase decisions.
"Sustainable
can be beautiful.
Sustainable
can be exceptional."
SUSTAINABILITY MANAGEMENT
“We know we can make the best products for our customers and not sacrifice the guest experience. Sustainable can be beautiful, sustainable can be exceptional. We focus our efforts in 3 areas to follow a zero waste philosophy: Product – Beautiful x Sustainable, Education – Local x Global Changemakers & Action – First Mover x Commitment.
Potato Head has been fully committed to the Zero Waste Philosophy for many years with a full program for best product sourcing, waste separation, waste handling and recycling. Right now our waste to landfills has been reduced to 1.6% and the goal is 0% for the end of this year.”
STAFF ENGAGEMENT
“Staff is fully engaged. A wide-reaching program of training during orientation and during regular training with all departments in support of Potato Head Sustainability and ‘Do Good’ programs.”
SUSTAINABLE BUILDING & DESIGN
“Ensuring that the buildings are as efficient as possible, using external consultants and establishing annual goals for GreenHouse Gas emissions (encompassing our Energy, Waste and Water goals).” hospital standard triple filter water system, which makes its water safe to drink straight from the tap – certainly a rare facility on the island and in the country!”
EQUAL & LOCAL EMPLOYMENT
“Potato Head is an Indonesian company and have always strived to ensure the highest levels of training and development are provided for all staff, to ensure their happiness and advancement.”
GUEST AWARENESS
“Guest awareness has been a key element to Potato Head Sustainability program. In 2018 they opened their first Zero Waste restaurant in Indonesia and along with that the Sweet Potato Lab, in order to share what they’ve learnt, but also to inspire others, demonstrating their in-house recycling workshops.
We have created a new ‘zero-waste kit’ for guests when they arrive to the Desa, in an attempt to help them travel ‘lighter’ and think sustainably while staying with us. The kit contains a free tote bag with a water bottle to use and keep, and a few items they can borrow while here in order to take the waste out of travel. We have included small containers and refillable stations in our Circle Store onsite for guests to top up on sunscreen, insect repellent and other travel amenities during their stay. This eliminates additional plastic being brought with them in the small travel sizes and allows them to travel lighter, thus reducing their carbon footprint too.
Our sustainability message is also showcased through the art installations around the Desa, not only allowing people to engage with the piece, but also starting a conversation in a thought-provoking way around the environmental issues faced today. For example the piece ‘5000 Lost Soles’ by Liina Klaus is made from recycled flip-flops collected from the ocean, and thousands of people visit our Desa everyday and take photos of it and ask questions about it, so we are able to use creativity to shed light on an important topic and engage people actively through art and design.”
SUSTAINABLE & LOCAL SOURCING
“Since 2016, Potato Head has run a comprehensive farm-to-table program. This program has helped to support the local community, reduce carbon emissions and reduce packaging. Working daily with local producers to make their packaging more sustainable. A belief that nearly all packaging can be reusable and returned to the supplier.”
SUSTAINABLE BUILDING & DESIGN
“Ensuring that the buildings are as efficient as possible, using external consultants and establishing annual goals for GreenHouse Gas emissions (encompassing our Energy, Waste and Water goals).” hospital standard triple filter water system, which makes its water safe to drink straight from the tap – certainly a rare facility on the island and in the country!”
ENERGY CONSERVATION
“In 2017, Potato Head was amongst the first hospitality companies in Indonesia to become Climate Neutral under the UN’s Climate Neutral Now scheme. More importantly, they have established goals of Green House Gas reduction since then and from 2017-2018 saw a 9% reduction.”
"The site has installed
a Salt Water Reverse Osmosis
Plant (SWRO) to produce drinking quality water through bottling plant to guests."
WATER CONSERVATION
“The site has installed a Salt Water Reverse Osmosis Plant (SWRO) to produce drinking quality water through bottling plant to guests. The SWRO draws de-oxygenated sea water from deep wells, so as not to further degrade the levels of water available to the local community. Also employing a grey-water system, which utilises used water onto the gardens.”
NO SINGLE USE PLASTIC
“Not using plastic straws, bags (even garbage bags), bottles, styrofoam, cups, cup lids etc. since 2017.”
BIODIVERSITY CONSERVATION
“At Desa Potato Head, we have and will continue to protect and plant as many native trees as possible. As can be seen in the centre of our new Beach House and car park, we have gone to great lengths to design our buildings around these beautiful pieces of natural history.”
CULTURAL INTERACTION & HERITAGE
“Deeply engaged with the cultural heritage of both Bali and Indonesia and share this with guests through cultural programming. Desa Potato Head hosted the first ‘Indonesia Now’ event, a showcase of local talent and creativity. Indonesia Now will move to a selection of festivals and events around the world.”
COMMUNITY SUPPORT & GUIDANCE
“Fully supporting local community. For example in 2020, we created our Sweet Potato Project: We turned two plots in West Bali into two fully functional farms across the island. The idea was to reconnect the community with agriculture and provide access to food that’s locally-grown. The method of farming that Desa Potato Head uses is called syntropic farming – a system that mimics the cycles of nature, brings together plants that inherently support each other, and is used around the world to regenerate developed or degraded land. Of the produce grown from the Sweet Potato Project, all of it is donated to the local community. The rest of the produce is turned into plant-based nasi bungkus – a rice dish wrapped in banana leaves. The nasi bungkus is given to the most vulnerable members of Bali’s community including orphanages on the island and local waste collectors. The Sweet Potato Project created jobs for the local community and Potato Head staff, while Bali’s hospitality industry was in lock down over the two past years and Desa Potato Head was forced to close.
We invite and send instructors to various companies and schools in the area to share what they’ve learnt about sustainability. This is in addition to the internship programs, which Potato Head feels is very important to inspire the next generation of change-makers in the community.”