Hilton continues to advance towards meeting key sustainability targets by reinforcing Travel with Purpose efforts in Asia-Pacific.
Published in 2022, the Travel with Purpose report details its latest progress as the company works to meet its global 2030 environmental, social and governance (ESG) goals.
To date, the company has managed to cut carbon emission intensity by 44 per cent, water intensity by 38 per cent, and landfill waste by 58 per cent among hotels globally.
Hilton has created more than 677,359 learning and career growth opportunities against its five million commitments and positively impacted 2.8 million community members through local support, disaster relief efforts and economic opportunities; as well as invested in two Fifth Wall’s climate technology funds that aim to decarbonise the global real estate sector, according to the report.
Through its Meet with Purpose programme, customers have the ability to offset their event’s carbon emissions and invest in a portfolio of carbon reduction projects through its partner ClimeCo. With the Meeting Impact Calculator, customers can now choose to make their meetings carbon neutral.
In response to the global trends which showed 86 per cent of travellers want to travel more sustainably, Hilton now offers on-site EV chargers for guests in over 110 hotels across Asia-Pacific as of December 2022. As a result, Hilton Zhoushan, China’s newly-installed charging stations, for example, have already reduced vehicle emissions by 60 tonnes.
Food waste reduction is also a significant part of Hilton’s effort – Conrad Centennial Singapore, for instance, reduces food waste by procuring often-discarded “ugly vegetables”, as well as plant-based eggs and meats for their menus.
Hilton has also partnered with Winnow to leverage AI technology to help chefs accurately pinpoint food waste streams to cut costs and tailor purchasing decisions in select hotels across Asia-Pacific. To date, seven properties in Japan have implemented such technology.
Through partnership with international cleaning and sanitation company, Diversey Inc., Hilton gives discarded linen from hotels a new life. Curtains, uniforms, bed sheets and tablecloths are turned into products that are sewn, designed and sold by local communities across the region. Plastic is also recycled into gravel, and charcoal is replaced by discarded coffee grounds as a cleaner alternative.
The release of the 2022 Travel with Purpose report corresponds with the release of the inaugural Hilton Global Foundation Impact Report, which highlights the positive global impact of US$2.3 million donated in 2022 to organisations working to build a healthy, sustainable planet and resilient communities for future generations.
Some examples of regional projects include the Punlaan School in the Philippines, which sponsors scholarships and programmes for underprivileged young women, focusing on hospitality and culinary arts while equipping them with job and life skills; and the ROLE Foundation in Indonesia that provides young, marginalised women with a six-month residential programme consisting of hospitality skills training, crucial life skills and confidence building activities.
In Malaysia, Hilton supports the Kechara Soup Kitchen which supplies food aid distributions to homeless, marginalised and poverty-stricken families; the China Foundation for Rural Development in China works to alleviate poverty in China through hospitality education, cultural exchanges, social media skills and other trainings; and the Ocean Conservancy in Australia, together with its partners, create evidence-based solutions for a healthy ocean.
To date, the Hilton Global Foundation has awarded over US$8 million in grants, donated over 8.1 million kilograms of food to communities in need, meaningfully impacted over 6.7 million people, and restored over 91,054 hectares of land.
