Hotelbeds launches its 2021 Environmental, Social and Governance report
Hotelbeds has just unveiled its latest annual Environmental, Social and Governance Report, which aims, as Hotelbeds CEO, Nicolas Huss, explains: "to show how we are determined to make our actions speak louder than our words and to leverage our position to make a difference in this new world of travel.”
In this 2021 publication, Nicolas Huss highlights the importance of global companies like Hotelbeds doing all they can in their power to protect the planet. As the CEO says, Hotelbeds does this “through the actions we are taking, the commitments we are making and through the determination of our employees to make a difference.”
The main focus of the report, which has followed the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) standards and is aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), is to capture how Hotelbeds is working to move closer to a business model based on sustainable development.
It also covers a wide range of initiatives that Hotelbeds has carried out from 1 October 2020 to 30 September 2021, which include:
Achieving for the fourth year in a row carbon neutral status by reducing its CO2 emissions and working with Carbon Footprint Ltd, an independent body that accredits carbon management measurements of companies, to offset emissions that cannot be avoided. Part of the reduction in CO2 emissions is also due to Hotelbeds’ use of Google’s carbon neutral data storage cloud. Joining Amazon’s Climate Pledge in their commitment to urge global industries to tackle climate change and to reduce carbon emissions to zero by 2040, a decade ahead of the Paris Agreement’s goal of 2050.
Continuing to add hotels to its Green Hotels Programme. Now more than 20,000 hotels are part of the programme which launched in late 2020, designed to identify, highlight and promote sustainable accommodation across its portfolio.
In addition to the various sustainability measures that have been put in place, the company is fully committed to the more human side of its business. One of the most important elements of its people strategy is to have a diverse and inclusive workforce, and Hotelbeds is now made up of 88 different nationalities and has strong female representation at all levels of the company, with 50% of the Executive Committee and 57% of its global workforce being women.
“We are committed, of course, to sustainability matters but we also have strongly in mind the protection of human rights, the promotion of diversity & inclusion, the importance of being a responsible partner and employer. In addition, combating worker exploitation where we see it and the prevention of child sexual exploitation – all of these are, I think, crucial for any company that operates on a global footprint,” added Nicolas Huss.
