The sustainability movement is likely to reshape the entire global economy, fundamentally changing how products are made, transported, stored and financed, according to Forrester. Along the way, companies face an “unprecedented business opportunity,” per the researcher.
Our sustainability editor Juliet Kinsman has put together the ultimate cheat sheet to judge hotels and travel operators – and tell if they’re really green. We’re sharing these considerations so that you, too, can assess if a hotel or travel business is truly eco-friendly, so we are all less susceptible to greenwashing and can start travelling better.
The travel industry has been urged to prove its commitment to sustainability with “rapid decarbonisation” to avoid a climate disaster.
Getting in an airplane long ago ceased to be anything remotely resembling a luxury experience. But in recent years, it has become something else as well — a largely unavoidable form of “climate sin.” Although aviation is a relatively slim sliver of global carbon emissions — around 2.5 percent — at the personal level, it carries an enormous footprint practically unmatched by any other individual action. (Avoiding an international flight from New York City to London, for example, could save 600 kilograms of carbon dioxide from spewing into the atmosphere — about double the effect of going vegan for a year.) The climate activist Greta Thunberg once opted to take a high-speed racing yacht across the Atlantic rather than get in a plane; in her home country, Swedes have started using the word flygskam, which means “flying shame.”
Hotels in South Africa equipped with rooftop solar panels, water-efficient fittings, energy-saving minibars, and even a vertical farm already form part of Radisson's goal of complete decarbonisation by 2050.
From far-flung expeditions to deep fireside chats, travel has the power to change us. When done well, it can also positively change the places we visit—a fact I learned during a recent safari in southern Tanzania.
As the world grapples with weather extremes ranging from intense heat to torrential storms to dangerous droughts, business travelers want to know that when they stay at a particular hotel there are some efforts to promote sustainability.
The requisite amenities of luxury hotels has long been focused on the room—free WiFi, linens with high thread counts, widescreen HD TV and premium liquors in the minibar. Now, however, hotels have engaged more than ever in sustainable practices, not only to save themselves the effects and cost of climate change, but because their clientele are demanding it. How this has developed into a marketing necessity was the subject of my interview with Daniel Luddington, VP Development, Small Luxury Hotels of the World, which has introduced its new “Considerate Collection” line.
Behold the hotel of the future: It’s plastic bottle-free, anti-fossil fuel, and powered entirely by renewable energy. A renovation project, it gives new life to existing structures of concrete and steel, and reuses door frames, light fixtures, and even tile. All of its guest rooms are decorated with locally made furnishings upholstered in sustainably sourced fabrics. It’s LEED Platinum—one of just about a dozen hotels in the US to claim the organization’s highest rank. And it’s the first US hotel to receive Passive House designation, granted to buildings that meet stringent net-zero energy requirements.
As the pandemic forced many travelers to stay home, cities prone to an influx of tourists suddenly found their environment and quality of life improved. This phenomenon of “regenerative tourism” deals with how destinations around the world continue to push for ways that tourism can enhance the quality of life of residents, aligning tourists’ vacations with local values and redefining travel in a way that prioritizes quality over quantity.
Today is Travel DAZE and the hot topic of Australia’s most influential forum for the travel industry is: sustainability. How can businesses and brands have a sustainable purpose and learn to thrive again after a global pandemic?
THE three markets that are most interested in travelling are also the ones most interested in travelling sustainably, according to Booking.com’s inaugural APAC Traveler Confidence Index, shared at the OTA’s recent industry roundtable event in Singapore.
Assistant Professor Aaron Adalja and Senior Lecturer Jeanne Varney co-chaired the 12th Annual Sustainability Roundtable, where academic and industry participants came together to discuss climate commitments in supply chain contracts, how sustainability is helping to rebuild the workforce family, and other hot topics. Although everyone was not able to gather in Ithaca again this year, holding the event in a virtual format again allowed participants from around the world to dial in to reconnect and engage in meaningful discussions pertaining to pressing sustainability issues.
The environmental impact of new construction is both dire and intensifying. Not only do buildings account for nearly 40 percent of greenhouse emissions in the United States, but the world builds the square footage of New York City every 35 days. Seeking to circumvent this trend, real estate developer Urban Villages is envisioning a first-of-its-kind hotel opening in Denver next year. Designed by Studio Gang, the 265-room Populus will become the country’s first carbon positive hotel thanks to sustainable construction and a substantial ecological effort offsite that involves planting trees across 5,000 acres of forest.
The travel industry must stare the reality of its high carbon footprint in the face and stop pretending it can be offset.
BTN Europe: We have a serious challenge on our hands to reduce carbon emissions globally and aviation has a big role to play in that. Where are we on that journey?
BTN Europe: We have a serious challenge on our hands to reduce carbon emissions globally and aviation has a big role to play in that. Where are we on that journey?
Sustainability is quite a buzzword in recent years, being infused into conversations about nearly everything, and the travel industry is no exception. While sustainable travel accounts for more than just environmental impact—it also comprises the socioeconomic and cultural impact of tourism—there is rightfully an increasing concern about the former. According to scientific journal Nature Climate Change, tourism accounts for 8% of the world’s carbon emissions. Since we all can’t (and shouldn’t) simply stop traveling, there’s an increasing demand and effort to reduce travel’s impact on the earth, by both travelers and providers. And those dual efforts, as well as the widespread transparency of how they're being achieved, will continue to put pressure on the industry as a whole to reduce its impact.
John De Fries still recalls fishing the waters off Waikiki Beach in Oahu as a kid in the 1960s. “Growing up, my family fishing grounds were a source of food first and recreation second,” he says. “Today they’re a playground surrounded by hotels.”
If there was one eagerly awaited mega-event in the second year of COVID-19, it was COP26 in Glasgow.