The SLOW LIFE Symposium convenes business leaders, scientists, NGOs, renowned thinkers and policy makers to help accelerate progress towards environmental sustainability. Our key themes are marine conservation, energy security, low-carbon infrastructure, waste management, water conservation, sustainable tourism, sustainable finance and threatened biodiversity.
The objective of the Symposium is the creation of new cross-disciplinary networks and partnerships that transcend both physical and perceived boundaries. Participants attend with the express aim of forging partnerships that address global issues and provide practical, scalable solutions that can be applied within a local, business or political context.
The Symposium is an event of the The Soneva Foundation and is sponsored by the Soneva Group. The Foundation was established by Sonu and Eva Shivdasani with a dual purpose: to have impact beyond our own expertise and to find the best projects and partners to balance our unavoidable carbon emissions. The focus of the Foundation is on clean energy, biodiversity and social impact. Hospitality for the Symposium is donated by the Soneva Group.
Sonu is the host of the SLOW LIFE Symposium.
As CEO and Chairman of the Soneva Group, Sonu set out to prove that sustainability and luxury go hand in hand. Each Soneva resort remains true to Sonu and Eva Shivdasani’s original vision of five star luxury accommodation but with a commitment to protecting the environment and respecting the local culture and fragile host eco system which is to remain undisturbed by the opening of any new resort. Each Soneva resort uses only natural and sustainable building materials, plastic is banned and as much produce as possible is grown or caught locally to support the group’s constant drive to annually improve its environmental impact and ultimately decarbonise.
Alongside the Soneva Group, Sonu and Eva have established the The Soneva Foundation, a not-for-profit organisation committed to supporting the development and operation of projects and campaigns that have a positive environmental, social and economic impact.
The SLOW LIFE Symposium is an event of The Soneva Foundation.
Jonathon is the Chair of the SLOW LIFE Symposium.
Jonathon is Founder Director of Forum for the Future, is a non-profit organisation working globally with business and government to create a sustainable future. Jonathon’s priorities at the Forum include working with the executive board of M&S on Plan A, and working with Unilever CEO Paul Pollman and the Unilever Executive Team on the Unilever Sustainable Living Plan. He is a member of Aviva’s Socially Responsible Investment Advisory Committee.
Jonathon is also Co-Director of The Prince of Wales Business and Sustainability Programme. Previously, Jonathon was inaugural Chair of the UK government’s Sustainable Development Commission. He is a Non-Executive of Willmott Dixon Holdings, a Trustee of the Ashden Awards for Sustainable Energy, and is involved in the work of many NGOs and charities as Patron, Chair or Special Adviser.
He is the author of The World We Made, which presents a credible, positive vision of our planet that is green, fair, connected and collaborative.
The Republic of the Maldives, an archipelago of 1,190 islands draped like a delicate necklace over the equator, is one of the world’s most low-lying countries. Beloved by locals and tourists alike, the beauty of these tranquil islands belies the great threat they face to their very existence.
For the Maldives is fighting a battle on two fronts. Rising sea levels threaten to submerge the Maldives by the end of the century. Increased carbon dioxide emissions are also warming and acidifying the world’s oceans, threatening to destroy coral reefs – the same pristine coral reefs that support tourism and fishing, the country’s two main industries.
Soneva Fushi is a fitting location for environmental problem solving to take place. Set on a 100 acre island in Baa Atoll, Soneva Fushi has a 70KW solar photovoltaic system, champions the use of natural building materials, eschews the use of plastic, refuses to serve fish unsustainably, produces its own drinking water and pioneers recycling and reconditioning in a nation with no such municipal facilities.
350 kms southeast of Bangkok and 80 kms off the Thai mainland, the island of Koh Kood deserves its reputation for unspoilt natural beauty. Ancient rainforest blankets hillsides that slope down to deserted coconut palm shaded beaches and the Gulf of Thailand’s pristine cobalt waters. This is an environment worth protecting.
Soneva Kiri is nestled among palm-fringed hills around a secluded bay. Villas are constructed from sustainably sourced timber, much of the produce served is grown in the resort’s vegetable gardens and reef restoration projects are under way.
The Soneva Sustainability Report 2014-15 publishes the results of Soneva’s first Total Impact Assessment. [caption id="attachment_3317" align="alignleft" width="780"] Photo: Cat Vinton[/caption] In an effort to measure the total impact the company has on the natural world and on the…... more
Soneva was announced as the winner of the prestigious Word Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) Tourism for Tomorrow Award 2015 in the Environment category at the WTTC…... more
Participants at the 2014 SLOW LIFE Symposium. Successful initiatives such as WHOLE WORLD Water and Learn to Swim were born out of the SLOW LIFE Symposium. Following…... more
