INVESTMENT
HOW SUSTAINABILITY
CAN IMPACT VALUE , DRIVE BUSINESS
THE IMPORTANCE OF UNDERSTANDING THE NEW GUIDANCE AND LEADING PRACTICES TO HELP HOTELIERS DETERMINE THEIR BEST SUSTAINABILITY STRATEGIES .
by DAVID BLACK , MANAGING DIRECTOR , and REX HAMRE , NATIONAL DIRECTOR FOR SUSTAINABILITY SERVICES , JLL PROJECT & DEVELOPMENT SERVICES
Despite continuing COVID-19 surges , corporate road warriors and consumer travelers are slowly making a comeback after a long hiatus . Along with their luggage , today ’ s travelers are bringing fresh attention to travel ’ s carbon footprint . Hotel leaders have a golden opportunity to gain competitive advantage by reducing their carbon footprints .
Before COVID-19 , corporate travel teams were already prioritizing hotels with strong sustainability programs . Now , many corporate sustainability teams are taking a closer look at the impact of business travel versus the video meetings that replaced business trips during the pandemic .
Leading global organizations have been championing sustainability programs for decades now , hiring chief sustainability officers and taking other meaningful steps in the war on climate change .
Though massive work remains , many corporations have already slashed in-house carbon emissions .
TACKLING SCOPE 3 EMISSIONS Their next big hurdle : To reduce what ’ s known as Scope 3 emissions , as defined by the Greenhouse Gas ( GHG ) Protocol , the most widely used international accounting tool . According to JLL research , corporate travel can account for roughly 10 % to 20 % of an organization ’ s total Scope 3 emissions — and more for travel-heavy sectors like consulting and professional services .
Unlike direct emissions ( Scope 1 ) and electricity purchasing emissions ( Scope 2 ), Scope 3 covers upstream and downstream activities in the supply chain , from purchased goods to leased assets , and yes , business travel . These indirect impacts make up a significant chunk of all emissions , but can be the most
32 hotelsmag . com May 2022