Green Key partner NH Hotel Group now one of the most sustainable companies worldwide

Green Key Partnerships

Green Key partner NH Hotel Group stands out as one of the most sustainable leaders in the hospitality industry. Due to its efforts, NH has placed itself in the top three of the hospitality industry and has been recognized by the prestigious Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP).

Green Key International is delighted to see how one of our main hospitality partners, NH Hotel Group, stands out as one of the most sustainable leaders in the hospitality industry. The evaluation made by SAM Corporate Sustainability Assessment (CSA) awarded NH Hotel Group ‘the best in class’ in nine out of the 23 criteria evaluated: Customer Relationship Management, Supply Chain Management, Fiscal Strategy, Environmental Report, Climate Strategy, Social Report, Indicators of Labour Practices, Development of Human Capital, and Occupational Health and Safety.

Great achievements for NH Hotel Group

An important achievement regards the categories where NH Hotel Group reached the highest scores possible: Customer Relationship Management; Fiscal Strategy; Environmental Report; Climate Strategy; Social Report and Development of Human Capital.

Maarten Markus, Managing Director Northern Europe: “sustainability is very important in NH Hotel Group's business operations and hotel services. I am very proud of these assessments: they motivate us to focus even more on corporate social responsibility in 2021. We are preparing for a sustainable future in order to maintain our exemplary function within the hotel industry.”

Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) index

Additionally, NH Hotel Group received another recognition for their efforts in becoming a sustainable company. The group has been awarded a B-rating by Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) Climate Change index, an international, non-profit organization that promotes sustainability.

With that being said, we are more than proud to see NH Hotel Group’s sustainable performance grow and we wish them more success for the upcoming year!

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For more information about NH Hotel Group Corporate Responsibility Policy:

https://www.nh-hotels.com/corporate/responsible-and-sustainable-company

For more information about SAM Corporate Sustainability Assessment (CSA):

https://www.spglobal.com/esg/csa/

NH Hotel Group is reducing its carbon footprint worlwide

The first Spanish hotel chain has committed to reducing its carbon emissions by 20% by 2030, thus avoiding the emission of over 70,000 tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.

According to a recent press release, NH Hotel Group’s target is to cut direct and indirect greenhouse gas emissions by 20% with respect to those registered in 2018. The project has been validated by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi), a leading alliance mobilizing the world of business to take action against climate change. SBTi is a collaboration between CDP, the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC), World Resources Institute (WRI) and World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF). In early 2019, the Group earned a score of A- from CDP Climate Change (formerly known as the Carbon Disclosure Project). Furthermore, this goal is aligned with the Paris Agreement’s target of limiting the rise in global warming to under 2ºC.

We have been actively supporting climate change mitigation since 2007, since when we have managed to reduce our operations' carbon footprint by 67%. Moreover, in the last year, 70% of all of the energy we consumed came from renewable sources. However, now is the time to be even more ambitious with our sustainability targets”

- Said Rufino Pérez, Chief Operations Officer & Global Transformation Leader at NH Hotel Group

With more than 370 hotels in over 50 countries worldwide, this new commitment framed by NH Hotel Group’s new Business Plan is another step forward to spread eco-friendly strategies within the hospitality industry. We are delighted to have 46 Green Key awarded NH hotels which will be part of this plan and in this way contribute to a large-scale transformation involving the entire hotel chain.

First hotel in South Africa awarded Green Key

Green Key is pleased to announce that the NH The Lord Charles in Cape Town is the first hotel in South Africa to receive our prestigious award. 

NH The Lord Charles has convinced the Green Key Jury with their strong environmental management and dedication to save scarce resources in South Africa.

Besides complying with Green Key’s imperative criteria, the hotel implements a particularly strong focus on reducing the consumption of water through several initiatives around the property. This is a very important aspects in a water scarce country where drought is an ongoing threat.

One of the initiatives implemented by the Lord Charles is their own in house plant nursery, which is used to improve their own gardens at the hotel. Many of the plants grown at this nursery are succulent plants, known as “water wise” plants, which do not require as much watering as conventional garden plants would. By slowly converting the garden to water wise plants, the hotel is able to reduce the amount of water used in their gardens.

Furthermore, the hotel involves its guests and staff in their water-saving initiatives by reminding them throughout the hotel to save water.

Green Key International congratulates NH The Lord Charles on their achievements and is looking forward to seeing a growing number of Green Key awarded hotels in South Africa.