Hawaii Island Retreat Gets Green Business Award

The North Kohala coast’s Hawaii Island Retreat in Hawi was one of 13 businesses in Hawaii, and the only one on the Big Island, recently recognized with a 2014 Hawaii Green Business Award for “outstanding and innovative clean energy efforts.”

Hawaii Island Retreat offers luxury accommodations in harmony with nature, said a release from the Hawaii State Energy Office of the state Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism, creating energy independence with photovoltaic panels and a windmill, and heating all water with solar power.

DEBDT co-sponsored the awards with the state Department of Health and The Chamber of Commerce of Hawaii.

Hawaii Island Retreat is a working example of luxurious living in balance with the earth, said DBEDT, and was awarded the highest rating in the Eco-Travel category.

The Retreat’s rooms are supplied with organic shampoo, conditioner, shower gel, hand lotion and liquid hand soap in refillable dispensers, eliminating single-serving containers, and its garden pools serve as catchments for rainwater from the rooftop of the hotel, the release said.

Also, the Retreat’s massage sheets, robes, and other spa linens are made of organic bamboo, a fast-growing fiber cultivated without toxic fertilizers and herbicides.

Hawaii Island Retreat is located on 50 acres of needled groves and valley trails including legendary council stones and native trees, planted generations ago by a Hawaiian kahuna and his beloved wife, said the Retreat’s web site.

“Now, as then, this land is a place of healing,” it said. “The very name, Ahu Pohaku Ho’omaluhia, means The Gathering Place of Peace-giving Stones.”

The Hawaii Green Business Program assists and recognizes businesses that strive to operate in an environmentally and socially responsible manner, said a state press release. The awards were presented by Lt. Gov. Shan Tsutsui.

“Today’s honorees have proven themselves to be responsible stewards of business and the environment,” Tsutsui said. “Together, they showcase a deep commitment to preserve and protect our precious natural resources.”