Looking for detailed guidance? Join the Alliance to access the exclusive member Pathway!
Water
3 | Accelerating
Corporate Office
Neutralise negative impacts and build robust positive impacts
Outcomes
By the end of this stage you will have achieved the following outcomes from the Pathway Framework:
Introduction of innovative solutions.
- Wastewater is managed in a sustainable way to ensure no adverse effects on the local population and the environment.
- New water-related solutions and initiatives have been investigated and innovative ones have been implemented.
- Water stewardship considerations are embedded into all decision-making.
- Water recycling / recovery initiatives have been investigated and implemented.
Setting up for success
Take ownership
Enable owners across all organisational teams to be innovative
Review and update governance procedures
Engage stakeholders
Collaborate with key stakeholders to develop and test an innovation project
Find other brands and management companies you can learn from
Resource: Destination Water Risk Index
Understand impact & dependencies
1. Support hotels to map the current water-related situation in their destinations
Resource: Responsible Procurement Factsheet
2. Review and deepen your understanding of water-related impacts in your supply chain
Set targets
3. Review, strengthen and extend water objectives for company targets, property-level targets for managed hotels, and suggested targets for franchised hotels, to embed water stewardship into all decision-making. Include consideration of consumption, pollution, access to water and waste water management
4. Demonstrate your commitments publicly
Take action
5. Review available guidance to identify additional relevant actions which will help embed water-stewardship into all decision making. You should include creation of innovative pilot projects, rainwater capture, wastewater treatment and re-use, activities to improve local water quality, improving local access to drinking water and WASH facilities (including employee accommodation and local communities), mitigation and adaptation plans for responding to water risks, considerations to ensure the water-related rights of local and indigenous groups are protected, incentivising infrastructure projects and equipment upgrades within contracts (wastewater treatment, desalination plant, etc.)
6. Modify brand standards to include procurement codes which apply to franchisees
7. Engage key suppliers to see what their commitments for water are, share the targets you have and how they can help you achieve them
8. Determine financial and non-financial resources needed, create a business case and gather required resources
9. Assign internal financial metrics to environmental impacts such as a shadow price for water
Resource: Responsible Procurement Factsheet
10. Update procurement policies and develop a Supplier Code of Conduct and supplier evaluation process which includes environmental considerations
Resource: Environmental Management for Hotels (Section 1.6)
11. Actively engage your staff and encourage innovation
12. Engage with customers and enable them to make more environmental choices
Reviewing & Reporting Progress
Monitor & Report
Conduct an independent assessment for environmental and social impact
Review progress by comparing against previous performance and industry benchmarks where available (such as CHSB). Repeat on a regular basis (e.g. monthly/quarterly)
Document learnings and any recommendations for follow-on actions to share with internal and external stakeholders
Review benefits seen through actions
Review challenges encountered along the way and plan solutions to implement
Update leadership and staff on progress
Seek certification by a globally recognised certification programme (e.g. GSTC recognised or an ISO standard)
Inform corporate customers and investors of performance and activities
Report your progress publicly on an annual basis. Publish disaggregated data and align reporting with established frameworks, e.g. CDP, GRI, TCFD, Integrated Reporting
Share your case studies with us!
As hospitality companies progress towards Net Positive Hospitality, the Sustainable Hospitality Alliance is keen to share good news and best practice from across the industry. Our Net Positive case studies are shared across our website and LinkedIn, acting as a positive space to celebrate these actions, achievements, and commitments.
We invite hotels to get involved by sending case studies to press@sustainablehospitalityalliance.org and / or tagging @Net Positive Hospitality and @Sustainable Hospitality Alliance within LinkedIn posts relating to environmental sustainability or social responsibility.
Water - PDF Checklist
Download checklist
Click the link below to access a PDF checklist to use offline.
View our accompanying factsheets
Find out more and enquire
Test the outcomes of ESG solutions
The Net Positive Hospitality Simulation brings the Pathway to life, helping users understand the impacts of their decisions, test sustainability actions and create a tailored sustainability action plan.
4 | Leading - Give back more than you take
Ready to move on to the next stage?
Once you have completed Water – 3 | Accelerating, you are ready to move on to 4 | Leading.
