RESPONSIBLE COMMITMENT
Environmental sustainability
44
Initiatives for a Low-Carbon economy
2015 marked a turning point regarding future
actions on an international level for the transition
towards a Low-Carbon economy and the
prevention of climate change. In support of this
Low-Carbon footprint model, NH Hotel Group
has participated in important activities both
locally and abroad. On an international level,
NH Hotel Group took part in the preparation
of the document “Travel & Tourism 2015:
Connecting Global Climate Action” published
by the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC),
a document positioning the sector in its
commitment to a Low-Carbon economy.
The document was prepared before the COP21
climate change conversations held in Paris
in December 2015. WTTC offers an update of
its 2009 Report “Leading the Challenge on
Climate Change”, which established for the
first time the 50% target for 2035. Since 2009,
the sector has been committed not only to
the sustainability of its business, but also to
innovate and collaborate with others to reduce
its global impacts.
Furthermore, in 2015 NH Hotel Group joined the
initiative “One Million Commitments for Climate
Change”, an awareness campaign organised
with a view to demonstrating that it was
possible to reach an international agreement to
reduce greenhouse gas emissions and submit
it to the United Nations Conference on Climate
Change held in December 2015 in Paris. On
the basis of this commitment, NH Hotel Group
undertook to implement specific actions in
order to make this commitment effective.
In Spain, NH Hotel Group inscribed its 384 hotels
in the Carbon Footprint Register, Compensation
and CO
2
Absorption Projects promoted by
the Spanish Ministry of Agriculture, Food and
Environment (MAGRAMA). This Register was
devised to collect and record the commitments
made by companies in matters concerning
calculating and reducing emissions, and
the compensation through CO
2
absorption
activities.
SUSTAINABILITY INITIATIVE
PROJECTS IN THE STRATEGIC PLAN
The two specific projects for attaining the NH Hotel Group’s environmental
targets are:
GREEN SAVINGS PROJECT
Focused on cutting down on the operational costs of the Company, as well
as on energy efficiency to guarantee a saving on water, energy and other
expenses, such as those in the laundry.
Energy Efficiency Plan 2014–2018
In 2014, approval was given to the Energy Efficiency Plan 2014–2018 at a
cost of €31M. Since the Plan was set in motion, energy efficiency projects
at a cost of €8.7M have been implemented.
Environmental Certification Programme
NH Hotel Group has obtained the global environmental management
certificate ISO 14001 and the energy efficiency certificate ISO 50001 for
accommodation, restaurant, meetings and events services. Apart from the
Company’s global certificate, it also has sustainability certificates for 127
hotels, such as the BREEAM, LEED and Green Key certificates. Furthermore,
173 hotels (52.2% of the Company’s hotels) have been awarded the
GreenLeaders distinction by TripAdvisor, which means that NH Hotel Group
is the hotel chain with the second highest number of GreenLeaders hotels
in Europe. 8 hotels in the Group have the Platinum Award, the highest given
in TripAdvisor’s GreenLeaders Programme: NH Frankfurt Moerfelden,
NH Berlin Alexanderplatz, NH Stuttgart Sindelfingen, NH Munchen
Unterhaching, NH Veluwe Conference Centre Sparrenhorst; nhow
Rotterdam, NH Savona Darsena and Hotel Terra 100 Royal.
NH COLLECTION ROYAL TERRA 100
NH Collection Royal Terra 100 is a hotel that stands out
because of its commitment to the environment. The
fact that it was constructed specifically to comply with
the strictest environmental regulations has enabled it to
become a LEED-certified building in the Silver Category.
The hotel is equipped with state-of-the-art technologies
where both water and energy are concerned, with
rainwater being collected and wastewater being managed
by the hotel’s own facilities. The hotel has been designed
to reduce energy consumption in both air-conditioning
and the use of lighting. The timber used comes from
sustainable sources, and chemical products that have a
negative impact on the environment are not used.
NH COLLECTION FRANKFURT CITY
The NH Collection Frankfurt City hotel obtained the
BREEAM certificate after being subjected to a period of
building efficiency and management assessment, which
made it the second hotel in NH Hotel Group certified as
complying with this standard.
In Argentina, NH Collection Jousten and NH Collection
Lancaster joined the Ecolabel for Hotels promoted by the
City of Buenos Aires Environmental Protection Agency,
and were awarded the Advanced Level Certification for
the Ecolabel “Hoteles+Verdes” (“the greenest hotels”),
which is the sustainable tourism standard awarded by
the Association of Tourism Hotels of the Republic of
Argentina (AHT).
business units
CERTIFICATION
2014
2015
DIFFERENCE
BU Benelux, United Kingdom, France, USA & Africa
Green Key
35
41
+6
BU Central Europe
ISO 14001
23
25
+2
ISO 50001
1
1
0
BREEAM
0
1
+1
BU Italy
ISO 14001
29
39
+10
ISO 50001
1
1
0
BU Spain, Portugal & Andorra
ISO 14001
14
21
+7
ISO 50001
14
21
+7
BREEAM
1
0
-1
BU America
LEED
0
1
+1
TOTAL certified hotels
101
127
+26
