Radisson Hotel Group is leading the hospitality sector in Thailand towards a more sustainable future as part of its commitment to driving responsible travel and tourism, through the implementation of the Hotel Sustainability Basics (HSB) at its hotels across the Kingdom.
The HSB was developed together with top brands, associations, and destinations in the industry representing over 50,000 hotels, and encompasses a set of globally recognized and coordinated set of minimum indicators that all hotels should implement to drive responsible travel and tourism and to help every hotel address and improve their environmental impact.
The Group’s portfolio of five hotels in Thailand is on track to implement the HSB, in line with the nation’s growing focus on sustainable travel. As travel and tourism return in full swing, the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) recently announced its strategic plan to revitalize and transform Thai tourism with plans to become more sustainable, more inclusive, and more environmentally friendly.
Andre de Jong, vice president, Operations, South East Asia and Pacific, Radisson Hotel Group (RHG) commented:“At Radisson Hotel Group, we believe in being a thriving, sustainable, and responsible business that supports our people, communities, and the planet with a focus on business ethics, supply chain sustainability, carbon reduction, to offer a sustainable value proposition to guests. Our hotels in Thailand are fully committed to rolling out the Hotel Sustainability Basics framework as we define and continually seek opportunities to create a sustainable travel infrastructure for the hospitality industry.”
In Thailand, Radisson Blu Plaza Bangkok uses green cleaning products and has eliminated the use of plastic bottles and straws, replacing them with glass bottles and sugarcane straws. Mark Julajinda, general manager of the Radisson Blu Plaza Bangkok said: “We are actively looking for solutions that will protect our environment through the reduction of wasteful processes, single-use plastic, and water usage to minimize our carbon footprint. As key players in the industry, we all have a role to play to support responsible practices – by integrating a sustainable food chain using local food products, we are creating a healthy growth environment for our local economy.”
The Radisson Suites Bangkok Sukhumvit adopts efficient practices in the kitchen, reducing wastage of water and working closely with a partner to properly dispose of food waste that will be converted to compost for gardening and agriculture. According to Pataraseth Pokinbeniarasamee, general manager of Radisson Suites Bangkok Sukhumvit said: “Everyday practices go a long way for sustainability. The Radisson Suites Bangkok Sukhumvit has implemented sustainable practices and made conscious efforts to reduce our environmental impact. By measuring and reducing our energy and water consumption, as well as using local suppliers and reducing the use of single-use plastics we can make a positive impact. We are also heartened to see that our guests are supportive of these initiatives and are providing positive feedback.”
The Park Plaza Bangkok Soi 18 has also implemented glass bottles in all rooms and public areas and will soon roll-out refillable amenities. Supporting the development of sustainable travel infrastructure, the hotel will offer charging stations for electric vehicles in the year ahead. Varun Kuruvilla, general manager, Park Plaza Bangkok Soi 18 said: “Sustainability and businesses need to coexist, and I strongly believe that no one initiative is too small. We will continue our efforts to offer greener solutions and work closely with local suppliers to source products to reduce our carbon footprint. Planet earth needs our collective effort, and we all need to be part of this one way or another.”
Across the wider region, the Group’s hotels have made the move towards a cleaner infrastructure with on-site bottling plants available at Radisson Blu Resort Maldives, and the soon-to-open Radisson Blu in Hoi An, Vietnam.
With its long heritage and experience as an industry pioneer in sustainability, RHG has been one of the HSB initiators together with World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC). In 1989, RHG was a part of the first hotel group in the world to adopt an environmental policy. It has reduced its average energy and water footprint by 30% in the past 10 years. It also sets an ambitious 30% carbon reduction target for the next five years and to halve its carbon footprint by 2030, on track to be aligned with the Paris Agreement (COP21).
In addition, all Radisson Meetings are 100% carbon neutral. Meetings and events held at the Group’s hotels will be offset at no cost to clients. Since the start of the program in May 2019, this amounted to 37,800 tons of CO2 which RHG has offset on behalf of its clients.
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