Sustainable Hospitality &

Tourism Management

BMIH5006

Week 4:
Greenwashing & CSR
Module Learning
Outcomes
Demonstrate a critical understanding of the term
“sustainability” and apply it within the context of
tourism and hospitality;

Reflect on what is meant by ‘greenwashing’ and

‘corporate social responsibility’ and how this impacts
on the industry.
Where are we now?
• Growing world population
• Climate crisis
• Extinction Rebellion / Insulate Britain
• Cop 26 Glasgow
• To preserve a livable climate, greenhouse-gas
emissions must be reduced to net 0 (zero) by
2050
• https://www.un.org/en/
• So, do you know how UK energy is produced?!
Energydashboard.co.uk
• So what can we do?
• Greta Thunberg chose to sail across the Atlantic (rather than fly) to
attend a conference in New York
What makes a hotel ‘sustainable’?
- let’s think about socially responsible …
SOCIALLY RESPONSIBLE HOTELS IN
EUROPE
IN ENGLAND & SCOTLAND

THE WESLEY HOTEL (4*)

Location: Euston House 81-103 Euston Street, Camden, London NW1 2EZ

How are they Socially Responsible? In the heart of London, The Wesley is
the UK’s first certified Ethical Hotel and supports marginalized students and
young people across the UK, and overseas supports educational projects in
Kenya.
Socially Responsible Hotels & Where To Find Them (maketimetoseetheworld.com)
A tide of green…
A study by Harvard Business Review (2019) found that for sales in 90% of the
observed Consumer Packaged Goods categories, brands that were marketed
as sustainable were growing faster than traditional competitors.

Truly impactful changes to the ways in which businesses operate tend to be

rewarded by the public through a rise in popularity and consequently, sales.

40% of millennial respondents had chosen an employer because of their

sustainability performance. 70% of millennials answered that they are more
likely to stay with a company with a strong environmental reputation and
policy (Governance & Accountability Institute, 2019).
The Dangers of Greenwashing…
 Greenwashing
The dark side of sustainability and sustainable travel, greenwashing is the practice of using powerful
PR, marketing and advertising to make an unsubstantiated or misleading claim about the sustainability
benefits of a product or service. Companies do this so that they appear to be more socially or
environmentally sustainable than they really are – and so attract more buyers and make more profit.

Greenwashing has been going on for years, but the phrase was first coined by environmentalist Jay
Westerveld in 1986 when we didn’t have such easy access to public information via social media and
the internet and it was far easier for companies to hide what they were doing. It’s led to confusion and
diminished our support of companies that are actually doing something sustainably good.

Today greenwashing is on the increase because more of us have started to demand that the products
and services we use are genuinely sustainable. A Nielsen poll in late 2015 showed that 66% of global
consumers are willing to pay more for environmentally sustainable products – among millennials, that
number jumps to 72%.

(Jones, 2017)
Greenwashing: A Fiji Water Story
 Fijiwater.co.uk : the Fiji Water story …

• FIJI Water was founded in 1996 out of the desire to

share the earth’s finest water with the world. Today, it
is available in leading hotels, fine restaurants, retail
locations, as well as by direct delivery.
• As a leading export of the Fiji Islands, FIJI Water is
now the number one imported bottled water in the
United States and is enjoyed in over 60 countries
across the globe.
The path to CSR
The path to CSR
Green marketing is well past the stage of simply accentuating what you are already doing that can be
considered green, just as a green audience is well past the stage of just accepting your word as an eco-
friendly endorsement. One thing that the sustainable dollar sector now demands is – transparency. If
your CSR is not in place and completely transparent, then you will not win the purchasing power of the
sustainable dollar.

Your CSR has to be endemic within your organization to gain a loyal following. You need to have
reduce, reusing and recycling policies in place, ethical treatment of workers, low carbon footprint, local
supply and organic ingredients. If you only have one of these elements and choose to market it, that’s
fine, but be honest about all the rest. Don’t try and dress up anything that is not genuine, or you suffer
from ‘Greenwashing’ and credibility will take a massive dent.

The marketing also has to be genuine, truthful and particularly non-consumerist consumerism. Eco-
friendly buyers do not want to be sold to. They want to be informed – even involved if they can. If you
don’t bring the information they desire to them, they will use the internet and social media to find out
what they want to know. Be one step ahead of the game – they’ll appreciate it.
Remember the 3
Sustainability pillars
 Sustainability in the hospitality industry?

• While changing to renewable energy or replacing

old light bulbs is commendable, all industries will
have to do more in the future.
• Traditional linear supply chains where raw materials
are sourced, processed in factories, consumed and
then discarded to landfill (or worse), have
contributed to the declining health of the planet
• (Wich 2020)
There are ways to operate more sustainably …
By 2050, hotels will need to reduce emissions by 90% 
to be in line with the Paris Climate Agreement
(Lissner, 2017)

(Wich, 2020)
The Time Is Now

The Spain-based Meliá Hotels International was awarded the highest possible points in

criteria such as Climate Strategy and Social Reporting
In recent decades, consumer awareness of social and environmental issues has
increased markedly. Companies are progressively integrating sustainable
development into their growth strategies for both ethical and profitable reasons,
especially if they are to continue attracting the younger, socially active customer.

Many companies base their targets around the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
The Goals

(United Nations, 2015)

What are the benefits?

• Drive growth
• Address risk
• Attract investment
• Refocus on company value
• Heighten brand appeal
• Appeal to a wider audience
• Your effort pays off
Strategic Corporate Social Responsibility

Introduction to CSR

© Debbie Haski-Leventhal
 The importance of CSR
 CSR offers a remarkable opportunity to discuss
the role of business in society
 CSR illustrates a direction for business to take
Between the great good and
so it can help address the biggest challenges of
our time
the terrible harm businesses
 In times of climate change, globalisation,
produce, lies concern about the
frequent humanitarian crises and ongoing proper role of corporations in
conflicts – business, with its resources, society, especially in times of
knowledge and power, can offer much more globalisation and technological
than doing less harm innovation’ (Chandler and
 It is an important alternative to the extreme Werther, 2011)
capitalism that possibly led markets to financial
crises and ethical meltdowns in recent years
 There are growing signals from the market that
companies are expected to be more responsible
in their entire value chain and CSR can be an
effective pathway to meet these expectations.

@DebbieHaski #MGSMCSR
 The importance of CSR (continued)
• Companies that genuinely contribute to the world,
assure responsibility and sustainability in everything
that they do and in what they stand for, see many
benefits for all stakeholders:
– The company
– Its shareholders
– Employees
– Governments
– Society, the community and the environment
 CSR defined and debated
• CSR encompasses the economic, legal, ethical and philanthropic
expectations that society has of organisations at a given point in time.
(Carrol, 1979)
• CSR is a view of the corporation and its role in society that assumes a
responsibility among firms to pursue goals in addition to profit
maximisation and a responsibility of the stakeholders to hold the firm
responsible for its actions. (Freeman, 1984)
• Business decision making linked to ethical values, compliance with legal
requirements, and respect for people, communities, and the environment
around the world (Aaronson, 2003)
• Strategic CSR as ‘the incorporation of a holistic CSR perspective within a
firm’s strategic planning and core operations so that the firm is managed
in the interest of a broad set of stakeholders to achieve maximum
economic and social value over the medium to long term’ (Chandler,
2017)
CSR: What’s in the name?

Corporate
Sustainability
responsibility

Creating shared Corporate Social Corporate

value Responsibility citizneship

Social business/ Conscious

social enterprise Businss
 Brief history of CSR thought

2010
1759: Adam 1940: Elton Strategic
Smith's The Mayo’s 1970: 1979: Archie CSR,
Theory of Moral Hawthorne Milton Carroll's Social Conscious
Sentiments’ Study Friedman pyramid businesses Capitalism

1913: 1953: 1971: CED, The 1984: Edward 2002: Porter 2011
Industrial Howard Social Freeman and Kramer Porter
Responsibilities
Welfare Bowen of Business
Stakeholder Strategic and
Commission Corporations Theory Corporate Kramer
Philanthropy Creating
Shared
Value
From a narrow view to a broad view of business responsibilities

1973: The narrow view, 2002: CSR is good for 2016: Broad view,
profits only business social purpose
The only social responsibility of a “Total Responsibility  Strategic CSR
company is to make as much Management can become a  Creating Shared Value
money for their stockholders as significant competitive  Social Business
possible. CSR, unless as a means advantage for companies”
Business as a force for good
to make more profit, is immoral
(Milton Friedman) Business as an agent of world
benefit

Profit with
Profit Social Business
purpose
 Narrow view: Arguments and Counterarguments

Main argument What they say Counter argument

Companies need to be responsible and purposeful

CSR is unethical Companies only exist to maximise profit
to engage people and gain legitimacy

We also need a caring hand

The invisible hand The market will assure responsibility
- Information asymmetry

We pay taxes and the government needs to do its Business has a growing role in helping
Governmental responsibility work governments achieve societal goals

Businesses do not have the knowledge and capacity Business has knowledge and resources that can be
Lack of capability to work on social issues used for additional goals

Corporations will impose their values on us

Anti capitalism Lip service and patching up negative social impact
Strategic CSR is about holistic approach
Drivers for Change
Successful responsible
companies(social icons)

Consumer growing awareness

and activism

Globalisation and free flow of

information

Financial crises and the

results of unethical behaviour
 Business Motivation for CSR
Relational Economic
Moral motivation
motivation motivation
• It is the right • Relationships • Brand and
thing to do with stakeholders reputation
• Society makes • Minimise • Employee
business possible restrictions engagement
and companies • Profits
have reciprocal
obligation
• Social license to
operate
Some concluding comments on CSR
CSR is important because it sets a direction for business to behave in
the interest of our global society and all stakeholders; because it can
address the growing criticism on extreme capitalism; and because it
yields great benefits to everyone.
There are many definitions of CSR that demonstrate that business
holds other responsibilities in addition to profit maximisation.
However, what kind of responsibilities, the focus of CSR and the
position of the company as a passive or active player, varies between
these definitions.
The brief history of CSR thought demonstrates a growing interest in
the role of business in society, its morality and consequences and a
shift from the narrow view of business responsibilities to a broad view.
 3 of the best in class …
Accor has been the leading hotel chain in its
sustainable effort. Their "Planet 21" initiative was
launched in 2011 and addresses 10 of the 17 SDGs.

In response, both Marriott and Hilton launched their

own sustainability projects aimed to address the
SDGs in 2018. Marriott is the leader in providing
transparency regarding each property's efforts and has
pledged for the goal "that by 2020, each property will
have a 'Serve 360' section on their website with
specific hotel impact metrics". Accor and Hilton also
aim to provide property-wide transparent data in the
future.
Best in class
Impact on hospitality industry
Environmental policies are on the agenda for all businesses and rethinking
hospitality as a sustainable practice is becoming an increasingly urgent matter.
Indeed, the hospitality sector is known for its outsized environmental impact.

Thus, hoteliers have shifted their focus to sustainability and its challenges, as
they begin to realize that making greener choices will benefit them because
meeting their customers’ appetite for a more “conscious consumerism” is
simply good business.

This is why Corporate Social Responsibility has emerged as an indispensable

priority for business leaders around the world. CSR means that a company is
implementing socially responsible practices into its business and is responsible
for its actions related to society, based on a triple bottom-line approach: people
(community), planet (environment) and ethics. The crux of CSR includes
environmental concerns, respect of local communities, technology use and
energy consumption.
Contribution to a specific issue
 Company Environment Communities Employees Infrastructures Partners

1. Hilton (CSR practices) X X      

2. Accor (CSR practices) X X X   X

3. Scandic Hotels Group (CSR practices) X X X    

4. IHG (CSR practices)   X      

5. Best Western (CSR practices) X X X    

11 Examples of CSR pra

ctices in the hospitality i 6. 1 Hotel Group (CSR practices) X   X X X

ndustry (ehl.edu)
7. Marriott (CSR practices) X X X   X

8. 6 Senses (CSR practices) X X   X  

9. Radisson Hotels (CSR practices) X X X X  

10. NH Hotels (CSR practices) X X X    

11. Hyatt (CSR practices) X X X X X

(Gentinetta, 2020)
References
Gentinetta, J. (2020) 11 Examples Of CSR Practices In The Hospitality Industry. [online] Hospitalityinsights.ehl.edu.
Available at: https://hospitalityinsights.ehl.edu/csr-practices-hospitality-industry [Accessed 24 January 2021].

Governance & Accountability Institute (2019) Millennials Really Do Want To Work For Environmentally-Sustainable
Companies, According To A New Survey Of Large Company Employees. [online] Ga-institute.com. Available at:
https://www.ga-institute.com/newsletter/press-release/article/millennials-really-do-want-to-work-for-environmentally-
sustainable-companies-according-to-a-new-su.html [Accessed 24 January 2021].

Harvard Business Review (2019) Research: Actually, Consumers Do Buy Sustainable Products. [online] Harvard
Business Review. Available at: https://hbr.org/2019/06/research-actually-consumers-do-buy-sustainable-products
[Accessed 24 January 2021].

Jones, C. (2017) What Is Greenwashing?. [online] NOW. Available at: https://www.itmustbenow.com/feature/our-big-

questions/greenwashing-explained/ [Accessed 24 January 2021].

Lissner, I. (2017) The Hotel Sector Must Cut Carbon Footprint By 90% To Meet 2-Degree Climate Threshold. [online]
Green Key. Available at: https://www.greenkey.global/stories-news-1/2017/11/9/the-hotel-sector-must-cut-carbon-
footprint-by-90-to-meet-2-degree-climate-threshold [Accessed 24 January 2021].

United Nations (2015) THE 17 GOALS | Sustainable Development. [online] Sdgs.un.org. Available at:
https://sdgs.un.org/goals [Accessed 24 January 2021].

Wich, S. (2020) Is 2020 The Year Of Sustainable Business In Hospitality?. [online] Hospitalityinsights.ehl.edu. Available
at: https://hospitalityinsights.ehl.edu/sustainable-business-in-hospitality [Accessed 24 January 2021].
Assignment 1 : 6th June 2022 (4pm)
Essay - 2000 words (+/- 10%)
A Vision of Change: Sustainability in the hotel industry.

• The hospitality industry has historically had a dramatic environmental impact on the
environment, through energy and water consumption and use of consumable goods.
With sustainability now being the issue on everyone’s mind, discuss how the hotel
industry is responding and adapting, and why sustainability is a key focus.
• Sustainability is widely regarded as the key to a successful business in the 21st century.
Sustainability or social responsibility is fast becoming a prime concern for public and
private sectors alike and the hotel industry is no exception.
• Define sustainability, its pillars and the relationship with the hotel industry.
• Critically evaluate business concerns, such as increased government pressures and
competitors’ actions that have motivated hoteliers to embrace sustainability and make it
an integral part of the corporate agenda.
• Discuss the circular economy and the relationship with CSR. Consider examples of
CSR strategies / policies in detail, ensuring that you relate your writing to the
fundamental pillars of sustainability.
• Any questions?

• h.h.thomas@uwtsd.ac.uk

• See you next week! 