In our last newsletter before the summer break we bring you our article on Sustainability Bites – it's all about the G. At the inaugural event, with Hyatt Place London City East, we had a round table of experts chatting about governance in ESG. The article is packed with insight from these industry leaders – you'll need a large cup of tea, and a Jaffa cake might be welcome, for the long read. See the full piece below.
We also bring you the story that hospitality workers are struggling with their mental health with 74 per cent reporting mental health issues in their careers this year. The article offers some hope as a large percentage feel they can talk to someone at work or have an employer who will help.
Did you know one in three people don't know where their next meal is coming from? IHG is tackling food insecurity in a partnership with Action Against Hunger.
And check out our Q&A with Kelli Turner, general counsel and director of ESG at Village Hotel Club. Turner talks about ESG strategy and whether it's had its crisis moment, what makes a happy workforce, EV chargers and more.
That's us wrapping up for the summer. We'll schedule some features and Q&As you may have missed on our LinkedIn page, but until September we are retreating to refresh and recharge. Enjoy your summer days wherever you are.
Until next time,
Felicity Cousins
Editor, Sustainable Hotel News
Image: Hyatt Place London City East
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Sustainable Hotel News caught up with Kelli Turner, general counsel and director of ESG at Village Hotel Club. We talked about ESG data collection, how engagement and community are so important to success, EV chargers, sustainability fatigue, bereavement rooms and if ESG has had its crisis moment.
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Marriott International has launched the pilot of HotelHelp, a rooms donation programme for survivors of human trafficking.
Announced at the AHLA Foundation’s third annual No Room for Trafficking (NRFT) Summit, Marriott’s hotels donate rooms to work with care providers who help survivors find short-term emergency stays.
HotelHelp is being piloted in five US cities, including Atlanta, Detroit, Phoenix, Seattle, and Washington DC.
The programme is expected to expand to 25 cities across North America by January 2025 and in the future the company plans to scale the programme to additional locations globally, to other hotel companies, and to serve other vulnerable communities in need of short-term accommodation.
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IHG Hotels & Resorts has partnered with global NGO Action Against Hunger in support of its work to combat food insecurity and hunger for millions of people around the world.
It’s estimated that one in three people globally are uncertain where their next meal is coming from, due to poverty, conflict, inefficient food systems and climate change.
Action Against Hunger has been preventing, detecting and treating hunger, with its screen, treat and sustain programme providing help across East Africa, Central Africa, West Africa, Asia, the Americas, Middle East and Europe.
IHG will help support and fund Action Against Hunger’s nutrition programmes, with a specific focus on screening initiatives designed to spot early signs of malnutrition in children and provide potentially lifesaving treatment through local community outreach programmes.
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Charity, Hospitality Action, has found hospitality workers are struggling with their mental health and a third of employees don’t feel supported by their organisations.
The survey of more than 500 hospitality workers this June revealed a significant increase in the proportion of hospitality workers reporting mental health issues in their careers, rising from just over half, 56 per cent, in 2018, to 64 per cent in 2020, and 76 per cent in 2024.
Chief executive at Hospitality Action, Mark Lewis, said: “The Covid-19 pandemic and cost of living crisis devastated our industry, as evidenced by these survey results and the surge in calls to our helplines.
“A fundamental, permanent shift in attitude towards mental health is essential to provide the crucial help and support needed to sustain a resilient and healthy workforce in our industry.”
More than two-thirds, 69 per cent, of respondents said they have experienced mental health challenges in the last five years since the Covid-19 pandemic and the cost of living crisis. Forty nine per cent said this was in the last two years alone.
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A new report out today on Climate Justice highlights the role the travel industry must play in delivering “a just climate transition” to ensure no destination is “left behind”.
The report, Climate Justice in Tourism: an introductory guide, aims to encourage companies to take action so that vulnerable groups and communities are represented when it comes to actions on climate change.
The report’s findings are the independent conclusions of a collaboration between the Travel Foundation, the University of Waterloo, Tourism Cares, the Center for Responsible Travel (CREST) and Cuidadores de Destinos.
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Dorchester Collection has been recognised for supporting LGBTQ+ staff and customers, achieving Gold in the Stonewall Workplace Equality Index.
Stonewall was founded in 1989 with the aim to break down barriers to equality and the charity campaigns and lobbies the government to change laws to ensure everyone, everywhere, is free to be themselves.
The charity aims to eliminate homophobia, biphobia and transphobia in communities, and empowers LGBT people and their allies to be role models wherever they live, work, shop, socialise or pray.
Stonewall’s Top 100 list recognises exceptional employers who are committed to supporting their LGBTQ+ staff and customers and Dorchester Collection has secured a place on the list for leading LGBTQ+ inclusive employers.
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Felicity Cousins, editor of Sustainable Hotel News, launched Sustainability Bites with Michael Mason-Shaw, general manager of Hyatt Place London City East, to bring together experts across the hotel and sustainability sectors.
Hosted by Hyatt Place London City East, the inaugural Sustainability Bites event in early July saw a select group of leaders from the industry invited to a round table chat about the G of ESG.
Joining Michael Mason-Shaw and Felicity Cousins were; Ufi Ibrahim CEO of the Energy and Environment Alliance, Jamie Craze senior business analyst, Omnevue, Anjana Raza head of training and development, World Sustainable Hospitality Alliance, Paul Wells partner Studio Moren and Sarah Duncan ESG consultant and author.
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