Blu Planet, the responsible business programme of Radisson Blu hotels has been named winner of the 2017 IMEX-GMIC Innovation in Sustainability Award
Inge Huijbrechts receives the IMEX Award
The IMEX-GMIC award celebrates inspiring brands that drive sustainability forward through innovation, collaboration and idea sharing.
The IMEX Awards programme was developed to recognise individuals and companies who have made outstanding contributions to the development of the meetings and incentive travel industry.
The IMEX Green Awards, jointly run with GMIC (Green Meeting Industry Council), supports IMEX's environmental initiatives with four awards specifically developed to reward and promote environmental awareness and corporate social responsibility. The Awards are presented annually at the IMEX Gala Dinner in Frankfurt.
Receiving the award Inge Huijbrechts, Vice President of Responsible Business for the Radisson Hotel Group said, “We are determined to help protect the Earth’s priceless water supply. We launched Blu Planet to conserve water and help bring safe drinking water and sanitation to communities in need. Blu Planet is a key pillar of our group’s Responsible Business programme and our hotels’ contribution to UN Sustainable Development Goal number 6. Winning the IMEX-GMIC award is a great recognition of our hotels’ engagement and our partnership with Just a Drop.”
The Blu Planet initiative includes:
Towel replacement programme in support of Just a Drop
Soap for Hope recycling initiative with Sealed Air
Radisson Blu’s signature water-light Super Breakfast
All natural bathroom amenities by THIS WORKS
A continued focus to have all hotels eco-labelled and minimize Radisson hotels’ water footprint
“Water covers 71% of Earth, but only 1% of it is actually potable,” says Huijbrechts. “Experts predict that, by 2025, more than half the world’s population will become vulnerable due to safe water scarcity. The tourism and hospitality sectors consume substantial amounts of water. Radisson Blu and Radisson Hotel Group are extremely mindful and have reduced their water consumption by 29% since 2007. The company’s ambition is to reduce litres consumed per guest, per night by another 10% by the end of 2020, without compromising guest experience or comfort.”
Radisson Blu Hotels & Resorts has encouraged its guests to reuse close to 2 million towels since the launch of a new towel replacement programme in 2015, in partnership with Just a Drop. The programme aims to provide clean drinking water for life for more than 10,000 children in India, Kenya and Peru. Radisson Blu has also helped recycle and distribute an estimated 66 tons of soap waste in support of Soap for Hope, giving free soap to communities, creating local entrepreneurs, bringing jobs to the community, and helping hotels reduce waste through recycling.
Today, more than 450 Radisson Hotels & Resorts worldwide have eco-labels, signalling the brand’s commitment to work on saving water, using fewer chemical products and supporting community-based projects in water stressed areas.
“According to UNICEF, no single intervention is more likely to reduce global poverty than the provision of safe water, and Radisson Blu is proud to positively contribute to this global commitment,” said Huijbrechts.