At Scandic Hotels, a Nordic operator, employees are trained in the company’s sustainability program, which is based on the Ten Principles of the United Nations Global Compact.
“After many years of actively working with, and being in the forefront in the Nordic countries when it comes to environmental and social responsibility, we’ve made a huge effort to run all of our hotels in a sustainable way, and also encourage our team members to take responsibility,” the company said. “Being able to harness the engagement and good ideas from within the organization is crucial to engage and keep talent as well as developing our business. For example, all of our employees go through training in sustainability and other pillars of the Scandic business.”
From 2012-15, the company, with 280 hotels in six northern European countries, lowered food waste per breakfast guest by 50%, to 70 grams per guest, and 67% of all waste is recycled. Scandic Lerkendal, one of Norway’s largest conference facilities, uses 25% of the energy of similar hotels; solar panels produce energy for about 20% of the hotel’s total needs. And according the the company, the elevators produce energy when they are used.
“In the areas of inclusion and diversity, health, carbon emissions and waste, we have concrete, time-bound targets that are constantly monitored,” the company said.
Moving forward, the focus is on finding digital solutions to monitor different environmental aspects of the hotels and being able to track a hotel’s environmental impact in real time.
Read other hotels’ sustainability stories, including India’s ITC Hotels and South Africa-based Singita. And check out “Getting greener — sooner — in hotel development,” published in HOTELS’ January-February issue.