{"id":1121,"date":"2021-05-03T19:40:13","date_gmt":"2021-05-03T19:40:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hama-europe.org\/?p=1121"},"modified":"2021-11-25T20:28:52","modified_gmt":"2021-11-25T20:28:52","slug":"esg-in-hotel-real-estate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hama-europe.org\/esg-in-hotel-real-estate\/","title":{"rendered":"ESG In Hotel Real Estate: Understanding ESG & The Hotel Asset Lifecycle"},"content":{"rendered":"[vc_row type=”in_container” full_screen_row_position=”middle” column_margin=”default” column_direction=”default” column_direction_tablet=”default” column_direction_phone=”default” scene_position=”center” text_color=”dark” text_align=”left” row_border_radius=”none” row_border_radius_applies=”bg” overlay_strength=”0.3″ gradient_direction=”left_to_right” shape_divider_position=”bottom” bg_image_animation=”none”][vc_column column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_tablet=”inherit” column_padding_phone=”inherit” column_padding_position=”all” column_element_spacing=”default” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_shadow=”none” column_border_radius=”none” column_link_target=”_self” gradient_direction=”left_to_right” overlay_strength=”0.3″ width=”1\/1″ tablet_width_inherit=”default” tablet_text_alignment=”default” phone_text_alignment=”default” bg_image_animation=”none” border_type=”simple” column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid”][vc_column_text]\n

ESG In Hotel Real Estate: Understanding ESG & The Hotel Asset Lifecycle<\/h3>\n

By\u00a0Kimberly Yoong<\/a>, Analyst, Capital Markets at Cushman & Wakefield Hospitality – Central & Eastern, South-Eastern Europe and\u00a0Adrian Fl\u00fcck<\/a>, Director, Asset Management, Hotels at Invesco Real Estate<\/h3>\n[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1637869031106{padding-bottom: 40px !important;}”]Profit, People, Planet<\/em>\u00a0\u2013 the triple bottom line ‘Holy Grail’ that many companies preach \u2013 but how many practice it?<\/p>\n

Over the last decades, governments and corporations alike have been pledging their commitment to fighting climate change and building a more inclusive society. On the environmental front, the landmark\u00a02015 Paris Agreement<\/a>\u00a0vowed to create a global coalition zeroed in on achieving carbon neutrality by 2050 \u2013 a promising demonstration of the world’s growing commitment to the planet.<\/p>\n

But the reality is that, since then, global banks have continued to \u2013 and have been allowed to \u2013 invest over\u00a0USD 2.7 trillion<\/a>\u00a0into fossil fuel companies in the four succeeding years alone (2016-2019).<\/p>\n

And the hospitality industry is not guilt-free either. According to UK data, while energy consumption per unit of economic output in the overall UK economy\u00a0fell by 53%<\/a>\u00a0over the last three decades, the accommodation sector saw the opposite trend: a 10% increase in energy usage. Yet in the long term, travel and tourism is expected to continue to boom, which means that our position in and responsibility to our global ecosystem will only grow bigger. So, the key question is:\u00a0how can we make bigger strides for our People and Planet?<\/em><\/p>\n

To many, the answer is a resounding\u00a0‘ESG’.<\/em>[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]\n

What is ESG?<\/h3>\n

In recent years, similar to how\u00a0CSR<\/em>\u00a0was once the poster child of the corporate world, the term\u00a0ESG<\/em>\u00a0has earned itself somewhat ‘Vogue’ status \u2013 the purported gold standard for striving towards a sustainable future. But to reach that final step of becoming ‘ESG-compliant’, we first need to understand what it means. In this regard, there are two crucial considerations in deciphering the word ‘ESG’ for hotels:<\/p>\n

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  1. An imbalanced scale.<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0The ‘E’ in ESG often hoards the limelight. While environmental needs are undeniably the most pressing (and efforts in this area are more measurable), however, social and governance factors too are important pieces to the ESG puzzle.<\/li>\n
  2. An extensive scope.<\/em>\u00a0<\/strong>ESG goes far beyond simply installing energy-efficient LED lights. Across the span of a hotel’s life cycle, from its development to the eventual sale of the hotel asset, ESG measures can play a different role at each stage, all of which warrant careful consideration.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Therefore, in this article, we explore the intricacies of ESG in the hotel sector, firstly by equally examining each of ESG’s three factors in a hospitality context; and secondly, by taking a stage-by-stage approach to understanding the role of ESG in a hotel’s life cycle.<\/p>\n

    Deconstructing ESG in hospitality<\/h3>\n

    The\u00a0WTTC estimates<\/a>\u00a0that in 2019, the travel and tourism sector directly and indirectly accounted for 10.3% of total global GDP, and 330 million \u2013 or 1 in 10 jobs worldwide. As a massive driver of the global economy, what are some of the key factors of ESG in hospitality?<\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

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    \"ESG
    ESG key example metrics. Source: Own illustration. \u2014\u00a0Photo: EHL<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

    Environmental<\/h3>\n