Sofitel Royal Angkor wins ASEAN energy award

Sofitel Royal Angkor in Siem Reap, Cambodia won the Best Practice Award for New Energy Efficient Building at the recent ASEAN Energy Awards (AEA) held in Bali, Indonesia.

The honour was a first of its kind for Cambodia, with the Sofitel Royal Angkor nominated by the government's Ministry of Industry, Mines and Energy after a stringent and lengthy evaluation process.

Ministry representatives monitored the hotel's environmental performance over the course of one year. Each visit last three days and all hotel operating systems were checked and performance evaluated.

General Manager, Mr Philippe Bissig, said the award was very significant as the Sofitel Royal Angkor was the first in Cambodia to receive AEA recognition, not just for a hotel but also for any building in the country. 

"Sofitel Royal Angkor is now a showcase for the Royal Cambodian Government as an example of future hotel development in the country. It helps improve our relationship with the government at the highest level, as they are indeed very proud of our achievement. We are indeed grateful, and we greatly appreciate the Royal Cambodian Government's support in making this award possible.

"It means a lot for future hotel development in Siem Reap, which is the country's leading tourism destination because of its proximity to the historic Angkor Wat temple complex."

Energy conservation and recycling measures used by the hotel are driven by the Accor Energy Saving Manual including timers on air-conditioning in all public areas and f&b outlets to operate only when needed. Each of the hotel's 288 air-conditioning units is checked every 15 days, and performance monitoring of air-handling units is done constantly to improve heat transfer efficiency.

The Sofitel Royal Angkor recycles water for landscaping using an activated sludge system to treat wastewater and to fill hotel lakes. It has two large lakes with fountains and one small lake for water circulation, three deep tube wells and pumps to supply water, in addition to a generator for its own power supply.

Refrigeration efficiently is constantly monitored and supported by proper loading of walk-in refrigeration and freezers. Efficiency tuning of boilers by measuring CO2/O2 levels is also done regularly.