UK: Beyond Green, a global portfolio of sustainable hotels, has released its first global impact report highlighting its member portfolio’s worldwide ESG initiatives.
The report, available online, utilises data from a Beyond Green member sustainability survey, which featured 67 questions that reflected member efforts and impact between January 2021 and December 2022.
26 Beyond Green members completed the survey in full, and the report was written and co-developed by Beyond Green Travel, a sustainable tourism consultancy and sister company of Beyond Green within Preferred Travel Group.
Key report highlights include:
- More than 90 per cent of Beyond Green members have a dedicated sustainability manager or equivalent position or team, steering the evolution and on-site implementation of member’s sustainability programmes;
- 100 per cent of Beyond Green members have eliminated single-use plastic water bottles from their operations;
- Additional efforts to reduce and eliminate single-use plastics include utilising biodegradable packaging and employing more sustainable materials throughout hotel operations, such as re-usable room keys made with wood or bamboo;
- Nearly 70 per cent of Beyond Green members utilise renewable energy sources, including solar panels, wind turbines, and other sources such as biomass derived from certified wood pellets;
- Beyond Green members actively contribute to the protection of more than 24 animal species and one plant species registered on either the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List or the US Endangered Species list;
- Beyond Green members donated $3,138,449 during 2021-2022, supporting local communities, as well as natural and cultural initiatives;
- Members actively support local communities, by hiring locally, partnering with local businesses, artists, and artisans, and contributing to micro-enterprise projects, education, health, and other community development priorities.
Nina Boys, vice president of sustainability, Beyond Green Travel said: “Beyond Green members demonstrate what is possible when world-class hospitality and sustainable solutions converge, and their collective positive impact in supporting local Nature, Culture and Community represents the transformation of travel.”
The sustainability survey also collected information about Beyond Green’s members’ waste management and climate action efforts. Although the report does not go into these in detail it does give some examples of waste management at individual properties. For example:
Three Camel Lodge (pictured) has a programme where it donates old lodge furniture to local families, schools, or organisations within Mongolia’s Gobi Desert and the Parkside Hotel & Spa has worked to upcycle materials from old linens and minimise waste, by turning shower curtains into linen bags for laundry, and by creating a clothing line from old curtains.
Sustainable Hotel News asked for additional information regarding emissions, and Beyond Green responded:
Climate action is a key priority for Beyond Green, and while the brand does not publicly report on the carbon emissions of our member hotels, we are committed to supporting their climate action journeys – including by extending and promoting tools and resources, such as data-driven sustainability management systems, that allow them to measure, monitor, and reduce their carbon footprints as part of their holistic sustainability performance. This brand focus also dovetails with Preferred Travel Group’s corporate commitment to climate action, including aligning with the global emission reduction targets outlined in the Glasgow Declaration on Climate Action in Tourism, of which it is a proud signatory.
Established by Preferred Travel Group in 2021, Beyond Green unites sustainability leaders worldwide with each member property vetted according to more than 50 sustainability indicators that align with global sustainable tourism standards and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Lindsey Ueberroth, CEO of Preferred Travel Group said: “Together, we can harness the power of travel to be a force for good, leaving behind a legacy for generations of travellers to come.”
You can read the full report here.
In January this year Preferred Travel Group committed to reducing carbon emissions.
Image: Three Camelk Lodge, Supplied