The historic city of San Antonio, Texas, played host to the World Sustainable Hospitality Alliance’s Mainstreaming Net Positive Hospitality Summit, last week, convening members and partners to share exciting updates, reflect on achievements and map out action for 2025.

As the Alliance’s first major event in North America, this three-day summit was part of The Hospitality Show at the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center, in partnership with the American Hotel and Lodging Association and Questex. This summit marks a new era for the Alliance, which recently rebranded as the World Sustainable Hospitality Alliance to emphasise its global impact.

Throughout the event, the Alliance led critical discussions around Net Positive Hospitality, spotlighting its top three priority areas: unified standards, the World Academy for Sustainable Hospitality, and the Net Positive Hospitality impact fund.

Alliance CEO, Glenn Mandziuk, said:

“This Summit truly illustrated the Alliance’s transformation from strategy to action. Our efforts this year have laid the groundwork for a 2025 focused on meaningful, measurable sustainability outcomes. The Summit emphasised key actions, from amenity packages to energy, water, and finance, solidifying our industry’s commitment to Net Positive impact.”

Sessions on ‘2025 and beyond’ explored how best to leverage data for sustainability metrics, from decarbonisation targets to compliance and certification.

A lively discussion on Anti-greenwashing EU regulations, led by Baptiste Carriere-Pradal (Co-Founder and Director of 2B Policy), saw a highly engaged audience delve into the ramifications of differing regulations from region to region and the Global Sustainable Tourism Council presented on global trends in sustainability regulations, including environmental impacts, DEI and community engagement.

Following insightful presentations from Considerate Group, GSTC and 2B Policy, the Alliance was delighted to bring together a panel of global industry experts who discussed the pressing challenges faced globally within the sector.

What’s more, the launch of the ground-breaking World Academy of Sustainable Hospitality showcased the pioneering future-oriented training that offers certified programmes to empower hotel professionals in driving true systems change towards Net Positive Hospitality.

On the final day, the Senior Advisory Council (SAC) convened to review strategic priorities, underscoring the importance of collaboration and innovation in achieving a Net Positive future.

Providing members and partners with time to connect, share and be inspired, the Alliance hosted a Low Carbon Pioneer Drinks Reception at the InterContinental San Antonio Riverwalk, celebrating IHG Hotels & Resorts’ Low Carbon Pioneers project. Sponsored by IHG, the reception featured a presentation by Julienne Smith, Chief Development Officer, IHG Hotels & Resorts, highlighting the energy-efficient hotels participating in this initiative, which operate without on-site fossil fuel combustion and are powered by renewable energy.

The Summit set a powerful trajectory for the global hospitality industry, with renewed commitments to drive sustainable change across the sector.

To view the official Summit photos, visit https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjBPnab.

Interested in joining our global network? Visit https://sustainablehospitalityalliance.org/get-involved/ to find out more.