Setting global criteria for social sustainability in travel ‘a challenge’

Assessing the social impacts of travel and tourism on a global scale could be more challenging than reporting on environmental impacts and governance.   That is according to Christopher

Imbsen, World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) vice-president for research & sustainability, who worked on developing the WTTC’s Hotel Sustainability Basics programme launched last

year.   Imbsen contributed to a report published this week on social sustainability, labour and human rights in travel and tourism entitled ‘Why the S in ESG Matters’ – the S being for

‘social’ in environmental, social and governance (ESG) impacts.     The report is based on research by Dr Anke Winchenbach of the University of Surrey and was commissioned by the

International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) and the IUF union representing food, agriculture, hotel, restaurant, catering and allied workers internationally.   Speaking at the launch

of the report, Imbsen said: “When we were developing Hotel Sustainability Basics, we carried out a global industry consultation with over 60 global brands and industry associations to define

what the 12 fundamental sustainability criteria that all hotels can do should be.   “It was difficult to get 60 stakeholders to agree on a set of criteria, but where we really struggled was

with the ‘social’ criteria.”   He suggested: “There are a number of reasons for this. One is that the world is diverse and if there is one thing that varies enormously and is sensitive it’s

social context – what is socially acceptable.   “When it comes to social [indicators] how on earth can you have an absolute indicator on a global level?”   But he added: “A number of people

we consulted said, ‘Let’s just chuck this out. Forget about it. It’s not going to work.’ We persisted and got to two [social] criteria in the end that we thought all hotels should meet.  

“One is to have some form of community engagement. That might be as simple as providing information on community initiatives or some kind of positive initiative within the community, or

education on sensitive issues such as child trafficking or illegal wildlife traffic.   “The other was about reducing inequalities within the workforce and ideally within the supply chain and

having demonstrable evidence of addressing that.”   Imbsen said: “There is no shortage of criteria. But whether a global set of criteria are easily applicable is an entirely different

issue.”   He said the report “serves an important purpose in raising the challenges and issues around the S in ESG”.   The WTTC is now working on the next phase of its Hotel Sustainability

Basics programme.   The report on labour and human rights in travel and tourism, ‘Why the S in ESG matters’, concludes poor labour conditions are impeding sustainability efforts in the

industry, damaging recruitment and heightening risks for businesses.   The study is based on interviews with industry representatives including Imbsen, trade unions, investors and

consultants, and includes assessments of existing social sustainability frameworks and case studies as well as recommended actions.   It can be downloaded here