The Sustainable Hospitality Alliance gathered members and partners in London for the organisation’s annual members-only Net Positive Summit. I had a front row seat to the debate on the key theme: driving collaboration within the industry on a pathway to a positive hospitality with a focus on the purpose for People, Planet, and Prosperity. The initial public introduction of this phrase, and ultimate goal for the hospitality industry sparked the debate on such a striving ambition. In the words of the Alliance’s Chairman Wolfgang Neumann, we must embrace the most outrageous goals in order to achieve true sustainability’, emphasis on True Sustainability.

This means an increased stakeholder management, awareness and inclusions being taken within decision making and operational levels. The complexity of true sustainability must be advocated and strived for and therefore forms the ultimate goal for the hospitality industry: widespread net positive impacts on both a local and global level. The initial inclusions were focused on People and Planet, where during the summit, a third group was added to reiterate the importance of Local Communities: ‘Place’. Focusing and integrating people, planet and place ultimately leads to prosperity for the business, communities and people living around and working within.

The summit enabled the top industry professionals, partners, and hoteliers to come together to align and brainstorm in tackling the most pressing challenges still raging trough the global hospitality industry. The hospitality industry has the power to lead with localizing supply chains, in working with, and building local suppliers to meet the quantity and quality demands of the hotel business. At Kerten Hospitality, we take the opportunity to create unique, individually bespoke concepts through local supply chains; use of traditional local woodwork and architectural designs, locally sourced building materials & resources, locally sourced guest room amenities and gifts, the standard 100% F&B procurement, and of course, local teams. The aspect of locality can and should be integrated holistically throughout by examining OS&E, FF&E lists, local teams being hired from the pre-opening phases, and further integrating the local community and people within operational and decision-making levels.

The hospitality industry particularly is in a special positioning where we are centered around the local community and local natural resources. The hospitality business thrives off of the surrounding community. Respecting and protecting the local community, natural resources and people living within have become of enormous importance. The hospitality industry’s’ operations and effects can be seen and felt widespread by all direct/indirect stakeholders. It is therefore pertinent that the industry starts considering their impacts on the local stakeholders they are operating around. The idea of locality has been the base level of our UBBU strategy, in avoiding centralized, global standards, but rather adapting to local standards, local needs and working specifically with local teams.

What can we source locally? Who can we hire and train locally? What can we aid in building and developing within the surrounding community? How can we add to the circularity and economic drive within the local community? How can we measure and communicate our local impacts? … All questions that were raised when forming the UBBU strategy. A very commonly known phrase “you cannot manage what you cannot measure”

We NEED metrics, key KPIs, guidelines that is truly measuring both environmental and importantly, social and community impacts. Along with providing flexible guidelines and locally adapted standards, we need to pool together as an industry in creating valuable metric systems truly delivering/reporting on impacts. A metric system that allows for flexibility in being able to not only report in statistics and basic numerical, but that allows for data in reporting tangible positive impacts happening locally on ground.

Being able to drive true sustainability is all possible through effective, empowering leadership, management, and ownership. The hospitality industry must take first priority in caring for and motivating their employees, both internal and external hires, also following throughout supply chains. Teams on ground are essential to successfully and continuously carrying out and further implementing sustainability and community related strategies. The values, attitude, and drive of the leaders and management team trickles down to employees in determining the mindset and willingness in embracing sustainability. A global mindset change throughout all players and stakeholders is needed in how it views and embraces sustainability. Sustainability should be seen as a positive drive for businesses and people which directly affects the triple bottom line; is linked to direct profits & cost saving methods; built on sustainably building and positively impacting local communities and most importantly, truly taking care of employees in ensuring basic human rights, livelihoods and working conditions are being met.

What are we going to do? Collaborate!

Join alliances, and work together with brands, and the independent players to truly transition this industry. The traditional hospitality model is not working anymore as we need to transform to a sustainable hospitality business model, which is a much more viable long-term option and not just for the business, but for the people working in it, the suppliers, partners, destination, and communities. With UBBU, we want to further that collaboration, in working with our teams, owners, guests, youths, suppliers, communities, local authorities, and further industry partners to create that chain effect. Connected to the butterfly effect, UBBU advocates to and integrates all stakeholders, members, and local groups on how they can make that small change in adding to the widespread net positive transition of the hospitality industry.

Velina Nacheva
Head of Communications
Kerten Hospitality

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