The Social Hub has had a busy week launching its first property in the UK with the opening of its Glasgow hotel tomorrow, and announcing its Better Society Academy, which brings together people in a series of masterclasses, which aim to empower the next generation of social change makers. More on both stories below.
We cover what the new EU Directive means for hotels when talking about sustainability, impact reports and more, with comment from the Environment committee rapporteur Cyrus Engerer who told Sustainable Hotel News: “All claims must be verified. Our new law will empower those who are making environmental efforts, protect consumers and encourage others to work in a sustainable and restorative manner.”
After the EEA Sustainability Symposium a couple of weeks ago I was reflecting on how interesting it was to hear people talking more about carbon removal – it's been a long time coming but everyone needs to think about a carbon removal portfolio to complement the carbon reduction programme they have worked so hard to roll out. We wrote a piece about this last year highlighting why it's so important to act now with carbon removal, rather than leaving it until the last moment. See below for the feature.
Until next time,
Felicity Cousins
Editor, Sustainable Hotel News
Image by Guillaume Périgois on Unsplash
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The Social Hub will open its first hotel in the UK with the launch of its Glasgow property tomorrow.
This will be the 18th hub for the Amsterdam-based company, which was founded in 2012 by Edinburgh-born entrepreneur Charlie MacGregor.
The £90 million development features a combination of 494 hotel, student and extended stay rooms and spaces with the aim to welcome “a diverse community can come to learn, stay, work and play.”
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Hotels will have to be wary of how they communicate their sustainable credentials and “verify all green claims” after a new EU Directive came into force last week.
The new Directive 2024/825, which is part of the European Green Deal, but is different from the Green Claims Directive, aims to help consumers recognise companies, which are greenwashing or making misleading environmental claims.
The Directive was published in the Official Journal on March 6th and entered into force at the end of the month. Measures in the Directive will be binding from September 27, 2026.
But what does this mean for hotels? ...
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The Social Hub has launched the Better Society Academy: a series of masterclasses which aim to empower the next generation of social change makers.
Co-designed by learning experience partner Hyper Island, the programme aims to give participants the opportunity to network among peers, as well as pick up new skills in an immersive three day learning experience.
Hybrid hospitality group The Social Hub seeks to redefine the way guests experiences its spaces, “including surprising ways that create community, foster dialogue and spark concrete change.”
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Budget hotel brand easyHotel has acquired a site to develop a new hotel in Alicante, Spain, which will feature the brand’s new low carbon rooms.
With a portfolio comprising 47 hotels across Europe, easyHotel has established its presence in Spain, with Malaga, Madrid, and Barcelona already operational, and additional hotels in Barcelona and Valencia expected to open in 2025.
The Alicante hotel will feature 97 of easyHotel’s new low carbon rooms, developed by the brand using sustainable construction methods and materials.
easyHotel says independent research into the rooms shows they emit 21 per cent less CO2 over a 50-year hotel lifecycle compared with other hotel rooms.
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The American Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA) and the Hotel Association of Canada (HAC) have finalised the formation of their JV to own and operate Green Key Global in the US and Canada.
The two organisations signed a Letter of Intent last year to own and operate the sustainability certification body for hotels.
The partnership builds on AHLA’s Responsible Stay initiative, which underscores AHLA member companies’ long-standing and growing commitment to energy efficiency, water conservation, waste reduction, and responsible sourcing.
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ENVI Lodges the luxury low impact brand is expanding its African presence after signing a new lodge near Arusha in Tanzania.
The 20-key ENVI Kili marks the hospitality company’s second venture in East Africa, with a deal to manage the ENVI Paje ecolodge in Zanzibar inked last year.
Tanzanian Government figures show that the country’s tourism industry hit a record 1.81 million travellers in 2023, up 24.3 per cent on 1.45 million in 2022, and generating receipts of $3.36 billion 2023, compared to a pre-pandemic (2019) high of $2.6 billion.
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To reach net zero organisations will have to remove, not offset, the emissions from the atmosphere that they cannot eradicate from their operations. Here we focus on carbon removal methods, specifically Direct Air Capture, and why those looking for net zero need to continue with reduction, but also invest in a carbon removal portfolio.
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