HNtv INSIDERS - Collaboration into Action: Launch of the Hotel Sustainability Basics

The hospitality industry needs to accelerate action on sustainability. The key to moving an entire industry towards Net Zero and eventually Net Positive is to get everyone on board. However, the sheer amount of information, advice and guidelines around may work as an impediment to hoteliers feeling overwhelmed. 

To remedy the situation, a joint-effort by the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) and over 50 initial supporters and contributors, including hotel groups, destinations, tour operators and industry associations developed the Hotel Sustainability Basics.

Set as an open-source resource available to all hotel stakeholders (https://www.radissonhotels.com/en-us/experience/sustainablestays), the Hotel Sustainability Basics is a set of 12 criteria to fulfil on three topics: Efficiency (e.g. energy, water, waste, emissions), Planet (e.g. linen, cleaning products, food options and single-use plastics) and People (e.g. community, inequalities). In a continuous-improvement setting, the basics are to be followed with advanced criteria and move along the Pathway to Net Positive Hospitality as established by the Sustainable Hospitality Alliance. Collaboration in practice, the hotel sectors shows how this is done.

Discussing the Hotel Sustainability Basics on Earth Day are: Inge Huijbrechts, Global Senior Vice President Sustainability, Security and Corporate Communications at Radisson Hotel Group and Willy Legrand, Professor of Hospitality Management at the IU International University of Applied Sciences in Germany.