Hilton is to offer carbon
neutral meetings at around 60 hotels in Europe, the Middle East and Africa
after it announced a partnership with social enterprise South Pole.
The initiative will see Hilton offset
the carbon footprint of meetings with more than ten delegates at the venues at
no cost to the meeting organiser. Carbon credits will be used for projects such as 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 US.
The initiative was launched in
The Netherlands last month and has now been extended to more hotels across the
region, with plans to roll out further in the coming months.
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.”
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. 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.”