Today, many are working towards an exciting new vision of the world – one which is green, sustainable, and where everybody can prosper.
This vision is one that consumers are increasingly demanding; it is one that investors are backing; and it is one for which governments worldwide are legislating.
Energy & Environment Alliance (EEA) is the global coalition of hospitality and lodging investors, developers, operators, and asset managers. We work to transition hospitality businesses to net zero carbon (NZC) and environmental, social and governance (ESG) leadership in a timely, scientifically robust, and commercially sustainable way. We represent the industry to policy makers and international institutions, proactively informing regulation, global standards, ESG reporting and benchmarking. With renowned experts, we conduct ESG research and development for the industry. We offer knowledge-share, training, and education services. We provide our members with insights, objective advice, strategic guidance, and tools, to mitigate risk, drive value creation and maximise company prospects. Our outputs are developed with inputs from leading experts and industry participants in EEA’s nine active work-streams:
Technical: with BREEAM and others, the EEA works to develop ESG building and operational standards for all hotel & lodging types, to transition existing assets to NZC and ESG, and deep dive into property and operational technologies.
Legal & Regulatory Compliance: with a cohort of ten international law firms, the EEA works to create bespoke ESG clauses for all hotel agreements one offers members compliance support including an EU and UK regulatory planner up to 2050.
Social: with Mazars and other global experts, we are building the social taxonomy for hospitality, evolving global industry standards, metrics and benchmarking on human capital, communities, social impact, value, and equity.
Capital Markets: with JLL, financial institutions including banks such as HSBC, Aareal Bank, and Hermes International, the EEA is focused on underwriting, asset valuation for sustainable hotels, and access to ESG funds; both equity and debt capital.
Financial and Non-Financial Reporting: the EEA is a member of the IFRS Sustainability Alliance working on ISSB disclosure requirements and sector specific SASB standards. Our working group of CFOs are also focused on the ESG auditing, risk scenarios, and evolving financial/non-financial metrics covering scopes 1, 2 and 3.
ESG Executive Education: together with Kings College London and Kings Business School, the EEA works to develop a network of ESG informed hospitality leaders. Having launched the industry’s first ESG Executive Education programme, Kings and the EEA are now developing programmes for asset level senior executives.
Circularity: working with experts from Metabolic and Studio Moren, this work-stream focuses on the Circular and Sustainable Design of new and existing assets; from inception to operation and end-of-life. This work stream also focuses on scopes 1,2 and 3, considerations for all asset-driven activities including procurement.
Reliable data and Benchmarking: working with Ignite Economics, BREEAM, Omnevue and others, this work-stream is dedicated to the development of AI solutions, data management, analytics, and hospitality ESG benchmarking.
Advocacy: working with policy makers to drive smart regulation and a level playing field for our industry, and we actively collaborate with the IFRS, ISSB, SASB, CRREM, and BREEAM, to ensure global standards work for all classifications and geographies of hotel and lodging assets.
The EEA is developing the first universal sustainability standard for hospitality buildings and operations, in collaboration with investors, asset owners/managers, experts and its strategic partner BREEAM, the world’s most reputable sustainability assessment method for master-planning projects, infrastructure and buildings. EEA-BREEAM standards will ensure:
- Investors can better assess where and how to place their capital
- Managers can better allocate their resources
- Banks can better evaluate asset values and whether to lend, how much to lend and what special terms may need to apply
- Planning authorities can better decide whether to grant planning permission and under what conditions
- Governments can better assess the appropriate levels of taxation or incentivisation to impose and
- Lawmakers can draft better regulations which create a level playing field and promote sustainable practices
Achieving the reduction in GHG emission levels agreed by 190+ countries under the Paris Agreement requires significant improvements to the way hospitality assets use energy, as well as how they are designed, built, and operated. Furthermore, achieving net zero carbon before 2040 also requires the adoption and procurement of renewable energy.
Working with strategic partners, BusinessWise Solutions, a specialist energy trader, and Drax, a major power generator with world leading expertise in sustainable biomass generation and electric vehicle charging, the EEA is also actively enabling members to:
- Access net zero carbon energy at competitive rates
- Improve energy intensity (the amount of energy used to produce a unit of economic output)
- Eliminate energy waste
- Cut CO2 emissions
- Make strategic investments in on-site power generation and electric vehicle charging points