NH Hotel Group lauded for its sustainable strategy for mitigating climate change

Hoofddorp, 5 June, 2019. NH Hotel Group's global sustainability strategy has been recognised by the international organisation, CDP, which has given the Group a score of A- in its annual report, where it has ranked as the most responsible player in the Spanish hotel sector. According to the results recently reported by the CDP, an entity that champions sustainable economic development and the fight against climate change, NH Hotel Group also ranks among the 15 most advanced Spanish companies in terms of their global sustainability efforts.

This score (which the company has been improving on in recent editions), once again endorses NH Hotel Group's pioneering vision of placing sustainability at the heart of the company's strategy: sustainability has been acting as a key driver of Group-wide value generation for over a decade. The CDP climate change score of A- is above the European regional and global averages (both of which are B-).

Rufino Pérez, Chief Operations Officer at NH Hotel Group, said: “Implementation of innovative solutions and the development of target-driven eco-efficiency plans have been key in the Company's sustainability strategy. NH Hotel Group prioritises the conservation and protection of the natural and urban heritage in the places where it operates hotels. It undertook that commitment at a strategic level over a decade ago, since which time sustainability has been framing decision-making and initiative planning across the Group”.

A pioneering vision of how to care for the environment

This CDP score highlights the Group's commitment to the Planet, which materialises in three core lines of initiative: minimising its impact on climate change; using resources more efficiently; and developing more sustainable products. At present, 141 hotels have world-renowned individual external sustainability certifications and ecolabels such as BREEAM, LEED, Green Key, Hoteles+Verdes, ISO 14001 and ISO 50001. In 2018 alone, 14 of the Company's hotels obtained a sustainability ecolabel for the first time.

NH Hotel Group carries out its sustainability efforts under the framework of its Corporate Responsibility Plan, which encompasses the initiatives related with caring for the planet. Since the start of the Group's first Sustainability Master Plan in 2007, the carbon footprint per room sold has come down by 67%, energy consumption per room sold has decreased by 31% and water consumption has dropped 27%.

Along this same vein, the Group has also rolled out an Energy Efficiency Plan, which is focused on lowering its hotels' energy consumption. That plan includes specific measures related with how the hotels are operated as well as investments in equipment upgrades. Some of the first measures include the performance of hotel energy audits, adjustment of the temperature parameters applied and tighter control over equipment operation outside of hours of usage. On the investment front, in the addition to renewing the HVAC, lighting and kitchen equipment, a process underway for a few years now, money will be earmarked to pilot energy and environmental efficiency projects such as photovoltaic, CHP, geothermal and composting facilities.

Framed by the overall strategic objectives, each Group hotel has individual targets for reducing their carbon footprints; moreover, the data is tracked at the individual establishment level so as to evidence delivery of these emission targets year after year. The score assigned by CDP in its climate change report reflects the fact that the Company has reduced energy consumption per room sold by 3.9% in the past year, which translates into 9.9% fewer CO2 emissions (in kilograms).

The annual A List compiled by CPD, in which NH Hotel Group has been participating since 2010, names the world's businesses leading on environmental performance. One of the CDP's overriding goals is to mitigate climate change by encouraging companies to embed sustainability initiatives into their business strategies and operating agendas.

The latest edition of its report, compiled on the basis of the firms' reporting efforts in 2018, evaluates over 6800 world’s largest companies.

About NH Hotel Group

NH Hotel Group (www.nhhotelgroup.com) is a consolidated multinational player and a leading urban hotel operator in Europe and America, where it operates over 350 hotels. Since 2019, the Company works with Minor Hotels in the integration of their hotel brands under a single corporate umbrella with presence in over 50 countries worldwide. Together, both Groups have a portfolio of over 500 hotels articulated around eight brands: NH Hotels, NH Collection, nhow, Tivoli, Anantara, Avani, Elewana and Oaks - that comprise a broad and diverse range of hotel propositions connected to the needs and desires of today's global travellers.