US: The American Hotel and Lodging Association (AHLA) and the Sustainable Hospitality Alliance (the Alliance) have announced a new strategic partnership to drive forward sustainability and ESG efforts in the hospitality sector.
The announcement of the partnership follows a two-day summit , hosted by the Alliance, which brought together senior hospitality leaders and strategic partners to discuss current sustainability efforts and challenges, discover insights from expert speakers on collaboration and leadership and develop a long-term sustainability strategy for the future that enables every part of the industry to contribute towards achieving net positive hospitality.
Chip Rogers, president and CEO of AHLA said: “AHLA and the AHLA Foundation are proud to enter this partnership with the Sustainable Hospitality Alliance, as many of our member brands are already on the leading edge of ESG efforts in the hospitality sector. America’s hotels recognise the industry-transforming potential of a sustainability strategy that addresses the environmental impacts of waste, water, energy and sourcing across operations and want to ensure we are reducing our environmental footprint without compromising the needs of our guests. This partnership will also strengthen our career development and human trafficking work, further extending our impact on the communities we serve.”
Glenn Mandziuk, CEO of the Sustainable Hospitality Alliance said: “We are delighted to be partnering with AHLA to promote social and environmental sustainability across the industry. This co-operation will enable us to reach a large portion of the US industry, including small and medium-sized hotels, and give both our organisations the platform to create, test and roll out innovative solutions to enable the industry to have a regenerative impact and give back to their local communities, environments and places.”
Alliance members make up 35 per cent of the global hotel industry by rooms and include 21 world-leading hotel companies and strategic partners, many of which are also AHLA members.
AHLA is the largest hotel association in the US representing all segments of the industry including more than 30,000 members and the 10 largest hotel companies nationwide. In addition to major reductions in water usage and energy across the sector, America’s hotels have made significant commitments to reduce waste and source responsibly through innovative programs and partnerships with organisations like the Sustainable Hospitality Alliance.
The Sustainable Hospitality Alliance recently signed a commitment to work together on sustainability issues with the World Travel and Tourism Council.
Image from The Sustainable Hospitality Alliance’s Summit: Net Positive: Hospitality with purpose, for people, planet and prosperity