The World Travel & Tourism Council has launched its list of Hotel Sustainability Basics, a coordinated set of criteria for hotels to help drive responsible travel and tourism. The initiative was launched at the Council's Global Summit in Manila last week.
The list highlights 12 actions that will help raise the base level of sustainability across the entire hospitality industry by providing every hotel a starting point on their sustainability journey.
“We are launching the Hotel Sustainability Basics to ensure no hotel, however small, is left behind in the drive to introduce a basis sustainability measures within a minimum level the next three years," WTTC President & CEO Julia Simpson said in a statement. “Sustainability is non-negotiable but not every small hotel has access to the science on how to make a difference. This gives everyone access to a global standard and provides consumers to travel with conference.
The criteria, developed by WTTC in close collaboration with global brands and industry associations, focus on actions that are fundamental to hotel sustainability and address tourism’s impact on the planet across a spectrum of critical issues. These criteria include actions to measure and reduce energy use, measure and reduce water use, identify and reduce waste and measure and reduce carbon emissions.
It also includes a linen reuse program; use of green cleaning products; the elimination of plastic straws, stirrers and single-use plastic water bottles; the implementation of bulk amenity dispensers; and measures to benefit local communities.
The criteria have been developed under the leadership of WTTC and through a working group of 11 hotel companies, with the support of the Sustainable Hospitality Alliance. They have been reviewed, debated and reworked following several rounds of industry consultation so that they represent the common denominator and most transversal sustainability actions across the industry. The working group members include Accor, Barceló Hotel Group, Deutsche Hospitality, Huazhu Group Limited, Indian Hotels Company Limited, Jin Jiang Hotels, Louvre Hotels Group, Meliá Hotels International, Minor International, NH Hotel Group and Radisson Hotel Group.
WTTC is now calling upon hotel operators, owners, associations and investors to officially support the initiative and work across their networks to implement the criteria over the coming three years. Initially eight of the 12 criteria are mandatory while others can be committed to and covered within the first three years.