There are areas where it's better to get along than compete. The future of the planet is certainly one of them. Already members of the Sustainability Hotel Alliance, five of the world's largest groups have decided to go one step further by joining forces to accelerate the shift towards responsible purchasing. The heavyweights are Accor, Hilton, IHG, Marriott and Radisson, all co-founders of HARP, an acronym for Hospitality Alliance for Responsible Procurement, along with two specialist hotel purchasing groups, Avendra and Entegra, and a trusted partner, the EcoVadis agency.
Based on the evaluation methodologies and rating tools provided by Ecovadis, the HARP alliance aims to improve sustainability of supply chains of the five hotel groups. Since a large part of their CSR footprint is based on suppliers, the latter's carbon neutrality practices have a definite influence on their carbon emission reduction targets.
While Accor, for example, has committed to reduce its Scope 3 emissions by 28 % By 2030, the alliance aims to empower suppliers in the industry and facilitate the exchange of expertise to accelerate the deployment of best practice. The seven founding members of the HARP alliance have already collectively assessed more than 2,000 suppliers, and this list is set to grow in the future.
" By joining forces, aligning their objectives and sharing best practiceHARP members can achieve positive results that pave the way for Net Zero targets and a more sustainable future for all." said Richard Eyram, Managing Director of EcoVadis. " Innovative initiatives, based on solutions that have an impact on our core business, are crucial to achieving the sustainable ambitions that the hotel sector has set itself. "Caroline Tissot, Purchasing Director at Accor, a group which, through its responsible purchasing and healthy and sustainable food charters and its Astore referencing centre, has already given its purchasing a CSR focus. It's a shift that only needs to be accelerated.
