An estimated 11,700 people live in modern slavery in the UK, and Prime Minster Theresa May has labelled it "the great human rights issue of our time". From goods produced by forced labour to hotels being used for sexual exploitation, modern slavery is a very real concern for the hotel and hospitality industry.
Under the title 'Advancing the Measurement of Sustainable Tourism Development', UNWTO Member States, NGOs, academic institutions and other public and private sector entities discussed approaches to effectively measure, monitor and assess tourism performance and impacts at destination level. This consultative process takes place at a time in which the international tourism community embraces the Sustainable Development Goals.
11th Pow-Wow for Tourism Professionals at ITB Berlin – events in Hall 4.1b on UNESCO World Heritage Marine Sites, participatory tourism, climate protection and social responsibility – The "TO DO! International Contest Socially Responsible Tourism" will take place for the first time in the Palais am FunkturmSocially responsible tourism is a major topic at ITB Berlin. In addition to the ITB CSR Day at the ITB Berlin Convention and the National Geographic World Legacy Awards, numerous events on sustainable tourism will be taking place in Hall 4.1. From 9 to 11 March experts and exhibitors will be meeting in the Responsible Tourism and Adventure Hall for a unique symposium. Under the heading of a 'Pow-Wow for Tourism Professionals', topics dealing with responsible tourism, climate protection and sustainability will be examined. The slogan of the eleventh edition of this event is 'Cherishing Earth's water resources – The blue planet amidst water abundance and scarcity'.
Sébastien Bazin, Chairman and CEO of AccorHotels was recently invited by the UN to speak at the World Economic Forum in Davos as a Global Impact Champion. He appeared alongside UN Goodwill Ambassador, Emma Watson and the brains behind the UN's HeForShe campaign, Elizabeth Nyamayaro to show how corporations can help drive gender equality. AccorHotels is one of just ten companies selected by UN Women as one of the champion corporations of the HeForShe - IMPACT 10x10x10 pilot initiative, thanks to the group's commitment to gender parity.
The most important digital influencers within the area of sustainability on Twitter have named Scandic as one of Sweden's 30 most sustainable brands according to the Sustainability Engagement Mapping 2015 study. The study was based on tweets published by the best-ranked influencers in social media during the last 12 months.
In celebration of Global Handwashing Day Hilton Worldwide (NYSE:HLT) and Clean the World today announced that Hilton Paris Opera is the first ever hotel in continental Europe to partner with Clean the World. Hilton Paris Opera will lead the European roll-out of Clean the World by contributing discarded soap and bottled amenities that will be recycled to benefit European citizens who are at risk for hygiene-related illnesses. As the world's largest soap recycler, Clean the World has contributed to a 30 percent reduction in pre-adolescent deaths from hygiene-related illnesses since 2009. Hilton signed a master agreement with Clean the World earlier this year making it the organization's largest hotel partner.
Tourism must be sustainable if it is to avoid jeopardizing its future and the viability of tourism destinations, and contribute in that way to promoting a more responsible consumption. The role of travellers as agents of positive change will be addressed at FiturGreen 2015 through models, success stories and innovative tools that have improved the sustainability of the entire tourism value chain (28-30 January 2015, Fitur, Madrid).
This Case Study shows the successfulness of a sustainable strategy. A truly committed sustainability path can provide hotels with wider economical results. Ultimately, this is what sustainability should aim for balancing the triple bottom line: environmental results, social results and economic results. The decision about whether going or not going green, in the case of Michaela Reitterer, owner of the hotel Stadthalle wasn't just a strategic debate but a firm decision based on her own personal values.
Scandic ranks as the top leader in environmental issues on the hotel market. Now Scandic is the first hotel chain in Poland to meet the EU's strict environmental criteria, as Scandic Wrocław and Scandic Gdańsk receive the official EU Ecolabel certification.
In association with three partners, the Oxford School of Hospitality Management at Oxford Brookes University has secured £250,000 from the European Commission to undertake a project focused on combatting human trafficking in the hospitality and tourism industries. The principal investigator will be Professor Alex Paraskevas of the University of West London, who will be working with Professor Simonetta Manfredi and Dr Maureen Brookes of Oxford Brookes University, as well as colleagues from Lapland University of Applied Sciences and the Ratiu Centre for Democracy in Romania.
Hospitality software provider Guestline has raised over £1000 for local Shropshire charity, Severn Hospice, by participating in a number of fundraising events, including a Dragon Boat Race.
The International Society of Hospitality Consultants (ISHC), in partnership with the International Hotel Investment Forum (IHIF), presented Patricia Gallardo of Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts with the 2014 Young Leader Award on March 5. Celebrating its sixth year, the award recognizes the outstanding contribution to the industry by a young hospitality leader.
A new report commissioned by the Hospitality Carbon Reduction Forum (HCRF), whose members include Whitbread, J D Wetherspoons, Mitchells and Butlers, Nandos and Hammerson shows that food waste management costs could be reduced by 30% and much less food be sent to landfill.
Committed to continuing its ambitious development strategy within a sustainable framework, Ecole hôtelière de Lausanne (EHL) welcomes US State Senator Marc Pacheco, chair of the Senate Committee on Global Warming & Climate Change, to learn from Massachusetts's innovative sustainability solutions.For fifteen years, Ecole hôtelière de Lausanne has resolutely adopted an environmental approach to the development of its infrastructure. Solar panels, biogas and wind power units are just a few such features of the School. Today, Ecole hôtelière de Lausanne is strengthening this responsible framework to support its ambitious development strategy. Currently welcoming 2,000 students and targeting 4,000 in 2020, the School's goal is to develop a high-quality, sustainable, environmentally responsible infrastructure in line with this growth.EHL recently unveiled its Campus Development plan at a Forum in July uniting an international committee of architects and landscape and sustainable development experts. New accommodation is planned for the site, 650 studios in 2020, as well as new classrooms and an environmentally-friendly training hotel."The School must expand in a quantitative but also qualitative way, with a strong commitment to sustainable development and in line with the excellence and quality of the study programmes", commented Michel Rochat, EHL General Director.Ever aware of its role to raise consciousness among future generations of responsible leaders, EHL also emphasises an environmentally-friendly approach in its academic programmes so that students learn to consider the environmental impact of their decisions as managers. The visit of US State Senator Marc Pacheco, chair of the Senate Committee on Global Warming & Climate Change, is another step forward for EHL as part of its continuing efforts to integrate innovative solutions into its strategy and become a higher education reference in sustainability.To discover the Campus Development Forum project, follow the dedicated blog: http://blog.ehl.edu/campusdev.?xml:namespace prefix = "o" ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. today kicks-off the company's sixth annualRoad to Awarenessbike ride challengeincluding CEO, Frits van Paasschen, joining for the second year in a row, and 23 other Starwood executives and associates from across the globe. The cyclists begin their journey in Munich at the Sheraton Munich Arabellapark Hotel where they will embark on a three-day journey through the mountains of Austria in the Tyrol and Salzburg counties. They will cycle more than 400 kilometres and ascend six climbs before they finish the ride at the Sheraton Fuschlsee-Salzburg Hotel Jagdhof. The bike ride is part of the annual associate fundraising campaignRoad to Awarenesswhich launched in 2008 and since then has raised over US$2.5 million for UNICEF education projects through local fundraising initiatives across its 250 hotels in Europe, Africa and the Middle East.
Accor Hotels announced today that its Plant for the Planet programme will fund 200,000 trees in the UK in a pioneering project designed to promote sustainable food production and nurture links between hotels, guests and farms.
It goes without saying that the travel industry contributes to a significant amount of waste and pollution. While many travellers do care about the environment, few are willing to curtail their holidays completely, because the proposed experience is too compelling or the alternatives are too difficult and/or expensive. Yet, even the most cynical of luxury travellers are aware of the need to go green.
On the 6th March 2013, Stephen Farrant, Director of the International Tourism Partnership (ITP) will lead a session at the Hotel Investment Forum in Berlin. ITP will be joined by industry leaders to discuss how the industry is working together to address carbon and sustainability, and where the future opportunities lie. As one of the only sessions on sustainability at IHIF Berlin this year, it promises to be a highly engaging and lively debate.
Aedes Real Estate, Hyatt and Marcel Wanders announced today a donation to the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam. The major financial gift by Aedes, Marcel Wanders, and a Hyatt affiliate is made on the occasion of the official opening of Andaz Amsterdam Prinsengracht, the first Hyatt hotel in the Netherlands. The donation will be celebrated at a lunch hosted by Amsterdam Mayor Eberhard van der Laan and Alderman Carolien Gehrels at the Mayor's residence on Friday, November 30, 2012.
Scandic continues to influence its suppliers by its explicit environmental focus and strict requirements. As a result, the roll out of new LED TV-screens, certified with the European Ecolabel (EU-flower), has been initiated in a number of Scandic hotels. More than 20 000 flat screens will be delivered to all hotels before the end of 2014.