WORLDWIDE: Danish start-up BeCause, which helps hotels manage sustainability data, is integrating the WTTC’s Hotel Sustainability Basics (HSB) framework into its platform.
By centralising data with BeCause, the WTTC will be able to see which hotels have completed the framework and which ones are lagging behind.
At the same time, hotel management at chain level can check on the progress of individual properties.
Hotels that adopt the HSB framework have three years to meet its 12 criteria, which include sustainability indicators such as energy measurement and linen reuse.
Those hotels that get verification are given a ‘badge’ which they can use across their branding.
Hotels already using BeCause to manage their sustainability data can reuse their existing and overlapping data points for the HSB framework, so there is no duplication or manual input. In the future, BeCause will also automatically transmit data from its platform directly to verification partners.
BeCause CEO and co-founder Frederik Steensgaard said: “Like any endeavour, the first step is always the hardest. While many hotels might have sustainability initiatives in place, they don’t necessarily track their data – or do so efficiently. By completing the HSB framework through BeCause and gaining greater insight into how their business activities impact the planet, we hope they will be encouraged to pursue even more ambitious sustainability measures in the future.”
WTTC president and CEO Julia Simpson said: “Through the Hotel Sustainability Basics, the global hotel industry has come together to define 12 fundamental, globally aligned sustainability criteria that all hotels can and should implement as a bare minimum.
“Our goal is to have a globally recognised trademark that shows customers at a glance that a hotel is taking measures to improve its environmental performance while also supporting its local community.”
Once a hotel enters its data into the BeCause platform, it can be upcycled and automatically mapped to multiple frameworks.
Earlier this month BeCause announced it will be offering a new tool that helps global hotel chains meet their reporting and compliance obligations under the European Union’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD).
Steensgaard added: “For a long time, hotels have lacked an efficient way to manage their sustainability data. They were constrained by manual processes that produced unreliable results, making it difficult to get buy-in from stakeholders on sustainability-focused projects.
“We’re here to change that, whether you are a hotel just starting out and using Hotel Sustainability Basics as your guide or you already have several eco-certifications granted.”
Hotels can apply for Hotel Sustainability Basics (HSB) verification annually through one of WTTC’s partners, Green Key and SGS.
Photo by Markus Spiske on Unsplash