*from: Sustainable Hospitality Alliance
To further their commitment to sustainability, Iberostar has joined 16 other leading hospitality companies to become a member of the Sustainable Hospitality Alliance, a global sustainability network designed to address environmental and social issues and create a positive impact both locally and globally.
Iberostar aims to be an international benchmark for sustainable tourism across its 100 hotels in 16 countries. Last year, Iberostar signed the Glasgow Declaration and committed to being 100% carbon neutral by 2030. As of 2020, Iberostar is free of single-use plastics in all its hotels worldwide. The company is aiming to make its operations waste-free by 2025 and its seafood consumption 100% responsible. The growing group of hotels also hopes to achieve carbon neutrality by 2030, reducing its energy consumption by at least 35% by 2030 with plans to offset nearly 75% of its carbon footprint with nature-based solutions such as mangrove restoration.
The Sustainable Hospitality Alliance drives collaborative action and develops free practical resources and programmes with leading hospitality companies and strategic partners to enable the wider industry to operate responsibly and grow sustainably. Aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), they commit to driving action on a range of social and environmental issues including human rights, equity and employability, climate action, waste and water stewardship.
Most recently, the Sustainable Hospitality Alliance launched its Pathway to Net Positive Hospitality, setting a global vision for the industry supported by a practical guidance framework to enable every hotel to work towards positive environmental impacts, whatever their stating point.
The Alliance’s members make up 30% of the global hotel industry by rooms and include 17 world-leading hotel companies including Hilton, Hyatt, IHG Hotels & Resorts, Marriott International and Radisson Hotel Group. Members are united in a belief that collaboration within the industry can achieve more for societies and the environment as they use their collective power on issues like improving labour supply chain standards and mitigating climate change.
Gloria Fluxà, Vice President and Chief Sustainability Officer, Iberostar Group said, “Sustainability is key to our business philosophy. We strive to lead responsible tourism with our ‘Wave of Change’ movement and are working towards a transparent and science-based strategy so that the organisation can be carbon neutral and tackle climate change. We are thrilled to join the Alliance because, we believe, working together on sustainability strengthens our industry and is the most effective way to contribute positively to the environment and local communities.”
Patrick O’Meara, Interim CEO, Sustainable Hospitality Alliance said, “We are delighted to welcome Iberostar to our membership. The brand’s expertise and commitment towards sustainability will make a valuable addition to the best practices of our existing members and support the wider industry to raise their ambitions. We look forward to collaborating with them to ensure that the hospitality industry is striving for a lasting positive impact on our planet and its people.”
