Hilton Launches Carbon Neutral Business Meetings in Europe, Middle East and Africa

LONDON - Hilton has partnered with social enterprise South Pole to offset the carbon footprint of meetings and events across approximately 60 hotels in Europe, the Middle East and Africa at no extra cost to the customer.

Initially launched in The Netherlands last month, the offer has been extended to more hotels across the region, with plans to roll out further in the coming months. The initiative will complement existing efforts to deliver low environmental impact solutions that limit waste and increase the focus on local sourcing, in support of Hilton’s Travel with Purpose 2030 Goals to cut its environmental footprint in half and double its social impact by 2030. 

Tanya Clifford, vice president, Hilton Worldwide Sales EMEA said, “We know our meetings and events customers share our passion for sustainability and like us, are committed to finding ways to further reduce their environmental footprint. Offering carbon neutral meetings at no additional cost is a fantastic addition to existing efforts to limit the environmental impact of our operations and achieve our collective ambitions. We look forward to exploring opportunities to extend the programme in the coming months.” 

The footprint of all business meetings with ten or more delegates at participating hotels will be offset through carbon credits. Credits will be allocated to a range of projects which support Hilton’s Travel with Purpose 2030 Goals, including repairing and maintaining boreholes in Rwanda to increase access to safe water sources, the construction of a geothermal power plant in Turkey to generate clean, emissions-free energy and the development and maintenance of wind farms in India and the U.S. 

Hilton will use its award-winning corporate responsibility performance management system, LightStay, to estimate each meeting’s energy, water, carbon and waste consumption. LightStay’s Meeting Impact Calculator tool gives customers the opportunity to see an estimated carbon footprint for their event using each hotel’s specific utility data. In addition to the available measures for businesses to decrease the waste and energy usage of corporate events, carbon credits will be purchased from South Pole to offset any remaining environmental impact. 

Michael Malara, senior business development manager, South Pole said: “Everyone has a role to play in helping to halt climate change – first and foremost through reducing carbon emissions, water use, waste and energy output as far as possible. We are delighted to partner with Hilton and its customers to boost their efforts to tackle the climate crisis. Through this initiative, Hilton will help to fund some of the world’s most cutting-edge sustainability projects in addition to reducing its own environmental impact and that of its clients. We look forward to working closely together to drive positive change.”

Knowing that businesses will continue to choose to combine in-person meetings with virtual participation for some time, particularly as restrictions continue to change, Hilton recently launched Hilton EventReady Hybrid Solutions. The new product empowers businesses to host seamless hybrid meetings across multiple sites if they choose to do so. In line with Hilton EventReady with CleanStay, as well as taking into account the need for increased hygiene and cleanliness measures, the programme has been developed with sustainability in mind.

Notes to Editor

As of 2023, Hilton is now partnered with ClimeCo to curate a section of global projects that will be supported by its carbon offset program.

About Travel with Purpose

Travel with Purpose is Hilton’s Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) strategy to redefine and advance sustainable travel globally. By 2030, we plan to double our investment in social impact and cut our environmental footprint by half. We track, analyze and report our environmental and social impact at each of Hilton’s more than 6,500 hotels through LightStay, our award-winning performance management system. Travel with Purpose capitalizes on Hilton’s global scale to catalyze local economic growth; respect human rights; invest in people and local communities; and preserve our planet by reducing our impact on natural resources. Our strategy aligns with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Visit cr.hilton.com to learn more. 

About South Pole

South Pole, recognised by the World Economic Forum as a Social Enterprise, has been at the forefront of decarbonization since 2006. With its global Climate Solutions platform, South Pole develops and implements comprehensive strategies that turn climate action into long-term business opportunities for companies, governments and organizations around the world.

South Pole is also a leading project developer, and has provided nearly 1,000 projects in over 50 countries with climate finance to reduce over a gigaton of CO2 emissions, and to provide social benefits to less privileged communities who are particularly vulnerable to climate change.