Scandic has been working to operate more sustainably since 1996 and during this time, we've had a clear sustainability agenda. Sustainability is integrated in everything we do and part of all decision-making.

Thanks to pioneering initiatives such as "Hang up your Towel" that has become the industry standard, today, Scandic is the sustainability leader in the hotel industry.

Over the years, we've introduced other sustainability initiatives such as serving our own carbonated "Scandic" water in specially-designed bottles to partnerships with organizations such as Too Good to Go and Karma to sell leftover food that would otherwise go to waste to the public on digital platforms.

To continue developing our sustainability work and decrease our environmental footprint further, we recently involved our 18,000 team members in a Sustainability Hackathon. This was actually in part to carry on a tradition: It was one of our team members that came up with Hang up your Towel idea.

In the fall 2018, Scandic's team members participated in more than 200 workshops to generate ideas on how Scandic could be a more sustainable company. In total, we received more than 400 ideas from which we chose two winners: one in environmental sustainability and one in social sustainability.

Environmental sustainability: Turn off the Tap

Scandic can save over 200 million liters of water per year* if the guests turn off the taps while they brush their teeth. That is 1.2 million bathtubs filled with water. Hopefully, the guests will bring the positive behavior home with them. There is also a good chance they'll bring the positive behavior home with them.

Social sustainability: Holiday for All

Holiday for All is about giving people experiences. The idea is for Scandic to open its hotels to families that miss out on social experiences because of financial constraints. Scandic is now identifying potential partners in each country and will launch a pilot project for this idea at selected hotels during the year.

  • We have 18,000 team members who are committed to sustainability and they inspire us to constantly improve and to become more sustainably all the time. We're extremely happy about the huge engagement we've seen and humbled by the more than 400 brilliant ideas they submitted. We will start by implementing the two winning ideas and then examine the others to see which ones are feasible in the company, says Vanessa Butani, Sustainability Director at Scandic Hotels.
  • We at Scandic look forward to having more positive news to share. And we will continue to support our team members who are an important in helping Scandic be a role model for how a company can implement sustainability successfully, says Vanessa.

*Based on 50% of guests turning off the tap when they brush their teeth, brushing 2 times per day for 2 minutes each, consuming 1L of water each time.

About Scandic Hotels Group

Scandic is the largest hotel company in the Nordic countries with a network of about 280 hotels with 58,000 rooms in operation and under development, in more than 130 destinations. The company is the leader when it comes to integrating sustainability in all operations and its award-winning Design for All concept ensures that Scandic hotels are accessible to everyone. Well loved by guests and employees, the Scandic Friends loyalty program is the largest in the Nordic hotel industry and the company is one of the most attractive employers in the region. Scandic is listed on Nasdaq Stockholm. www.scandichotelsgroup.com