The hospitality industry sets an ambitious global vision to tackle critical environmental challenges including climate, water, and waste
GCC, March 2022: The Sustainable Hospitality Alliance, the leading global network in responsible hospitality, has launched the Pathway to Net Positive Hospitality for the Planet. The vision of the Pathway is that every hotel around the world can, and must, aim for net positive environmental impacts, whatever their starting point.
Water risk is a key issue that Pathway is seeking to address. Research from the Sustainable Hospitality Alliance found that several key tourism locations across the Middle East and Asia, including Dubai, are at extremely high risk of water stress based on water data and hotel growth. Other environmental issues the industry needs to address are consumption and waste (including food waste). The Pathway supports users to build individualized action plans which are relevant to their specific situation and location.
To achieve the goal of a cleaner and more sustainable Planet, the Pathway provides a practical, four-stage guidance framework as a free resource that supports all parts of the hospitality value chain to progress in a cohesive, strategic manner. It includes detailed action guidance for hotel operators, brands, and asset owners, applicable to both single or multi-unit organizations.
The Pathway recognizes that sustainability is crucially important to the sector’s long-term success. With 83% of global travelers stating that sustainable travel is vital, combined with the vulnerability of the industry to environmental impacts such as water scarcity and climate change, a robust sustainability strategy is now an essential element for all hospitality businesses.
The sequential approach enables hotels to get started with simple actions for climate, water, waste, and biodiversity, such as purchasing renewable electricity, before progressing to more advanced actions, such as installing on-site renewable energy sources.
The Pathway to Net Positive Hospitality has both been created in direct collaboration with the hospitality industry and its value chain, in consultation with environmental and industry experts.
Wolfgang M. Neumann, Sustainable Hospitality Alliance Chair said: “Our Pathway fills the current vacuum of a co-ordinated and focussed strategic plan across the hospitality industry to tackle the urgently needed climate actions. It is a practical tool for any hotel, no matter their starting point, to obtain guidance on how to prioritize and sequence targeted and measurable climate actions. The Alliance wants to encourage all hotels to embrace the journey all the way to net positive. We are spearheading the dialogue beyond having ‘zero’ impact and setting a vision for what we can be put back into the natural world with a lasting ‘positive’ impact on our planet and its people.”
To prioritise supporting the industry with its near-term needs, the first two stages of the Pathway to Net Positive Hospitality launched in March 2022. The final two stages of the Pathway will be released later in 2022 after further consultation to account for the changing landscape and fully explore the more complex challenges.
Find out more www.sustainablehospitalityalliance.org/pathway
Quotes from the hospitality industry
“No one company can shape the future of responsible travel alone. It requires teamwork and a collective effort across the industry to achieve a common goal. The Pathway will help create tangible change locally and internationally at scale, supporting every hotel globally, no matter their starting point. Alongside our own clear sustainability plans and programs, IHG looks forward to working with the Sustainable Hospitality Alliance to ensure the Pathway plays its part in helping write a more sustainable future for us all.” Keith Barr, CEO, IHG Hotels and Resorts
"Today is our industry's carpe diem moment! Collectively, we need to act to end the Planet damage we've been causing, both environmentally and socially. That is why it is important to combine policy-drafting and rule implementation with the support and motivation of our teams globally to act on their ideas NOW. The reference we make as Kerten Hospitality to the ‘’butterfly effect’’ whereby the softest flutter of a wing can affect the molecules around it, setting off a chain reaction that amplifies into major change that has lasting impacts on the surrounding environment." Marloes Knippenberg, CEO, Kerten Hospitality
“Climate change calls for collaboration, not competition. We believe that working with our peers and partners from the hospitality sector is the most effective way to make substantial change happen. The pathway is an important step in that journey.” Brune Poirson, Chief Sustainability Officer, Accor
We have only one chance with planet earth. Deutsche Hospitality with its approximately 11,000 employees is aware of this responsibility. Participation in the Sustainable Hospitality Alliance’s “Pathway for net positive Hospitality“ therefore is a matter close to our hearts. Let’s seize the opportunity to make a big difference together.” Marcus Bernhardt, CEO, Deutsche Hospitality/Steigenberger Hotels AG
“We are proud to be part of the creation of the pathway for net positive hospitality – underscoring our industry’s commitment to protect the environment and limit the effects of climate change on our planet. Led by the Sustainable Hospitality Alliance, this collaboration will allow the hospitality industry to have a much greater impact collectively than we can individually. We encourage others in the industry to join us on this pathway, to help our communities remain vibrant places to live, work and visit, and create a better, more sustainable future for all.” Anthony Capuano, CEO, Marriott International
“The Pathway to Net Positive Hospitality provides an excellent framework for the Sustainable Hospitality Alliance’s planet work going forward. The hotel industry needs to come together to define a clear and common framework for basic hotel sustainability, in all transparency to the traveler and suitable for hotels just getting started on the journey.” Federico J González, President & CEO Radisson Hotel Group
“Soneva is proud to support the development of the Pathway for Net Positive Hospitality – an industry collaboration led by the Sustainable Hospitality Alliance. As an industry, it is paramount that we work towards a net positive future and at Soneva we continue to pioneer a more sustainable solution. Our resorts have been carbon neutral since 2012, including indirect emissions such as guest air travel. We aim for half of our power supply to come from renewables by 2023 and to eliminate fossil fuels from our operations, including our own boats and planes, by 2030.” Sonu Shivdasani, CEO, and Co-founder, Soneva
“We have a collective responsibility to collaborate as an industry and move quickly to reduce our environmental impact. We have a unique opportunity to make a meaningful impact on the world and through active participation in organizations like the Sustainable Hospitality Alliance we can make great progress together to help ensure the future remains bright.” Geoffrey A. Ballotti, President and Chief Executive Officer, Wyndham Hotels & Resorts
