The Sustainable Hospitality Alliance and GSTC have formed a partnership to consolidate best practice in sustainable hospitality and tourism
The Sustainable Hospitality Alliance (the Alliance), and the Global Sustainable Tourism Council are pleased to announce their new co-operation agreement. This new partnership will bring together the Alliance’s hospitality industry reach and measurement expertise, with the GSTC’s experience in sustainability standards and assurance, to enhance the industry’s understanding of sustainability criteria and the need to capture robust sustainability data.
Over recent years, greenwashing has become a widespread issue globally and across every industry, as companies all too often use sustainability language to present a positive image, without evidence of any real impact. What’s more, within the hospitality industry, the current vast number of ways in which companies are required to report ESG data for different stakeholders and countries, is not only inefficient but can also lead to difficulties in benchmarking companies and therefore establishing best practice.
If the hospitality industry is to have lasting positive change and continue momentum towards Net Positive Hospitality, it could not be more vital to have solid standards and effective tools to verify legitimate claims of sustainable business in the hospitality sector. This will be at the core of this new collaboration – combining the GSTC Criteria, accreditation programme and training opportunities with the Alliance’s industry leadership and bank of pioneering tools and initiatives.
Together, the Alliance and the GSTC share a vision of hospitality and tourism companies working to, not only meet, but exceed core sustainability criteria – using consistent tools and initiatives to produce globally comparable data.
“We’re so pleased to be working in partnership with the GSTC. Our organisations have long understood the power of the hospitality and tourism industries as a vehicle for positive lasting change and have been working to measure and monitor this positive impact,” says Glenn Mandziuk, CEO of the Sustainable Hospitality Alliance. “Now is the time to unite our expertise, embedding sustainability criteria across the industry and ensuring every hotel has the tools and guidance needed to become a more regenerative business, that gives back more than it takes.”
“GSTC is increasingly supporting the development of universal measurement tools for sustainability in order to facilitate businesses assessing, benchmarking, and improving their performance on each of the criteria within the GSTC Criteria, and SHA’s work on sustainable measurement in hospitality is critical to that effort,” says Randy Durband, CEO of GSTC. “We have engaged with SHA for many years but are pleased to formalise and expand our partnership.”
About the Sustainable Hospitality Alliance
The Sustainable Hospitality Alliance brings together the hospitality industry and strategic partners to address key challenges affecting the planet and its people, local destinations and communities. They develop practical free resources and programmes to create a prosperous and responsible hospitality sector that gives back more than it takes.
Their members make up almost 40% of the global hotel industry – totalling 7 million rooms – and include world-leading hotel companies including Marriott International, Hilton Hotels & Resorts, IHG Hotels & Resorts, Hyatt Hotels Corporation, BWH Hotel Group and Radisson Hotel Group, as well as regional brands.
Their network also includes other parts of the hospitality value chain, including owners, investors and suppliers, to further drive joined up action on sustainability, and accelerate the industry on the path to net positive hospitality. For more information, please visit: www.sustainablehospitalityalliance.org.
