The Hongkong and Shanghai Hotels’ Vision 2020 for sustainable luxury

Following the release of The Hongkong and Shanghai Hotels, Limited sustainability report, EarthCheck sat down with their Director of Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability to find out more about their unique take on sustainable luxury.

The Hongkong and Shanghai Hotels, Limited (HSH) sustainability report is the product of 15 months of work, and documents their environmental and social initiatives.

Natalie Chan, Director of Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability, said “The HSH philosophy towards sustainability centres on business sustainability. We aspire to deliver the highest standard of luxury in a sustainable way as encapsulated in our Vision 2020.”

“We want to integrate sustainability principles and practices into our day-to-day operation and are working hard on many sustainability initiatives across different areas in the organisation. They range from broad governance initiatives - which include a corporate responsibility budget planner to ensure resources are put in place for sustainability programmes during the annual budget process - to individual initiatives.”

One individual initiative from The Peninsula Tokyo is the use of silica particles, from volcanic rock found in Japan, in the water filtration system. By using silica, The Peninsula Tokyo saved 5,000 bathtubs of water in one year.

One of the HSH brands, Peninsula, has announced a partnership with EarthCheck. Ms Chan notes that Peninsula’s partnership with EarthCheck came about because of closely aligned values and missions.

“EarthCheck’s holistic program supports our work,” she said, “The program provides benchmarking that allows us to measure ourselves against our peers, complementing our internal reporting process which benchmarks our individual Peninsula hotels’ performance.. This benchmarking gives us a pointer for where we can improve – it is a valuable resource.”

Sustainability is a way of life for Peninsula Hotels and other properties within the HSH Group. Rather than keeping luxury and sustainability separate, HSH is creating a new paradigm of sustainable luxury.

By fostering their Vision 2020 for sustainable luxury, HSH wants to lead the industry and inspire others with a tradition of good practice. In November 2011 they were the first international hotel group to ban shark fin from all of their sites. This policy has been enforced since January 2012.

Under EarthCheck’s holistic performance-based program, HSH can now assess the progress of their environmental and social initiatives.

EarthCheck is the world’s leading environmental management and certification program with more than 1,300 members in over 80 countries.

For more information, contact
Tara Roberson
Communications
Phone: +61 7 3238 1900 | Email: tara.roberson@ec3global.com
www.ec3global.com | www.earthcheck.org | www.sustainabletourismonline.com

About EarthCheck

EarthCheck, managed and owned by EC3 Global, is an internationally recognised environmental management and certification program with members in over 80 countries. The program improves operational performance of member organisations and reduces costs. Recent studies show that six million people a week are impacted by EarthCheck’s branded solutions. The company takes a scientific and systematic approach to risk mitigation and legislative requirements and is regarded as one of the world’s best practice environmental sustainability leaders. For more information, visit www.earthcheck.org.

About The Hongkong and Shanghai Hotels, Limited (HSH)

Incorporated in 1866 and listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (00045), The Hongkong and Shanghai Hotels, Limited is the holding company of a group which is engaged in the ownership, development, and management of prestigious hotels and commercial and residential properties in key locations in Asia, the United States and Europe, as well as the provision of tourism and leisure, club management and other services. The Peninsula Hotels portfolio comprises The Peninsula Hong Kong, The Peninsula Shanghai, The Peninsula Beijing, The Peninsula Tokyo, The Peninsula New York, The Peninsula Chicago, The Peninsula Beverly Hills, The Peninsula Bangkok, The Peninsula Manila and The Peninsula Paris (expected opening in 2014). Projects under development include The Peninsula London and The Peninsula Yangon. The property portfolio of the group includes The Repulse Bay Complex, The Peak Tower, The Peak Tramways and St. John’s Building in Hong Kong; The Landmark in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam; the Thai Country Club in Bangkok, Thailand, and 21 avenue Kléber in Paris, France.

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