Growing sustainable leadership in hotels means better choices for your Travelers and easier adherence to ESG initiatives. These are the brands to keep an eye on and the initiatives that make them stand out.

Over the last few years, the demand for sustainable hotel options has soared — especially in the corporate landscape, with 20% of companies rating climate and sustainability as their number one concern for business travel, according to Statista data from January 2024.

The reasons for this increased interest are myriad.

Factors Influencing Sustainable Leadership in Hotels

On the most basic level, the Travelers themselves are demanding more sustainable options, both for leisure and business travel. Those Travelers are vocal about wanting to support and work for corporations that put sustainability first.

Then, of course, many corporations are adopting environmental, social, and governance initiatives to cater to the public. They’re also doing so to cater to growing federal and international regulations, such as the EU’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive.

Due to all this increase and demand, sustainable leadership in hotels is becoming top-of-mind. As the above-linked Business Travel News article mentioned, many corporations are now actively looking at sustainability features when booking their travel. In some cases, they’re even putting sustainability ahead of price in terms of booking priorities. As such, hotels must adapt and evolve to offer what these business consumers want if they want to remain competitive.

Sustainable leadership in hotels is moving fast, too. Gone are the days when simply swapping out some lightbulbs was enough to consider a brand a leader in sustainability. Now, consumers are demanding more and more efforts across hotels’ entire operations, from food & beverage to human resources to local and community engagement.

So, who can businesses look to for sustainable leadership in hotels today? Here are a few standout players.

1Hotels

1Hotels is a growing hotel brand with chic properties across North America, Europe and Asia Pacific. While each property is luxurious, it’s also incredibly sustainable, with a holistic approach. Each property is a minimum LEED Certified or in the process of being certified. The brand invests in carbon offsetting and has, to date, offset more than 27,000 tons of CO2. Food & beverage programs take a sustainable approach through careful sourcing that’s good for the planet and for people, as well as the communities nearby.

Additionally, if you choose to host a business event at a 1Hotels property, the brand boasts what it calls Certified Sustainable Gatherings. This ensures events divert at least 90% of all waste, minimize single-use plastics and focus on low-waste and low-emissions menus.

IHG Hotels & Resorts

In 2021, IHG Hotels & Resorts debuted its Journey to Tomorrow 2030 initiative. By and large, it focuses on sustainability. It will, within the next five years, have impacted thousands of communities around the planet.

At the time of the announcement, IHG’s chief sustainability officer and vice president of global sales strategy spoke with Skift to discuss the brand’s new focus and initial efforts. For example, by then, IHG had already switched to bulk amenities. These replace those tiny, plastic-wasting bottles of shampoo you might commonly see in hotel showers — though they are becoming less common. IHG was the first hotel company to make this swap across all its brands. This change was expected to reduce plastic waste by 850 tons per year in the Americas alone.

Since 2021, IHG has continued to implement changes that further this initiative. News comes out on a regular basis of different ways IHG is striving to embrace sustainable leadership in hotels.

In March 2024, IHG partnered with EnviroSpark to scale the availability of electric vehicle charging throughout the United States and Canada. Later in the spring, one of IHG’s properties in Phuket became the first in the destination to implement a revolutionary food waste management program. In late 2023, IHG also announced its participation in the launch of The Hospitality Alliance for Responsible Procurement. Alongside Accor, Hilton, Marriot and Radisson, the Alliance will enhance sustainability across hotel value chains.

Hilton

As of 2023, Hilton remains the only hospitality company recognized by both the World and North American Dow Jones Sustainability Indices. The Indices rank corporate sustainability performance (via Breaking Travel News). So, how has the brand set itself apart for sustainable leadership in hotels?

Since 2009, Hilton’s proprietary ESG management system notes that Hilton’s hotels have reduced carbon emissions intensity by 44%. This has saved more than $1 billion in utility costs.

On a more local level, in 2022, Hilton opened what was billed as the first net-zero carbon emissions hotel in the country, the Hotel Marcel New Haven, Tapestry Collection by Hilton. The all-electric, solar panel-powered hotel was designed to produce as much energy as it uses.

More recently, in April 2024, Hilton launched zero-waste menus across its flagship U.K. hotels. This followed last year’s menus that featured carbon labeling and were also available throughout the U.K.

Last year, as Hilton hosted COP28 delegates in Dubai, it further highlighted its sustainability efforts throughout the event, such as with its United Arab Emirates Green Breakfast initiative, aiming to reduce food waste by 50% (via Hotel Management Network).

Ensure Your Travelers the Best Travel Experience Possible

Travelers — and companies — are looking to stay with hotels that actively put sustainability first. If you count your team among those Travelers and want to lower the carbon impact of your business travel, it’s important that you learn to recognize sustainable leadership in hotels. No longer is it impressive if a hotel simply swaps out its use of single-use plastics at the continental breakfast. Hotels should be actively working to have a positive, not negative, impact on the planet, their communities, their employees and their Travelers.

You can stay up to date on travel shifts and how the business travel industry continues to evolve at the JTB Business Travel Waypoint blog. From guides to ground transportation trends to per diem rates across the globe, we have the resources you need to ensure your Travelers have the best Business Travel Experience possible.