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Tropicalia

Tropicalia

Tropicalia is a sustainable luxury master-planned community created by Cisneros Real Estate, offering sophisticated architecture in a  site of diverse natural beauty in northeast Dominican Republic. Comprising residential and resort developments and an 18-hole golf course, Tropicalia merges smart design with natural landscape, creating a sense of harmony between time and space. The project embodies the philanthropic and cultural values of the Cisneros Family, and is uniquely positioned to be a model for sustainable luxury in the Caribbean and the world.

Phase 1 at Tropicalia

Located on a half-mile stretch of beachfront on Playa Esmeralda, the first phase of development at Tropicalia will include a luxury resort experience with a 95-key hotel and branded residential offering designed by Brazilian architect Isay Weinfeld. Amenities feature specialty restaurants, a world-class spa, meeting and event spaces, a kids’ club, and fitness center. 

The Project boasts a tropical modern design, seamlessly combining indoor and outdoor living while incorporating natural elements like wood, stone, and verdure.

Management and Governance Mechanisms

ENVIRONMENTAL & SOCIAL MANAGEMENT SYSTEM

Tropicalia’s Environmental and Social Management System (ESMS) consists of plans, policies and procedures that set key performance indicators and guide the project's environmental and social performance. The ESMS prompts us to analyze issues in key topic areas such as stakeholder engagement; the environment; health and safety of workers; contractor management; supply chain management; and grievance mechanisms, among other issue areas.

The general scope of the ESMS encompasses Phase 1 of Development at Tropicalia, the Tropicalia master-planned development and Fundación Tropicalia when appropriate; which also coincides with the reporting boundaries of this sustainability report.

The ESMS and supporting documents are reviewed periodically and support Tropicalia’s ongoing materiality assessment.

Environmental & Social Management System

Tropicalia relies on its Environmental and Social Management System to monitor and assess issues in sustainable destination and stakeholder management, community development, biodiversity and other key topic areas.

LABOR AND HUMAN RIGHTS

Our commitment to the protection of human and labor rights prevails as a fundamental element for creating a healthy workplace. Our policies mitigate the risk of engaging in child labor, and allow us to advocate for gender equality and equal opportunity employement, as well as individual freedom of association.

More than 50% of our current workforce are women; all employees are remunerated based on experience and position. We also hire and train local residents, of which 57% come from rural regions. Finally all Miches-based operations deploy local community engagement and development programs with the support of Fundación Tropicalia.

During 2021, we remained steadfast with our business continuity plans, ensuring a safe return to work for our employees, and our COVID-19 policies prevented any work related outbreaks and contagion. By year’s end we were able to celebrate an open air gathering with employees, where we reunited for the first time in two years. The table below breaks down our employee workforce by gender, region, and age group.

Labor and Human Rights

In 2010, we committed to the United Nations Global Compact’s universal principles on human rights, labor, the environment and anti-corruption. Our commitment to the protection of human and labor rights prevails as a fundamental element for creating a healthy workplace.

SUSTAINABILITY COMMITTEE

Tropicalia’s Sustainability Committee is a cross-functional team that meets annually to discuss strategy, report progress, and define goals for the upcoming year. Our committee is the highest governing body for reviewing environmental and social issues impacting our business and sector. The Committee plays an advisory role and guarantees the financial and human capital necessary for implementing Tropicalia’s sustainability programs.

The diversity of our Committee members (50% female, 50% male) brings strength to this corporate governance body. Members include senior-level Cisneros executives, and we convene external advisors depending on the particular topic and area of expertise needed.

The Committee’s 2021 meeting took place in the first quarter of 2022, in company of an external advisor, covering essential topics on social and environmental performance as well as the steps taking place with destination management efforts, and finance and construction partners.

Sustainability Committee

Tropicalia’s Sustainability Committee is a cross-functional team that meets annually to discuss strategy, report progress and define goals for the upcoming year. Our committee is the highest governing body for reviewing environmental and social issues for Tropicalia. The diversity of our Committee members brings strength to this corporate governance body.

STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT PLAN

In line with the project’s Stakeholder Engagement strategies, we map out the stakeholders that impact or will be impacted by the project in order to design our engagement strategies and approach them accordingly. As far as community engagement is concerned, through Fundación Tropicalia we are in constant contact with our community stakeholders and invite their participation in project design whenever feasible.

STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT

By way of active stakeholder engagement, Tropicalia builds trust with the local community by initiating public consultation processes and disclosures regarding project impacts. Through a transparent and timely supply of information we give and receive critical information that allows for fluid communication with the people most impacted by our activities.

Download our Management and Governance Mechanisms

KEY COMMITMENTS TO SUSTAINABILITY

SOUND BUSINESS

Despite the challenges of the pandemic, in 2021 Tropicalia consolidated the project concept, initiated redesign and residential sales efforts, and re-engaged our financial and construction partners - IDB Invest and Bouygues Construcciones Republica Dominicana, respectively.  

During the first half of 2021, Tropicalia partnered with IMI Living Worldwide Properties to develop a residential sales strategy and marketing approaches, which showcased Tropicalia's commitment to  community, legacy and place. While we fine-tuned our marketing and brand strategies, we were approached anew by IDB Invest to uptake the financing of our project - clearly an indication that Tropicalia and its business model complies and exceeds the environmental, social and economic mandates of Latin America’s largest development bank. The transaction consists of a loan of up to US$146.4 million to finance the construction and operations of Phase 1 of Development at Tropicalia.

By the last quarter of 2021, we signed a letter of engagement with IDB Invest and quickly began planning our due diligence and financing schedule for 2022.

Tropicalia consolidated the project concept, initiated redesign and residential sales efforts, and re-engaged previous financial and construction partners.

THOUGHTFUL ARCHITECTURE

Our commitment to thoughtful and sustainable design and architecture is steadfast. The result of our redesigned hotel and residential concept, comes with a reduction in the overall footprint of the hotel, (moving from 169 to 95 keys), yet we did not reduce the size of several common spaces, including hotel reception and main guest complex, in order to prioritize open air spaces for resort guests and residential owners. We remain committed to LEED certification and environmentally conscious design and construction.

Tropicalia’s design and brand partners worked together to consolidate redesign efforts while prioritizing sustainability.

ENVIRONMENTAL BALANCE

In 2021, we:

  • Supported El Seibo-Miches Hotel and Restaurant Association (PROMICHES), contributing land, financial and human resources to support leadership and drive sustainable destination management through collective action. 
  • In partnership with PROMICHES and representatives of the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources, we monitored Leatherback nests located on the Playa Esmeralda coastline. Tropicalia provided a georeferenced map of the nest locations and supervised three nests, comprising 353 eggs; 233 hatchlings made it back to the ocean safely.
  • Monitored sargassum arrivals on our coast line to acquire baseline data and determine management solutions.
  • Submitted Tropicalia’s 16th and 17th Environmental Compliance Reports (ICA) and FST’s third and fourth ICAs to the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources.

Tropicalia protects and conserves the natural environment and relies on its biodiversity and environmental management plans, as well as its participation in PROMICHES to pursue sustainable site development and destination management.

COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT

In 2021, Fundación Tropicalia:

  • Impacts the lives of 1,144 community members from Miches (61% female, 39% male), by implementing five programs in education, gender equality, culture and microfinance.  
  • Repositions its School Renovation and Maintenance Program (PRyME) to more generally facilitate learning improvement opportunities and serve as a Partner for Education.
  • Relaunches Soy niña, soy importante as a robust initiative that includes: a summer camp, an at-home program, teen empowerment and activism. 
  • Spears a communications campaign to prevent domestic abuse of children, concluding its partnership with the Canadian Fund for Local Initiatives.
  • Partners with the United Nations Population Fund to launch two chapters of the girls club Fabricando sueños for 13 to 15 year old girls.

The community development efforts undertaken by Fundación Tropicalia (FT) since 2008, are a key component of Tropicalia’s goal in building local capacity and expanding economic opportunities while preserving the region’s natural and cultural heritage.

Download our Key Commitments to Sustainability

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Tropicalia Sustainability Report 2021 © All rights reserved Tropicalia República Dominicana