Leaving a legacy without leaving a footprint: Iberostar's roadmap to decarbonization

Carbon dioxide (CO2) is an abundant and essential gas for life: plants need it for photosynthesis, it is present in many organic compounds, and it has a multitude of industrial uses. CO2 is used, for example, to produce medicines, process food and beverages, manufacture fuel, and preserve milk. Despite its natural occurrence and usefulness, it is also the cause of serious climate danger because our activity generates more CO2 than we can eliminate. This accumulated CO2 retains heat and contributes to creating a greenhouse effect in the atmosphere that increases the temperature of the Earth's surface. Scientists have warned us for years about the consequences of this phenomenon: more intense heat waves, droughts, stronger hurricanes, and rising sea levels – destroying ecosystems and causing humanitarian crises. That is why science is urging us all to act.

At Iberostar Group, we take this responsibility very seriously and have committed to reducing our carbon emissions to zero by 2030: 20 years before the global target set by our sector. At the 27th edition of the United Nations Conference of the Parties (COP27), now being held in Sharm El Sheikh (Egypt), we present our roadmap towards decarbonization, which I share with you.

The path is as clear as it is ambitious. Taking 2019 as the base year, by 2030 we want to reduce by 85% absolute Scope 1 greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, direct emissions produced by burning fuels, and Scope 2 emissions, indirect emissions generated by? electricity consumption. Within the same timeframe, we will reduce by 50% the absolute GHG emissions of Scope 3, indirect emissions produced by our activity but owned and controlled by third parties. We will offset the remaining emissions by relying on nature-based solutions through ecosystem protection and restoration.?

How will we address this? For Scope 1 and 2 emissions, we will reduce energy consumption by 35% by promoting internal and customer behavioral changes through training, best practices, and savings audits. We are investing heavily in technology that replaces appliances, boilers, lighting, and stoves with more efficient and automated devices.? We are incorporating renewable energy in all our destinations, and we have? an electrification plan in hotels to remove fossil fuels or replace them with fuels with low emission factors where it is not possible to eliminate them.

For Scope 3 emissions, which account for 77% of our carbon footprint, we have a strategy to decarbonize the entire supply chain. We aim to lead decarbonization in the purchase of goods and services by prioritizing low-emission ones in our sourcing decisions. We are moving towards net-zero buildings in new construction and refurbishment and maximizing the efficiency of existing buildings. We will extend low-emission protocols to products and services sold by tenants or assets leased to third parties. We will encourage low-carbon mobility among employees through mobility plans at our hotels and headquarters, and we will work with public administrations to accelerate zero-emission mobility at our destinations. We will also continue to promote the continuous reduction of the waste we generate, especially food waste, moving towards a circular model.

We move responsibly hand-in-hand with science. We want to inspire change in our sector, convinced the effort is worthwhile and to show another reality is possible. We work together for the only planet we have, the one that provides us with resources and moments of joy: the place where we want to leave our legacy without leaving a footprint.