As the first major hotel group in the world to launch ESG targets certified by the Scientific Carbon Target Initiative (SBTi), Hilton's 469,000 team members worldwide adhere to the principles of accountability, integrity and transparency under the common guidance of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Paving the way to net zero emissions and creating opportunities for society through day-to-day operations, supply chain management and community support.
For Hilton, everything we do stems from a firm belief that hospitality can be a force for good in the world. One way to put this belief into practice is to promote responsible Travel globally through the "Travel with Purpose" environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) strategy. The strategy cuts across all parts of Hilton's global business - across operations, supply chains and communities.
Through specific measurable goals, continue to promote the "travel benefits" strategy
Hilton Corporation and the Hilton Worldwide Foundation have released the 2023 Travel Makes Sense Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance (ESG) Report and the 2023 Hilton Global Foundation Impact Report, providing an update on their progress towards their shared goal of creating a better world for travel.
According to the report, Hilton worldwide achieved the following environmental, social and corporate governance progress in 2023, based on 2008.
For environmental governance, the carbon emission intensity of the Group's managed hotels and franchised hotels was reduced by 45.1% and 25.1%, respectively; The water intensity of the Group's managed hotels decreased by 26.5%; The landfill intensity of the Group's managed hotels was reduced by 63.7%, ahead of schedule to achieve the target of reducing landfill intensity of the Group's managed hotels by 50% by 2030.
Social and corporate governance, providing more than 860,000 learning and professional development opportunities for team members and their communities, and contributing more than 1.5 million development opportunities to their communities since 2022; Completed more than 370,000 hours of volunteer service across the global community, with more than 2.5 million total hours of volunteer service reported since 2017; Through the Hilton Team Member Assistance Fund, more than $860,000 was awarded to select Hilton Group team members who suffered natural disasters and personal accidents.
Katherine Lugar, Executive Vice President of Global Corporate Affairs at Hilton Corporation and President of the Hilton Worldwide Foundation, said: "Hilton was founded with the noble idea that hospitality can be a force for good. Hilton Worldwide and the Hilton Worldwide Foundation are using this power to make a positive impact on the communities where we live, work and travel. At the same time, we are proud of the progress we have made towards the Travel for Good 2030 goals and remain committed to supporting communities, protecting the planet and empowering community members to be more fulfilling selves."
In the words of Christopher J. Nassetta, President and CEO of Hilton Worldwide, "The Benefit of Travel is an integral part of Hilton's business strategy and demonstrates our commitment to making a positive impact on every community, guest, team member and owner in every destination. Live up to the unwavering commitment of the best citizens, neighbors, partners and supporters."
Travel with Purpose is Hilton's environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) strategy to promote responsible travel around the world through specific and measurable goals.
Since 2023, Hilton Greater China hotels have continued to advance the strategic goal of "Good for Travel" through the local practice of more than 35,000 Greater China team members, and made a series of progress in net zero emissions, community support and career development goals, including: In order to reduce food waste, Hilton Greater China has introduced Winnow artificial intelligence system to provide purchasing recommendations for restaurant operations through data analysis of food waste. The system is currently being pilot-tested at Conrad Shanghai and Waldorf Astoria Shanghai Bund, and will be expanded to more hotels under the banner of Greater China. To promote responsible supply chain operations, hotels managed under the Greater China Flag have increased the proportion of total expenditure on sourcing sustainable seafood certified by the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) or Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC) to 2.8% by April 2024. At the same time, the Group continues to expand its certified sustainable sourcing network to provide hotels with a wider choice of local suppliers of sustainable seafood and cage-free eggs, while sourcing responsibly and reducing the carbon emissions associated with food transport.
Hilton Greater China hotels also work with guests to build a green future by reducing plastic and waste, advocating low-carbon travel, and providing sustainable activity programs.
Through the continuous efforts of the Group, at present, the hotels under the banner of Greater China have 100% completed the replacement of large-package toiletry products. As of May 2024, more than 130 hotels support the use of electronic room cards; In response to the increasing low-carbon travel demand of Chinese guests, the Greater China region continues to promote the popularity of charging points, and as of May 2024, a total of nearly 150 hotels are equipped with charging points; Taking Zhoushan Hilton Hotel as an example, as of March 2024, the hotel has provided charging services for more than 9,400 new energy vehicles.
Hilton continues to provide employment and development opportunities for its team members and the communities in which they operate, especially the disadvantaged. As of May 2024, in hotels under the banner of the Greater China region, the average proportion of team members with disabilities is 2.27%, and the proportion of young people aged 19-30 is 38%.
Among them, Conrad Jiuzhai Hotel and Hilton Jiuzhai Luneng Resort, located in Jiuzhaigou County, Aba Prefecture, Sichuan Province, together with Jiuzhaigou Disabled Persons' Federation, have created a "Xiai Home" public welfare base. The hotel has specially arranged a guest area to help people with disabilities display and sell handicrafts and agricultural and sideline products, and the sales income is all for people with disabilities. In the past year, the charity base has displayed and sold hundreds of handicrafts and agricultural products, bringing more than 100 community partners an income of more than 100,000 yuan. In addition, the hotel also created the first collector experience project in Zhongchagou, providing two local team members with house renovation and operational training support, transforming their homes into Tibetan culture and folk customs experience Windows that can receive guests. So far, the project has successfully hosted hundreds of guests from different places, better preserving and spreading local Tibetan culture, while also increasing the income of team members' families.
Deepen local cooperation and work with owners to promote ESG practice
As one of the fastest growing international hotel groups in China, Hilton is also actively exploring local practices in the ESG field, working with hotel owner partners to promote ESG practices and contribute to the surrounding communities. Taking China Green Investment Group Co., LTD. (hereinafter referred to as "China Green") as an example, the 10 hotels cooperated by Hilton Group and China Green have obtained the "Green Hotel" certification granted by the China Hotel Association, and have launched a series of environmental protection and social welfare projects. These include: Hilton Dalian Jinshitan reduced CO2 emissions by an average of 2.08 tons per year by adding solar water heating systems; Conrad Hotel Tianjin can save more than 220,000 KWH of electricity per year by transforming the kitchen exhaust system of the restaurant and installing intelligent control devices; Hilton Jinan Luneng Hotel & Apartments achieves thermal insulation effect by installing glass functional film on the inner surface of curtain wall glass window, thereby reducing air conditioning energy consumption, and is expected to save more than 270,000 KWH of electricity per year. Hilton Wenan Luneng Hotel, Hilton Wenan Holick Qibin Collection Hotel and Hilton Haikou Luneng Hotel provide career development and financial support for people with disabilities through charity sales, school-enterprise cooperation and other forms.
Qian Jin, President, Greater China and Mongolia, Hilton Group, said: "In China, Hilton Group has always implemented the ESG strategy of 'travel is beneficial' and actively responded to the country's 'two-carbon' goal. With the recovery of China's tourism industry, we will continue to bring diverse experiences to our guests, while also working with owners, team members, guests and the community to explore more local ESG practices, jointly promote the high-quality and sustainable development of the tourism industry, and actively contribute to the good of society."
In addition, Hilton Greater China hotels also fully integrate local characteristics, implement the group's ESG strategy according to local conditions, and harvest a number of environmental and social practices.
For example, Doubletree by Hilton Kunming Airport takes advantage of the climate characteristics of the large temperature difference between day and night in the local transitional season, and produces cooling water with lower water temperature to adjust the indoor temperature through the cooling tower located outside, which can save 300 degrees of electricity per hour, equivalent to the electricity consumption of an ordinary family for a month.
Hilton Dali Strength through the "solar + air source heat pump hot water system", the use of local abundant solar resources to supply hot water, can produce about 180 tons of hot water above 50℃ per day to supply rooms and swimming pools, cumulative annual reduction in the use of natural gas 360,000 cubic meters, equivalent to 3,000 families of three in a year of natural gas consumption.
Hilton Jinmao Sanya Yalong Bay recyls garden plant waste for thermal power generation, which can generate 28,500 KWH of electricity a year, enough to meet the annual electricity consumption of 10 rooms in the hotel.
By cultivating an in-house farm, the hotel uses kitchen waste to transform into fertilizer, and collects the remaining mineral water in the guest rooms for irrigation. It can harvest various vegetables and fruits every year, which is equivalent to absorbing 2.45 tons of carbon dioxide.
Hilton Foshan and Rongjiang Vocational and Technical School in Qiandongnan Miao and Dong Autonomous Prefecture, Guizhou Province, which is located in the key support area, established the first high star hotel major in the local area, and set up "Hilton class". By providing a full range of training, internship and employment support, we help train local tourism and hospitality professionals and contribute to the development of the local tourism economy. Up to now, ethnic minority students account for more than 90% of the 42 students, a total of 14 students out of Guizhou mountains, to Guangfo area of the Hilton Hotel internship.
The Hilton Worldwide Foundation is the principal international philanthropic arm of the Hilton Corporation, and the two companies have long worked together to advance the goals of the Travel for Good 2030 strategy. The Hilton Global Foundation Impact Report 2023 was released in conjunction with the Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance (ESG) Report on Travel for Good 2023. The report presents the environmental and social impact of the more than $4.4 million Hilton Worldwide Foundation has given to public causes around the world since 2022. These public welfare organizations work to improve, restore and protect the local environment, support the development of vulnerable people, and promote the resilience of communities.
Among them, beYoureyeS, a public welfare organization from China, as a 2023 grantee of the Hilton Worldwide Foundation, has assisted Hilton hotels in Shanghai, Beijing, Shenzhen and Qingdao to develop training programs to create an inclusive and barrier-free workplace environment for the visually impaired. In the future, workplace training programs will continue to be created for the visually impaired to encourage them to realize their self-worth in the workplace. As a funded institution in 2022, the "Fields of Hope" public welfare program of China Rural Development Foundation has also completed the camp completion ceremony in early 2024, and has supported 147 college students from more than 50 universities across the country to enter the countryside through the way of youth career development training camp. It has trained a group of actors and builders committed to the sustainable development of rural areas, and provided diversified solutions for poverty alleviation innovation, rural tourism revitalization and youth talent training in rural communities while creating multiple tourism destinations.
