Hilton promotes conscious travel across its properties in Asia Pacific by making sustainable practices more accessible for guests, as travelers now seek more meaningful experiences. Honoring this year’s Earth Day theme, “Invest in Our Planet”, Hilton has released its latest Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Report, which emphasizes its renewed commitment to taking real-world actions to reduce the environmental and social impact of its hotels and operations worldwide in pursuit of a better world to travel.
Across its global network, Hilton continues to considerably close the gap toward meeting key sustainability targets from its Travel with Purpose 2030 Goals. In 2021, Hilton recorded:
– 70% reduction in landfilled waste per square meter from 2008 baseline (2030 goal: 50%)
– 49% reduction in CO2 emissions intensity per square meter from 2008 baseline (2030 goal: 61%)
– 39% reduction in water consumption per square meter from 2008 baseline (2030 goal: 50%)
– $1B+ cumulative savings in energy costs since 2009, monitored through LightStay.
In Asia Pacific, Hilton focuses on driving responsible and sustainable tourism through a wide range of initiatives aimed at making a positive environmental and social impact – from advancing restoration efforts, to reimagining business events as corporate travel makes a comeback.
Driving Holistic Water Stewardship
Leading river cleanup organization Sungai Watch aims to protect waterways on the Indonesian island by developing and testing trash barriers that prevent plastics from entering the ocean. As Bali’s waterway guardians, the group also documents data on trash found in rivers, to deepen the conversation with companies on how to use more environmentally friendly materials.
In support of its efforts in leading environmental restoration and providing communities access to clean water, Hilton has named Sungai Watch as one of its 2021 Hilton Effect Foundation grantees. The grant will enable the organization to install more trash barriers to lessen the impact of plastics on the community.
Team Members at Conrad Bali and Hilton Bali Resort also pitched in by taking part in an island-wide cleanup initiative with Sungai Watch, which cleared more than 30 tons of plastic waste.
Hilton Ningbo Dongqian Lake in China is at the forefront of rainwater harvesting and recycling. Its rainwater recovery system collects rainwater from the property’s premises, which goes through ultraviolet disinfection and automatic replenishment systems to improve water quality. The hotel uses the treated rainwater for various non-potable purposes, such as cleaning roads and watering plants.
The system recycles approximately 1,400 tons of rainwater each year, which is equivalent to the amount of water consumed by a family of three for one year.
Sustainable Dining and Green Kitchens.
Hilton continues to make progress in its responsible sourcing journey with the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between Seafood Legacy Co., Ltd. and UMITO Partners Inc. to procure more sustainable seafood for its hotels in Japan and Korea. The procurement of Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) and Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC) Chain of Custody-certified seafood in these markets has surpassed 25% in the month of December 2021 — a marked improvement from less than 1 per cent in 2018.
Amid supply chain disruptions, Conrad Seoul and Hilton Tokyo Bay made strides in sustainability, achieving MSC and ASC Chain of Custody certifications – a first for any hotel in South Korea and a first for any Hilton hotel in Japan, respectively. Diners who are looking for fresh, organic and locally sourced food at these hotels can now opt for food items marked with the MSC and ASC ecolabels, from either a specially curated sustainable seafood menu or the buffet spread.
In South East Asia, leading the farm-to-table experience is Conrad Koh Samui’s Iris Farm. Built at the onset of the pandemic, Iris Farm provides a multitude of organic herbs and vegetables for the hotel’s bars and restaurants. The farm produces 1,300 kg of food and processes 2,400 kg of compostable waste per month, recycling organic resources while conserving landfill space.
Guests can look forward to picking up eco-friendly farming techniques, in addition to other meaningful and engaging activities at Conrad Koh Samui’s Iris Farm.
Meanwhile, Hilton Shenzhen Shekou Nanhai is scaling up on circular food production and keeping food waste at bay. Using smart kitchen waste treatment equipment, the hotel turns kitchen waste into carbon dioxide, water and organic fertilizers. Byproducts are used for hotel greening, the hotel’s organic ecological garden, as well as the greening of neighbouring communities. The hotel has recycled 390 tons of kitchen waste and produced about 20 tons of organic fertilizer since the equipment was installed last year.
Reducing Environmental Footprint by Redefining Events
With the return of business travel and in-person events, almost 300 of Hilton’s hotels across Asia Pacific, including Conrad Shanghai, Conrad Bengaluru, Hilton Tokyo, Hilton Sydney, and the largest Hilton hotel in Asia Pacific, Hilton Singapore Orchard, have rolled out the Plan It Forward offer to help businesses and event planners further reduce their environmental impact when hosting events.
Plan It Forward gives event planners an opportunity to host a Carbon Neutral Meeting or earn double Hilton Honors Event Planner Points at one of its participating hotels, when bookings are made by June 30, 2022 and held by December 31, 2022.
For event planners who opt for a Carbon Neutral Meeting, Hilton will offset their event’s carbon emissions as identified by its Meeting Impact Calculator report on its award-winning LightStay platform, and invest in a portfolio of high-quality carbon reduction projects with global partner South Pole.
Alternatively, event planners can earn double Hilton Honors Event Planner Points per USD$1 spent on guest rooms, meeting rooms etc., for qualifying events at participating hotels. Hilton Honors Points can be donated to charity through PointWorthy, or redeemed for future events or hotel stays, among other benefits.
For its various environmental and social initiatives, Hilton was named a global sustainability leader on the Dow Jones Sustainability Indices for the fifth consecutive year, and was the only hotel company to earn Gold Class distinction in S&P Global’s Sustainability Yearbook.
