Nothing keeps a purpose driven more than one’s passion and for Six Senses Zighy Bay, its Armand’s passion for sustainability that drives the team in line with Six Senses brand’s goals.
Despite graduating in Business Administration from Paris and an MBA in Digital Transformation and Leadership from the prestigious ESSEC Business School in 2021, Armand had always known that he wanted to create a positive impact and work with something that gives back to the community. His passion for sustainability began since he was a child and his interest in protecting and preserving nature is a deeply rooted manner that runs in his family, who are originally from the countryside of France.
Therefore, treasuring nature isn’t uncanny for Armand as he learned to depend on natural resources for a living, milking cows, harvesting crops, caring for animals, and more when spending summers at his grandparent’s farm. But it wasn’t until his move to Bali that his sustainability-oriented endeavours began.
He reminisced, “Once, I was scuba diving in Nusa Penida – world famous for Manta Ray sightings all-year-long – and saw these magical creatures having trouble navigating in shallow waters due to the sheer amount of plastic in the ocean. No one seemed to care how bad it was, but the thought of it bothered me a lot.”
Unsettled by the sight, Armand together with a few others who shared the same passion for the welfare of the marine life started an NGO known as Zero Plastic Lembongan, with the mission to educate and shift people’s mindset around consumption by organizing campaigns that introduce actions and alternatives against plastic. This experience influenced Armand’s perspective and directed his vision towards seeking a more sustainable and improved environment. Thus, bringing him to Six Senses Zighy Bay.
Armed with an enriched amount of expertise and a thirst for development in both the hospitality industry, as well as the sustainability field, Armand arrived at Zighy Bay and dove straight into reviving and enhancing the resort’s sustainability initiatives that were affected by its 18-month closure.
While most of Armand’s projects focus on educating the local community through trainings, workshops and career fairs in local schools, his main emphasis lies on driving the resort towards zero waste and Six Senses’ goal for a Plastic Free 2022. “To date, we are able to see 100 percent of our food waste being recycled into farm-feed and compost for our organic gardens. All our glass wastes are repurposed into decorations at our Earth Lab and they are also used as part of an educational activity for our guests. In the villas, 90 percent of our amenities are plastic-free and we are aiming to be 100 percent plastic free before the end of the year,” said Armand.
Six Senses Zighy Bay’s location by the Gulf of Oman also gives Armand the opportunity to pursue his passion to protect the marine life. Through the resort’s team of divers and partnerships with local government bodies, he aims to remove as many ghost nets as possible through underwater clean-ups, while educating local fishermen on the dangers their abandoned nets bring to the marine life.
As sustainability strays away from being just a trend, Armand’s aims to not only shape a sustainable resort, but a sustainable community. Hence, his devotion towards reaching a zero waste and plastic free resort extends beyond the compounds of the resort, raising awareness amongst hosts and the local community.