Sustainability

Far East Hospitality Achieves Largest Number of GSTC-Certified Properties in Singapore – All 16 Hotels Now Globally Accredited

Far East Hospitality, Singapore’s home-grown hospitality management company with an international presence has announced that all 16 of its hotels in the country have achieved the Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC) Industry Criteria for Hotels Certification. With this accreditation, Far East Hospitality is now the hospitality group with the largest number of GSTC-certified sites in Singapore.

Leading International and Thai Green Advocates Headline Asia’s Leading Sustainability Tourism Event, PHIST 2024

PHUKET One of the world’s most inspirational green advocates will headline PHIST this year as Asia’s pioneering sustainability event enters its 8th year.Register here!Unsung hero of sustainability Andrew Dixon, former banker turned green activist, owner and operator of two private island resorts in Indonesian waters – Nikoi Island and Cempedak Island - will discuss his broad sustainability platform that takes in not only conservation – but critically culture, community and commerce.Stories will cover everything from micro-financing and cultural integration to a school that now numbers over 600 students – providing vital support and development systems that go much further than tree planting and the banning of single use plastics.

Accor Hotels in Phuket Rally for the ‘Accor Heartbreak Hill Mini-Marathon 2024’, Driving Community Change

Showcasing a remarkable commitment to community spirit and charitable giving, Accor hotels and resorts in Phuket, together with ALL, Accor’s lifestyle loyalty program, successfully organized ‘The Accor Heartbreak Hill Mini-Marathon 2024’ on 14th July at Nai Harn Beach and along Promthep Cape. This fundraising event aimed to create a positive impact on Phuket communities.

Phist Strikes Again! Southeast Asia’s Biggest Sustainable Tourism Event Reveals Top-Level Speakers for 2024

PHIST (Phuket Hotels for Islands Sustaining Tourism), Southeast Asia’s biggest sustainability event for the travel and hospitality sectors, will return to spark conversation and drive the green agenda this September, with an impressive line-up of key figures and industry innovators led by Peng Sum Choe, CEO of Pan Pacific Hotels Group.Organised by the Phuket Hotels Association, the non-profit organisation of hoteliers focused on creating a bright future for Phuket, PHIST 2024 will run under the theme One on One: Sustainability from the Top, as it reveals how senior company executives can successfully build a forward-thinking corporate culture and drive positive change, not only within their own companies, but across the entire industry and beyond.

AI used for Food Waste monitoring

My experience with the usage of AI is related to "Intelligent Scales" used to monitor food waste in the kitchens. This technology is combining scales and a camera that can analyse the content of the bin and help to make a choice when it comes to categorize the type of food waste, for example: trimmings, french fries, ...

AI for sustainability: an oxymoron?

AI is ushering in a new era of innovation and efficiency within the hospitality industry by enhancing utility consumption and waste management, ensuring regulatory compliance, and promoting eco-friendly behaviors among guests[1]. These benefits appeal to managers for their cost-effectiveness and competitiveness[2], while environmental advantages, like reducing food waste[3], are clear. Yet even the most adamant proponent of AI recognizes the challenges of data privacy, ethics, and the risk of over-reliance on technology [4]. Often overlooked are the energy demands of AI, such as AI-powered chatbots consuming the energy equivalent of 33,000 homes. Additionally, demand for new data centers to support AI is rising, with their own significant environmental and social issues[5]

AI in sustainable hospitality: Complementing human efforts for optimal results

While AI and technology are often heralded as transformative tools in the push for sustainability, especially in sectors like hospitality, it is crucial to recognise their limitations. AI can optimise energy usage, streamline operations, and provide valuable insights, but it does not physically insulate walls or address the skills gap necessary to design, develop, and construct hotels and buildings sustainably. Implementing sustainability measures, such as installing energy-efficient insulation and reducing embodied carbon, relies heavily on skilled labour and new construction practices. These physical and human elements are indispensable and cannot be replaced by AI.

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IHCL Partners With REACHA and Tata STRIVE to Train 200 Youth in Baramulla

Indian Hotels Company (IHCL), India’s largest hospitality company, announced the launch of a center in association with REACHA, a leading non-profit organization, Tata STRIVE and the Indian Army in Boniyar, Baramulla (Aspirational District of Jammu & Kashmir). Under this partnership, the comprehensive program aims to empower the youth and address the growing demand for a skilled workforce in region.

When it comes to reducing or eliminating food being wasted and transforming diets, what holds us back?

Our global food systems need an overhaul. We are wasting food at every stage of the food cycle and a large proportion of the food we are growing is arguably not good for us or the planet – the waste of resources is magnified if the food we do produce minimal nutritional value in the first place.

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Redefining Social Sustainability: A Net Positive Approach for the Hospitality Industry

From the perspective of the Sustainable Hospitality Alliance and the Net Positive Hospitality philosophy, it's crucial that companies measure and report on a variety of social aspects. These include, but are not limited to, employee health and wellbeing, fair and equitable wages, diversity and inclusion, and human rights adherence. To ensure consistency and comparability, reports should utilize internationally recognized standards and frameworks such as the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) or the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB).

Measuring an organisation's social sustainability

Organisations should be measuring the holistic well-being of all stakeholders under the Social component of the "ESG" Framework. An organisations stakeholders typically include employees, local communities, customers, and suppliers. Compared to Environmental ('E') metrics, Social ('S') metrics can be challenging to define and measure, but there are several emerging and established indices and tools that organisations can use to assess their Social imapct. Holistic well-being can be measured through six domains, as recommended by the comprehensive "Well-Being Assessment" (WBA) of the Human Flourishing Program, namely: Emotional Health, Physical Health, Meaning and Purpose, Character Strengths, Social Connectedness and Financial Security, developed by the Sustaianbility and Health Initiative for NetPositive Enterprise (SHINE) at Harvard's School of Public Health. The World Health Organisation's definition of health goes beyond mental and physical health to include the wholeness of a person. Social metrics in the EU are being standardized through the EU Social Taxonomy, a potentially new social reporting tool that will allow organisations to report against decent work, adequate living standards and inclusive and sustainable communities and societies. Companies can also report Social Sustainability against universally recognized protocol such as the UN Guiding Principles on Business & Human Rights or UNSDGs (SDG Goal 3: universal well-being), or more specific well-being indices such as the Happy Planet Index, the World Happiness Report, Global Happiness and Well-Being Policy Report, the OECD's Well-being framework or others. For an organization to effectively measure social sustainability and social impact, stakeholders must be engaged and incentivized to provide regular and real input. In additional to a organisation' immediate stakeholders, the "S" in ESG also considers the wider society(s) and political environment(s) in which an organization operates.