Circular economy
SOLUTION
Why do we need a Circular Economy?
A staggering one-third of Earth’s resources have been depleted, a trend intensifying with time. Our current consumption rate demands 1.75 planets, projected to surge to an alarming two by 2030. This unsustainable trajectory is tightly interwoven with climate change, with 45% of global emissions originating from everyday essentials like cars, clothing, and food.
To address this pressing issue, a unified effort from companies, governments, and stakeholders is imperative. Together, we must craft a robust, profitable and sustainable model. This model not only revitalizes social and human capital but also combats climate change head-on. The shift towards a circular economy is a necessity.
The 
Circular Economy solutions we are driving
We started our circular economy work by designing strategies to remove single-use plastics, send no waste to landfill, and decarbonize operations within accommodation. Having implemented these strategies for over five years, we broadened our approach to encompass the regenerative and restorative management of water, energy, and products within its built environment. Going even further, we expanded our circular economy philosophy to integrate the concept of regeneration in ecosystem services as well as in the destinations and the value chain.
01
Evolving operations towards circularity
02
Contributing to regenerative destinations
03
Driving partnership through the value chain
Evolving operations towards circularity
We seek to demonstrate that transforming business models in favor of circularity is possible. In order to do so, we spark action across four key areas:
- Employees have the sufficient capacity, constant engagement and clear empowerment to achieve value-driven corporate objectives in the circular economy.
- Operations drive efficiency, renewable energy and regenerative sourcing to decarbonize its direct and indirect emissions well before we must reach net zero objectives globally
- Operations minimize the need for water resources through efficiency, innovation and reutilization
- Operations keep products in use by fostering efficiency and regenerative sourcing in its goods and services
Contributing to regenerative destinations
Beyond transforming business models, it is also imperative to build regenerative destinations, leaning into collective action and successful public-private partnerships with governments, IGOs & NGOs and the tourism industry. Only through partnerships can we create destinations that add value, minimize environmental impact, and safeguard critical ecosystem services and consequently, ensure long-term prosperity in these destinations.
- Circular built environments ensure that new developments and renovations in hospitality adhere to the highest standards of efficiency and waste reduction, all while enhancing resilience in the face of climate change, pollution, and biodiversity loss.
- Safeguarding ecosystem services to guarantee that assets and infrastructure remain resilient in the face of stressors and climate change.
- Business operations and presence align with the needs of each destination, actively contribute to the evolution of sustainable infrastructure, and foster meaningful public-private partnership.
Driving partnership through the value chain
Value chains are a network necessary for many businesses to drive transformation towards circularity. In order to enact this transformation, we must:
- Shift the focus in the value chain from mere procurement of goods and services to fostering strategic partnerships
- Drive standardization and interoperability in measurement within the value chain to drive accountability and action
- Engage in pre-competitive collaboration to propel innovative solutions to the industry that address shared challenges
What we have achieved
Previous slide
Next slide
It is fundamental to adopt a regenerative and restorative economy in all operations to ensure the health of our oceans
We present our roadmap for the restorative and regenerative procurement of resources, the use and end use of water, energy and the products of the built environment: our hotels
Discover our resources
Stony Coral Tissue Loss Disease (SCTLD) is a fast-spreading disease threatening coral reefs. At Wave of Change, we've developed a successful protocol for treating affected corals and helping reefs thrive.
Discover the remarkable achievements and ongoing sustainability efforts of Iberostar Hotels & Resorts in 2023 by downloading our full 2023 Year in Review report.
This report and roadmap synthesize progress on our strategic objectives and lays out the evolution of embodying a circular economy at Iberostar Hotels & Resorts.
Iberostar Hotels & Resorts has a continued commitment to transparency. Here we present our Wave of Change 2022 Year in Review.
In 2020, Iberostar Hotels & Resorts committed to achieving carbon neutrality by 2030. We now present our roadmap for decarbonization aligned with this objective.
This roadmap establishes clear goals and key progress indicators to track success, and provides guiding actions to enhance the ecological health of coastal ecosystems.
This is our second Responsible Seafood Annual Report and it has been made publicly available to show our ongoing commitment to transparency within our seafood strategy.
Iberostar Hotels & Resorts has a continued commitment to transparency. Here we present our Wave of Change 2021 Year in Review.
As part of our commitment to transparency, we present our Wave of Change 2019 End of Year Assessment by the numbers where we highlight our achievements.
This is our first Responsible Seafood Annual Report and it has been made publicly available to show transparency within our seafood commitment.
As part of our commitment to transparency, we present our Wave of Change 2020 Year in Review. This document outlines how we performed in 2020.
What should resilient reef restoration look like for tourism? For Wave of Change, it should protect our coastlines, enhance fish biomass and maintain high levels of biodiversity.
Nature holds the most powerful solution to climate change. Learn more about our plan to offset our carbon footprint with nature-based solutions here.
We're setting a standard towards responsibly-sourced seafood while relying on gastronomic excellence to revolutionize the path towards responsible consumption.
Here we present our proposed goal of restoration for Iberostar’s Wave of Change movement where we determine that tourism is a force of good for restoration.
Get to know the latest findings of our in-house science team. We continue working towards our goal of discovering, protecting and restoring sea grasses, mangroves and coral reefs.
Alliances and partnerships
Subscribe to our newsletter
Stay up to date with the Wave of Change newsletter.
Before submitting this form, you should read the basic information on data protection.
Data protection: The data controller is Iberostar Hoteles & Apartamentos, S.L. The purpose is to manage the distribution list of the Wave of Change initiative and to compile statistics to analyze the impact of this initiative and evaluate the quality of the website. You have the right to request access, rectification or deletion, the limitation of the treatment and the portability of your data, as well as to oppose its treatment and to file a claim with a control authority. More information here.