Hospitality business governance, the need for cooperation and societal and environmental challenges: what are the links?

Governance is about how a company is governed. That includes the structure, policies and processes in place to operate, manages risks, makes decisions and ultimately take action. Good governance is essential to operate transparently, ethically, and in the interests of all stakeholders since the purpose of a business is "to solve the problems of people and planet profitably and not to profit from causing problems" [1].

However, the task to solve humanity's problems is daunting when faced with a global polycrisis (see. https://www.hospitalitynet.org/viewpoint/125000176.html). How can hospitality and tourism businesses move the needle on topics such as climate emergency, biodiversity collapse and social injustice?

Tackling those complex challenges requires cooperation, collaboration and coordination between multiple stakeholders, including governments, civil society, and businesses. In this context, business governance plays a crucial role in enabling cooperation. Companies with good governance practices are more likely to engage in constructive partnerships, more likely to prioritize sustainability in their decision-making, to invest in sustainable technologies and practices, to report on their sustainability performance to and to work effectively with other stakeholders to achieve shared goals [2].

Voices are loud on the importance of cross-sectoral partnerships and business cooperation both in verticals (e.g. supply chain/value chain) and horizontals (e.g. competitors) to move that sustainability needle - whether it's about the development of trustworthy industry carbon calculators or alignment on performance disclosures.

With this in mind, we are looking at best practices and possible dead angles to tackle with the following three questions:

  1. Are we effectively using cooperation in climate and biodiversity action to drive social change?
  2. What are the possible areas where greater cooperation is needed in the sector to advance sustainability performance?
  3. What are examples of best practices in regards to cooperation in the greater tourism and hospitality sectors? (providing information on the challenge tackled and outcome)

[1] British Academy (2021). Policy & Practice for Purposeful Business: The final report of the Future of the Corporation programme. p.48. DOI doi.org/10.5871/bafotc/9780856726699.001
[2] Naciti, V., Cesaroni, F. & Pulejo, L. (2022). Corporate governance and sustainability: a review of the existing literature. Journal of Management and Governance, 26, 55-74. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10997-020-09554-6

Erin Meezan
Erin Meezan
Chief Sustainability Officer at JLL
Glenn Mandziuk
Glenn Mandziuk
CEO, Sustainable Hospitality Alliance
Swantje Lehners
Swantje Lehners
Managing Director of Projects and Cooperations at Futouris e.V.
Stefan Gössling
Stefan Gössling
Research Professor at the School of Business and Economics, Linnaeus University
Johanna Wagner
Johanna Wagner
Co-Founder of La Belle EDuC, Founder of Upside Up Hotel Asset and Guest Lecture at ESSEC MSc in Hospitality Management (IMHI)

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Benjamin  Lephilibert
Benjamin Lephilibert
Founder & CEO, LightBlue Environmental Consulting

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Xenia zu Hohenlohe
Xenia zu Hohenlohe
Partner/Director at the Considerate Group
Elena  Cavagnaro
Elena Cavagnaro
Professor of Sustainability in Hospitality and Tourism at Stenden University of Applied Sciences
Gabriel C. M. Laeis
Gabriel C. M. Laeis
Lecturer at IUBH International University
Henri  Kuokkanen
Henri Kuokkanen
Associate Professor at Institut Paul Bocuse
Marloes Knippenberg
Marloes Knippenberg
CEO, Kerten Hospitality
Megan Epler Wood
Megan Epler Wood
Principal, EplerWood International
Juliette Van Vleck
Juliette Van Vleck
Student at Boston University
Andreas Koch
Andreas Koch
Managing Director at blueContec GmbH
Arjan van Rheede
Arjan van Rheede
Senior Research Fellow in Sustainability at Hotelschool The Hague
Peter Varga
Peter Varga
Assistant Professor at EHL Hospitality Business School
Celine Vadam
Celine Vadam
Founder & CEO of WE(i) Think
Maribel Esparcia Pérez
Maribel Esparcia Pérez
Managing Partner of the European Sustainable Hospitality Club
Willy Legrand
Willy Legrand
Professor at IU International University of Applied Sciences Germany