How Jessica Cain Of Hyatt Centric Key West Resort & Spa Is Helping to Promote Sustainability and Climate Justice
An Interview With Monica Sanders
Don’t be afraid to act on your ideas. One small idea can lead to a movement.
According to the University of Colorado, “Those who are most affected and have the fewest resources to adapt to climate change are also the least responsible for the greenhouse gas emissions — both globally and within the United States.” Promoting climate justice is an incredibly important environmental responsibility that is slowly becoming more and more recognized. In this interview series, we are talking to leaders who are helping to promote sustainability and climate justice. As part of this series, we had the pleasure of interviewing Jessica Cain.
Jessica Cain is the General Manager of the Hyatt Centric Key West Resort & Spa. With nearly two decades of full-service experience ranging from sales and events to hotel operations, she is passionate about curating authentic guest experiences from start to finish. Since 2021, her general manager role at Hyatt Centric Key West has her overseeing the daily operations and strategic vision of the 120-room lifestyle resort. With her expertise, the resort launched the Infinite Bottle Project, the industry’s first hotel circularity initiative which has already resulted in a collective collection of over one ton of aluminum. Throughout her career, Jessica has continuously proven her commitment to improving guest relations through exceptional dining and innovative cocktail programs. As a trusted leader, she prides herself on providing exceptional customer service to shape memorable experiences time and time again.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dig in, our readers would like to get to know you a bit. Can you tell us a bit about how you grew up?
I grew up in a small rural community in upstate New York. My parents have always been avid lovers of the outdoors and raised me the same. We did a lot of camping, hiking, canoeing, swimming in creeks, etc. In fact, I did not stay in a hotel until I was much older (which is quite ironic now). They also raised their own chickens (before it was trendy), grew all their own vegetables and even fruit and canned them to eat in the winter. This lifestyle contributed to an early learning of sustainability and giving back more than we take.
Everyone has a cataclysmic moment or marker in their life which propels them to take certain actions, a “why”. What is your why?
In 2022, a sperm whale was found dead on the shores of the Florida Keys. Typically found in deep ocean waters, this whale was discovered to have a variety of plastics in its stomach likely inhibiting digestion and causing its death. This solidified the powerful impact of single-use plastics reaching the near shore waters of the Keys and the need to act now. The hotel went full force in our efforts to reduce and eliminate single-use plastics.
You are currently leading an organization that is making a difference for our planet. Can you tell us a bit about what you and your organization are trying to change?
We have partnered with other organizations to launch the Infinite Bottle Project. As one of our first steps in becoming a single-use, plastic-free property, Hyatt Centric Key West began serving only Proud Source Water in infinitely recyclable aluminum packaging. Through The Infinite Bottle Project and the collaboration with Replenysh, we and our guests are able to track and ensure all aluminum cans and bottles collected are sorted properly so they can be recycled and reused.
Strategically placed aluminum-specific collection bins, signage and super sacks have been placed throughout the property and are distributed in many places throughout the neighboring community to assist in the collection process. The resort donates 100% of the aluminum recycling proceeds, received through the collection efforts in The Infinite Bottle Project to Reef Relief to aid in the mission to protect and preserve the Florida Reef (also known as the Great Florida Reef), the only living coral barrier reef in North America.
You can follow our aluminum collection tracker at: https://join.replenysh.com/locations/9f5f3347-5ea0-42c5-a450-b665ae43a09d/impact/?_sm_nck=1.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began leading your company or organization?
When we started focusing on collecting aluminum materials from the various areas of the resort (guest rooms, sorting public area trash, kitchen, bar, banquets, restaurants), I was inspired by the colleagues who worked tirelessly to get this off the ground. Many had not previously been exposed to the idea of recycling and why it matters. One day, as I was walking to the office, I saw one of our culinary colleagues dumping her aluminum into our collection sacs. I was impacted by her initiative and willingness to contribute to the cause, bringing her own materials from home. Small actions can lead to big results and this is just one example.
None of us can be successful without some help along the way. Did you have mentors or cheerleaders who helped you to succeed? Can you tell us a story about their influence?
Mark Armen is the founder and CEO of Replenysh. He is passionate about keeping materials out of landfills and took a vested interest in our initiative. I distinctly remember a conversation we had as we were launching the circularity portion of the program and the challenges we faced as an industry that historically has low recycle rates. He called and said he had been up all night thinking about how we can make this happen at our hotel. The next day, he was on a plane to the Florida Keys where he conducted empathy interviews with our colleagues and set up systems that laid out how we were going to recover materials from all the touchpoints throughout the operation. To date, we have collected one ton of aluminum and counting. Through these efforts, Mark is working on scaling this to other hotels nationwide and is making a real difference in this space.
Thank you for that. Let’s now move to the central part of our discussion. Let’s start with a basic definition of terms so that everyone is on the same page. What does climate justice mean to you? How do we operationalize it?
Climate justice means that everyone will be impacted by climate change, but not everyone will be impacted the same. We can operationalize it by supporting companies like Proud Source, who is a Certified B corporation, and Replenysh, who is doing the work to keep materials out of landfills
Science is telling us that we have 7–10 years to make critical decisions about climate change. What are three things you or your organization are doing to help?
- Reducing our reliance on single-use plastics by promoting more reusable options and eliminating plastic water bottles. We partner with Replenysh on circularity. To date, our resort has recycled one ton of aluminum. This is a huge accomplishment and we are the first resort to achieve this milestone. We also only serve Proud Source Water in infinitely recyclable aluminum packaging to our guests.
- Educating the community on ways to eliminate and reduce disposable plastics through our partnership with Reef Relief, a 501c3 dedicated to preserving and protecting the Great Barrier Reef of the Florida Keys.
- Working to make the resort more eco-friendly with features like electric charging stations, eliminating the use of plastic straws, offering bulk amenities in guest rooms in place of single-use plastic bottles, offering bike rentals to guests to help lessen CO2 emissions, installing mobile entry featuring the Apple Wallet room key feature, and implementing motion sensors to control the majority of lighting throughout the resort.
Are there three things the community, society, or politicians can do to help you in your mission?
- Start small — raindrops make oceans
- Choose to lessen your own impact and become a role model for others
- Partner with organizations that support sustainability and are making a difference
How would you articulate how a business can become more profitable by being more sustainable and more environmentally conscious? Can you share a story or example?
Sustainability isn’t always cheaper. In the case of the hospitality industry, we are finding that more guests are looking for ways to lessen their impact while traveling. They seek out hotels and other experiences that can help them do that. We had a guest reach us through an online survey, they mentioned that the only reason they chose our hotel was because they heard about the work we were doing.
What are your “5 things I wish someone told me when I first started promoting sustainability and climate justice” and why?
1 . Doing the right thing isn’t always going to save you money.
2 . It takes time. People need to adjust to change.
3 . Tell the story. It’s important for people to understand the why, especially if the change creates more effort on their part.
4 . Making a difference is addicting. Once you start, you will want to continue seeing the impacts of that change.
5 . Don’t be afraid to act on your ideas. One small idea can lead to a movement.
Is there a person in the world, or in the US with whom you would like to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this, especially if we tag them. 🙂
Marjorie Stoneman Douglas — her work as an environmental champion to protect the Florida Everglades resonates with me. She inspires us to care about the planet and lead a movement of change by acting on what you believe in.
How can our readers continue to follow your work online?
They can visit our the Sustainability page on the Hyatt Centric Key West’s website to learn more about our mission and follow along on the impact we are making at: https://www.hyatt.com/hyatt-centric/kwest-hyatt-centric-key-west-resort-and-spa/environmental-sustainability.
They can also follow us on social media at:
https://www.instagram.com/hyattcentrickw/ and https://www.facebook.com/hyattcentrickeywest/.
This was very meaningful, thank you so much. We wish you only continued success on your great work!
About the Interviewer: Monica Sanders JD, LL.M, is the founder of “The Undivide Project”, an organization dedicated to creating climate resilience in underserved communities using good tech and the power of the Internet. She holds faculty roles at the Georgetown University Law Center and the Tulane University Disaster Resilience Leadership Academy. Professor Sanders also serves on several UN agency working groups. As an attorney, Monica has held senior roles in all three branches of government, private industry, and nonprofits. In her previous life, she was a journalist for seven years and the recipient of several awards, including an Emmy. Now the New Orleans native spends her time in solidarity with and championing change for those on the frontlines of climate change and digital divestment. Learn more about how to join her at: www.theundivideproject.org
How Jessica Cain Of Hyatt Centric Key West Resort & Spa Is Helping to Promote Sustainability and… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.