GLOBAL— IHG Hotels & Resorts, a global leader in hospitality, has announced the launch of its Low Carbon Pioneers programme. This programme brings together energy-efficient hotels that are backed by renewable energy and do not burn fossil fuels on-site.
This group of low-operating-carbon hotels is the first community of its kind in the industry, and it will help IHG test, learn, and share findings on sustainability measures.
The ambition is to inspire other properties to join the program and also help encourage wider adoption of carbon reduction practices across IHG’s estate. The first Low Carbon Pioneer hotels span different IHG brands and locations at these properties:
Each Low Carbon Pioneer hotel will feature sustainable solutions such as high-efficiency heat pumps for heating and hot water generation and fully electric kitchens.
Every property will also have an operational sustainability certification recognized by the Global Sustainable Tourism Council, such as Green Key, or a sustainable building certification, such as LEED, BREEAM, or EDGE.
Low-carbon pioneer hotels will use IHG’s Green Engage environmental platform to track and measure their energy data.
Additional hotels will join the Low Carbon Pioneers program across all regions, and IHG is also developing a “low-carbon ready” group of hotels in preparation for when it becomes possible to fully back all energy with renewables in countries or districts where this is not currently available. The full criteria for a low-carbon Pioneer hotel are available here.
“We are excited to launch our Low Carbon Pioneers program as another innovative way in which we’re meeting evolving guest expectations, helping our hotel owners future-proof their businesses and reducing carbon across our estate,” Elie Maalouf, CEO of IHG Hotels & Resorts, said.
“IHG is committed to working with industry bodies and governments to help achieve this, encouraging more owners to adopt carbon reduction practices and become Low Carbon Pioneers.”
For IHG’s hotel owners, the Low Carbon Pioneers programme can play an important role in future-proofing their businesses. As we test, learn, and share findings, it will also help encourage wider adoption of carbon reduction practices across IHG’s estate.
Guests seeking more sustainable stays will find hotels marketed as low carbon or low carbon ready across IHG’s booking channels to clarify which ones are energy efficient, have no fossil fuels combusted on-site, and are backed by renewable energy.
With almost all of IHG’s top global corporate accounts setting net-zero or carbon-neutral targets, these hotels will attract corporate clients looking to meet their sustainable travel commitments.
Energy-efficient, lower operational carbon hotels can also potentially benefit owners in the future, such as greater alignment with environmental regulatory changes and better access to green finance for new projects. Collectively, we believe these benefits should lead to stronger property valuations in the future.
The Low Carbon Pioneers program builds on IHG’s heritage in creating ambitious and innovative solutions to drive progress across the industry.
Having been the first global hospitality company to replace bathroom miniatures with bulk amenities and to provide properties with renewable energy via a community solar programme in the US, IHG is excited to set a new sustainability benchmark for hotels to help reduce operational carbon from its estate.
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