The World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) has today launched the Hotel Sustainability Basics (Basics) at the ITB tourism fair in Berlin, Germany.
With Green Key as one of the main verifiers, Basics will enable tourist accommodation providers from around the world, regardless of their size, to begin their sustainability journey.
Basics, an industry-backed scheme, is a globally recognised set of criteria that all hotels should implement as a minimum to drive responsible and sustainable travel and tourism.
Basics focuses on an achievable starting point and it is meant to encourage all accommodation providers to begin their sustainability journeys and meet the fundamental standards required of our sector.
Made up of 12 key criteria, the Basics is accessible to all hotels to implement. Green Key recognizes the importance of Basics as a stepping-stone to more advanced sustainability schemes, such as the Green Key programme, and achieve greater sustainability across the industry.
Basics has also been recognised by the Sustainable Hospitality Alliance as the starting point for a net positive industry, who announced the latest version of the Pathway to Net Positive Hospitality.
Verification Scheme
In order to ensure the validity of the programme, WTTC partnered with Green Key and SGS to develop a simple online verification system to allow hotels to provide evidence and ensure they are following the Basics.
The verification scheme enables hotels and other tourist accommodation to be officially verified for meeting eight of the 12 criteria in the first year and demonstrate their commitment to working toward all 12 of the criteria by year three.
Together, the criteria ensure the sector is eco resilient and adaptive to the changing needs of the planet.
Hotel Partners
Six major international hotel groups, collectively representing tens of thousands of sites from around the world have now joined Basics as inaugural partners. The first hotel groups include well-known brands such as Accor, Jin Jiang International, Louvre Hotels Group, Meliá Hotels International, Meininger, and Radisson Hotel Group.
Julia Simpson, WTTC President & CEO, said “We are incredibly proud to launch our Hotel Sustainability Basics and its verification scheme. The initiative is a response to the sector’s need for a baseline for hotels and other tourist lodgings to introduce the exacting sustainability standards.
“Our research shows that most business owners are aware of their responsibility to the environment but need a step-by-step guide that is scientifically verifiable.
“It is testament to the need for such a scheme that already thousands of hotel properties from around the world have committed to implement Basics, and from today can begin the verification process.”
Inge Huijbrechts, Global Senior Vice President of Sustainability, Security & Corporate Communications at Radisson Hotel Group said “Hotel Sustainability Basics is filling a new and unanswered demand in the hotel industry: to provide a solid, trusted, and clear label for essential hotel sustainability. It’s important we define responsible travel to preserve the planet and protect communities. With Hotel Sustainability Basics we offer the traveller a clear sustainable stay option for all types of hotels around the world.
“Radisson Hotel Group commits to implement Hotel Sustainability Basics in all its 1,100 hotels by 2025. We do this together with our shareholder Jin Jiang International, their affiliate Louvre Hotel Group and other major hotel groups and destinations around the world.”
Green Lodgings Trend Report
WTTC carried out an extensive international benchmarking exercise through the Green Lodgings Trends Report, learning from 27,000 accommodation providers on how they are currently fairing against the 12 criteria.
Crucially, this benchmark will allow WTTC to track the progress of Basics over time.
Almost 100% of accommodation providers implement at least one initiative to reduce inequality and 96% have adopted linen reuse programmes.
The report also showed many hoteliers are establishing sustainable practices but there is still a way to go for these to become common across the sector.
Two-thirds of those surveyed have already begun to eliminate the use of certain single-use plastics such as straws and implementing other waste reduction initiatives.
Emerging practices were also highlighted in the report.
Almost half of respondents have replaced small plastic toiletry bottles with bulk dispensers and a third now provide vegetarian options for every course in their food and beverage provision.
