Hotelbeds has announced its new environmental, social and governance (ESG) strategy, which aims, as its CEO Nicolas Huss describes, “to take Hotelbeds’ position on ESG to the next level and galvanize our commitment to making travel a force for good.”

Hotelbeds already has a range of ESG-related initiatives under its belt, including: Signing up to The Climate Pledge; achieving carbon-neutral status for over four years consecutively; its Green Hotels Programme; and its “Make Room for Ukraine” program. The company also reacted quickly during the pandemic, moving its volunteering activities for employees online to support a range of NGOs and groups supporting vulnerable communities around the world.

Huss explained that the travel tech company has the opportunity to create a sustainable future. It is committed to supporting and developing green tourism and to continue to reduce the environmental impact of daily operations and offices, while also supporting its partners to achieve their ESG goals.

“Another important part of our strategy is to make sure we lead our ESG agenda from the front, ensuring our employees can contribute themselves to creating a stronger and healthier society as well as supporting local communities to thrive and progress. Furthermore, our wellbeing program, which is embedded in our culture, is one of our key tools to support our people on their journey towards happiness and work-life balance,” he said. “From a governance perspective, although we know we have more work to do, we have achieved 50 percent of our executive team being women, reflecting our determination to have an inclusive and diverse workplace.”

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Future initiatives include a global reforestation project and a mentoring scheme for small-scale or startup businesses, especially those focusing on sustainable travel. It also plans to harness the commitment of its hotel partners to sustainability issues, with booking filters identifying hotels that avoid single use plastics, for instance, or those that offer electric charging points for vehicles—tapping into the knowledge that these requirements are becoming increasingly important for today’s travelers.

Additionally, as part of its wider strategy launch, the company announced to its employees this week an increase in the number of volunteer hours it will match, demonstrating its belief that the teams at Hotelbeds are passionate about making a difference in the communities where they live and work.

Source: Hotelbeds