Recently, Jin Jiang Hotels launched the annual ESG micro-film "A Place of Light" online, which takes the hotel's sustainable development practice as the background prototype, and tells the story of "migrant worker" Sunshine with the help of Xiaoshanzi, a left-behind child in "Heji" Village, who successfully changed the villagers' inherent idea of treating straw as garbage, and linked up with enterprises to build a straw processing plant to drive villagers to return to their hometowns for employment and help rural revitalization. Behind the micro-film is the hotel group's emphasis on sustainable development and its proactive attitude towards corporate social responsibility. Leading hotel companies that have stepped onto the "sustainability" keynote stage are speaking out for the green transformation of the whole industry with tangible sustainable achievements and unique cultural influence.
The "sustainable proposition" that is constantly being knocked on
2023 was the hottest year on record with the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) averaging 1 percent above pre-industrial levels45 degrees Celsius. This is complemented by frequent extreme weather events such as extreme heat, heavy precipitation, flooding, and rapidly intensifying tropical cyclones. According to the International Labour Organization**, by 2030, such events will reduce global working hours by more than 2%, equivalent to the loss of 80 million full-time jobs and 2.2 million$4 trillion. Climate change has accelerated the implementation of international actions on global climate governance, and even though countries have made some progress on the climate goals of the Paris Agreement, global carbon dioxide emissions are far from meeting the emission reduction requirements. According to the latest data from the Global Carbon Project (GCP), global carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuel use will reach a record high of 36.8 billion tonnes in 2023 and 11%。
According to data disclosed by Ctrip, the average daily carbon emissions of the world in the first half of 2023 will be 27 million tons, of which 11% will come from the tourism industry, and the hotel industry will account for 60% of the total emissions of the tourism industry. In addition, the Sustainable Hospitality Alliance's report also shows that the hotel industry needs to reduce its absolute carbon emissions by 66% by 2030 and 90% by 2050 to ensure that the expected growth of the industry does not lead to an increase in carbon emissions and help curb global warming. Especially with the amazing recovery of tourism in various regions of the world, the proposition of the times to promote the sustainable development of the hotel industry is constantly being knocked.
China, the world's largest consumer of tourism, has long put sustainable development planning on the agenda. Practicing the ESG concept and carrying out sustainable construction from multiple dimensions such as environment, society, and governance is the "homeopathy" of China's hotel industry in terms of international trends, national policy guidance, consumption concept changes, and hotel self-management.
The call of responsibility, the low-carbon era of hotels
A leading global hotel company
Under the call of energy conservation and emission reduction in various countries, more and more international chain hotel groups have responded to the call of responsibility, gradually built a more mature and advanced sustainable development strategy in the past five years of exploration and practice, and carried out a comprehensive transformation based on their own business. From the perspective of ESG systematic management, the current leading groups have launched a series of proprietary systems for operation management to track and monitor their ESG performance, such as Hyatt Group's Ecotrack, Hilton's Lightstay, Wyndham Group's Green Toolbox, and InterContinental Hotels Group's Green Engage, etc.
In addition to the operation management system of digital intervention, the implementation of multi-dimensional sustainable measures is also becoming one of the operational priorities of international giants in Greater China. Marriott International's 2023 "360 Degrees of Good Deeds" report mentioned that 30 hotels in the Chinese market have participated in the pilot project of bathroom large pump head bottles, with a total of about 180 kg of plastic in 2022; Big data and artificial intelligence are used to track, control and reduce hotel food waste by nearly 110,000 kg; Fifteen hotels have installed heat pumps, which are expected to reduce carbon emissions by more than 1.8 million kilograms per year.
In addition, in terms of social practices of diversity, equality and inclusion, the "Tomorrow Fangzhou" program launched by IHG in 2021 has gradually "manifested" in the Chinese market. From the "Digital Mulan" homestay housekeeper camp to support the development of rural women, to the creation of systematic career skills development opportunities and working environments for people with disabilities and seniors, talent development at all levels of the hotel and the value of the local community are also bringing more opportunities for innovation and change to IHG.
Starting from local hotels, we build consensus on sustainable development
Although local hotel brands are actively embracing international trends and gradually forming a consensus on sustainable development, there is still a lack of unified standards in the tourism and hospitality industry. In the context of national targets and industry consensus, it is necessary and critical to establish a clear and quantifiable sustainability benchmark that can be assessed and reviewed.
In the past year, Jin Jiang Hotels, as the co-initiator of the "Hotel Sustainability Benchmark" (HSB) and an active promoter and practitioner of the benchmark in China, is starting from itself, exploring ESG through various ways, carrying out practice with industry stakeholders, and jointly promoting the hospitality industry to embrace the new opportunities of the dual carbon era. (The Hospitality Sustainability Benchmark (HSB) is a globally recognized standard tailored to the hospitality industry and includes 12 actions related to hotel sustainability, covering three themes: efficiency, planet, and people.) ）
Jin Jiang Hotels (China) displays the HSB logo at the front desk of its hotels to guide more consumers to participate in sustainable travel.
Sustainability Benchmark (HSB) 12 actions. As early as May 2021, Jin Jiang Hotels launched the HSB initiative in collaboration with the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC), leading global hotel groups, distribution partners, experts, international organizations and leading organizations. When it was officially launched in April 2022, it was supported by 57 companies related to the hotel industry around the world, representing a total of about 50,000 hotels actively participating.
The actions and attitudes of the leading groups in the hotel industry actually affect the changes of the entire upstream and downstream industry chain.
In the case of Jin Jiang, its J Hotel Shanghai Tower became the first hotel in China to pass the 12 HSB benchmarks on December 18, 2023, setting a benchmark for sustainable management for luxury hotel brands. By the end of 2023, more than 700 hotels under Jin Jiang Hotels (China) have passed the 8 primary benchmark certifications in the "Hotel Sustainability Benchmark" (HSB), and the HSB verification certificate has been issued by SGS, a global authoritative certification body. From concept to practice to efficient action on the radiation surface, it is undoubtedly easier for the head wine tourism group to achieve such an influence.
In the process of guided and rhythmic action, it is easier for hotel investors to understand and respond, and in the process, they are prompted to move from a more simple evaluation method of investment return to a more comprehensive and long-term evaluation method, and the first step to make changes is a consensus on the concept.
In an interview with Tian Peng, an investor at Country Inn & Suites by Country Inn & Suites Changfu Industrial Park in Wuhan's Caidian Economic Development Zone, we learned about his journey from "slightly repulsive" to embracing this environmental cause. Tian Peng said, "When I first received the HSB verification initiative, I was a little repulsed and felt that the cost of configuring materials would be increased, but the result was the opposite, we reaped positive returns in terms of reducing hotel energy consumption and washing costs, which made me really want to know about HSB." ”
Under the training and guidance of the brand, the hotel has given employees a deeper understanding of energy conservation and environmental protection through the HSB program, while giving the team a sense of public value. Tian Peng thinks this is very valuable.
Photographed at Country Inn & Suites by Country & Suites Changfu Industrial Park, Caidian Economic Development Zone, Wuhan (a hotel invested by Tian Peng, the above-mentioned interviewee).
This sense of public value is even more evident on the part of the residents. **Booking platform bookingAccording to the 2023 Sustainable Travel Report, more than three-quarters (77%) of Chinese travelers say they are willing to choose more sustainable and eco-friendly travel to protect the planet and benefit future generations. Among them, 58% turn off the air conditioning in their accommodation when they go out (an increase of 12% compared to 2022), and half (50%) choose to reuse towels (an increase of 13% compared to 2022). The younger generation is adequately educated in sustainability, but that doesn't mean that hospitality companies can attract them at a lower cost of education, and we need to prove to them that their consumption is in line with their attitudes and values. In a roundtable dialogue, ESG experts from Jin Jiang Hotels (China) mentioned that young people have their own judgment on whether companies are truly doing sustainable things, have a clear value attitude, and are willing to pay for their love.
When consistent values become the target, it reaches an emotional bond with the resident and has new value. Sustainability is becoming a new cultural label for hospitality companies to integrate into contemporary consumer groups. In addition to the production and consumption value of hotel products, we observe that Jin Jiang conveys sustainable education in a "state of material memory". Judging from the growth rate of more than 700 verified hotels in a year, its large room volume will make the concept of sustainability widely disseminated.
Jin Jiang's determination to be sustainable is practiced from multiple perspectives
In fact, the sustainable development of the hotel industry not only refers to the long-term stable operation of the enterprise itself, but also requires the hotel industry to achieve symbiosis and coexistence with the natural environment and social environment. Jin Jiang Hotels' ambition and determination in terms of sustainability has been launched since the layout of the front end of the store.
Based on the exploration, transcendence and progression of circular economy
When we discuss the sustainability of the hotel industry, we need to go deep into the details and services of the hotel in the actual operation, and whether it can withstand the test and baptism for a long time. Hospitality companies need to provide a platform and opportunity for guests,—— when they choose to stay in a hotel that has passed HSB verification, and actually use and experience the development results of green hotels in the process of staying, they have completed a low-carbon practice. With the advantage of its more than one million rooms, Jin Jiang Hotels provides a solid foundation for the implementation and innovation of the concept of circular economy.
First of all, in the source part of the product, Jin Jiang Hotel (China) is replacing the outer packaging of the plastic bag of disposable slippers with environmentally friendly paper straps, and the hotel's "six small pieces" and other disposable products are also gradually realizing product plastic reduction through the integration of standards, such as toothbrushes, combs and other injection molding products are adjusted to straw materials that turn waste into treasure in micro films. It strictly controls and manages every aspect of daily operations, and integrates "deplasticization" actions into the consumption experience of residents in the process of planning, construction and operation, essentially driving the rise of a new green lifestyle.
At present, nearly 10,000 stores of Jin Jiang Hotels (China) have purchased toiletries made of straw through Jin Jiang Global Sourcing Platform (GPP), replacing the original all-plastic materials.
Secondly, Jin Jiang has deepened the layout of circular economy, starting with linen, the basic consumables in the hotel format, based on the principle of 3R (reduce, reuse, and recycle), and formed a "4R module: ** regeneration-exchange-report" with its own characteristics, realizing the pioneer exploration of linen resource utilization. At the same time, as an international head hotel group, it gives full play to its scale advantages and industry influence, and is working together to build a smooth linen link through the combination of production, education and research as a leader, and is committed to realizing the closed loop of linen, going deep into the core of the industry, and exploring a deeper dialogue on sustainable development.
In addition to the above-mentioned improvement of product details integrated into the living experience, on the topic of green buildings, Jin Jiang continues to promote the research and development of "sustainable development theme model rooms", from the basic construction stage of the room, hard decoration, soft decoration, to operation materials, more comprehensive consideration of the availability of recycled materials, at the beginning of the design in the direction of low-carbon regeneration, circular economy and other directions. For example, mugs, tea trays, storage boxes and trash cans in guest rooms can all be made with melamine mixed with 30% coffee grounds, which is safe and resistant to falls, and each one has a natural and unique coffee grounds texture.
Sustainable show room: hard-fitted walls, straw flooring, and terrazzo floor tiles in bathrooms made from glass and stone waste.
Sustainable model room: In the soft decoration, the lamps are made of recycled paper, and the high-strength and lightweight modern furniture is made of processed corrugated paper.
It is worth mentioning that in order to promote the refined management of energy and deeply tap the energy-saving potential of stores, Jin Jiang Hotels (China) will launch a pilot energy management platform in 2023, through the intelligent integration of standardized SaaS platform and IoT hardware deployment, to realize the layer-by-layer classification and itemized measurement of hotel energy data, and realize scientific energy management with visual display and intelligent analysis. The pilot project is estimated to save 6% of the hotel's energy costs.
These changes based on low-carbon and sustainable transformation will become the soil for Jin Jiang to deepen ESG environmental issues. Whether it is from the consumer side, or from the franchisee side, the brand side, and the industry side, its concept of empowering the circular economy with innovation will form a closed loop of co-creation and common prosperity, and build a more environmentally friendly hotel culture system.
Sustainable show room amenities.
Describe sustainable social value innovation with goodwill under brand characteristics
Recently, we have also observed that more and more sustainability projects are being launched in the market. In the context of sustainability is no longer just a matter of "being advocated", ESG has become a new derivative value for hotel brands in addition to responsibility and mission. It exists in business strategy, and how to empower the brand spirit in an innovative way, so that it has more imagination in brand building, is a topic that hotel companies need to continue to on.
Starting from the aspects of rural revitalization, community assistance and cultural co-prosperity, Jin Jiang Hotels (China) explores the ESG convergence of its brand concepts, so that each brand and even each hotel has its own unique window, so that all consumers can re-examine the meaning of sustainability in the stay experience.
Under the theme of rural revitalization and community assistance, the Yunju Hotel series brands promoted the "Love Transfer Station" project at the Ilamira Yunju Hotel in Gongshan, Nujiang, Yunnan Province, and cooperated with caring partners to donate tables, chairs, TVs, curtains, sporting goods, and stationery to children in remote mountainous areas, so as to continue to pass on the love. The Yuan Point Plan initiated by ZMAX Manxi Hotel and Chaoman Hotel has been **33 tons of disposable waste supplies, 15,000 sets of stationery boxes were remade, and 9,260 small yuan points were delivered. In the past two years, all five primary school public libraries have been completed by the Blue Ribbon Public Welfare IP of the Seashore Hotel, which has been donated individually or jointly.
In terms of cultural inheritance and conservation, the intangible cultural heritage workshop of Yuantuo Hotel traveled to 15+ cities across the country to collect the stories behind intangible cultural heritage and traditional culture, and invited Miao Bogang, the inheritor of Cao's kite, the inheritor of Cao's kite, Li Shujun, the representative inheritor of cloisonné enamel painting, and Xiao Jing, the inheritor of intangible cultural heritage monkey production skills, to recreate the highlight moment of traditional folk art in the offline space of the hotel's intangible cultural heritage workshop.
ZMAX Manxi Hotel, Chaoman Hotel Yuan Point Plan Poster.
It has a long-term business value chain
The World Foundation of Nature has argued that companies should disclose not only direct emissions, but also some important indirect emissions. "Greenhouse Gas Protocol - Enterprise Standard"(GHG Protocol-Corporate Standard) divides GHG accounting into three scopes based on operational boundaries. Scope 1 refers to the emissions directly caused by the combustion of fossil fuels, Scope 2 refers to the indirect emissions from the electricity and heat used by the enterprise, and Scope 3 refers to the emissions from the upstream and downstream value chains of the enterprise. However, in fact, there are certain challenges for companies to disclose Scope 3 carbon emissions in the current market, and the reason for this is the need for information sharing, audit cooperation, and follow-up monitoring and enforcement by multiple companies. While focusing on direct emission management, Jin Jiang Hotels is also gradually focusing on the green development of upstream and downstream links, and by encouraging ** companies to reduce Scope 1 emissions, thereby reducing the emissions caused by the entire Scope 3 industry chain.
In addition, Jin Jiang Hotels is committed to building a "green chain", incorporating the concern for the ecological environment and product safety into the whole process of procurement and chain management, for example, selecting high-quality suppliers and urging them to carry out "China Environmental Label" certification for their own cleaning products, so as to ensure that all green detergents on the line are certified and can cover all application scenarios of the hotel. Jin Jiang is committed to consolidating the foundation of sustainable ecology, standing on the position of comprehensive transformation of the system, looking for partners who can achieve common upgrading, making decisions on the premise of serving the community, source farmers, consumers, employees and the environment, and providing more scientific guidance for a benign business ecology.
Above: Jinjiang GPP offline premium space expensive tea exhibition area. Under the construction of the sustainable development system of the first business accelerated by Jin Jiang Hotels (China) and Jin Jiang Global Procurement Platform (GPP), the procurement cooperation with Guicha Group has radiated and driven 35 upstream enterprises and nearly 50,000 tea farmers to increase their income and become rich, bringing practical help to the development of Guizhou's tea industry.
In the context of shouldering the responsibilities of state-owned enterprises and serving the national strategy, the definition of business success is no longer a speculative value proposition at a certain stage, but a responsible force that can undertake the bond of "business for good", and is gradually exploring and completing the common realization of environmental, resource, economic and social significance.
In addition, from the current point of view, the theoretical models and decision-making tools of many enterprises may not be enough to measure and evaluate the follow-up progress and effectiveness of sustainable projects, such as how to combine quantitative and qualitative evaluation, how to calculate the additional energy consumption generated by environmental protection inputs, how to conduct scientific research and judgment on environmental benefits, etc., and lack a sound framework for the in-depth implementation of ESG concepts.
For Jin Jiang, the most critical step in winning the "protracted battle" of sustainability is to pursue sustainable business development from a long-term perspective, and to incorporate ESG into the top-level design of corporate strategy and precipitate it into the corporate culture in the pursuit of scientific and accurate ESG layout. Internally, it can be seen that Jin Jiang Hotels has indeed made significant investments in its system construction, and has established a three-tier ESG management structure at the board level: the Strategic Investment and ESG Committee is responsible for strategy formulation, the ESG Working Group coordinates and manages, and the Jin Jiang Hotel Business Segment is responsible for the ESG implementation of its respective business lines. Among them, Louvre Hotels Group, a subsidiary of Jin Jiang Hotels, has also included environmental management performance in the KPIs of the board of directors, and the CSR department evaluates the environmental governance performance of the board of directors on a monthly basis to urge the board members to fulfill their environmental governance responsibilities.
Finally, Jin Jiang understands that sustainable development needs to be rooted in its own business activities, so it actively responds to the national rural revitalization strategy in the expansion of its business territory. So far, Jin Jiang's multi-brand hotels have covered all prefecture-level cities and 87% of county-level cities in Chinese mainland, and have been stationed in more than 660 counties across the country, making positive contributions to the development and improvement of local cultural tourism.
For Jin Jiang, the road of sustainable development in the past two years has been a process of building common values. In the future, the first action is to "optimize and deepen" to ensure that sustainable practices have a long-term and lasting positive impact. At a time when the development rate of sustainable hotels in China is still uneven, as an influential hotel company in the industry, Jin Jiang has the courage and resilience to lead the development of the industry with an international vision while following the spirit of national brands. (Contributed by me-time space).