Meliá in world’s top three sustainable hotel chains

Meliá Hotels International has been named as the third best company in the world in the ‘Hotels, resorts and cruise lines’ category, and second in Europe, by RobecoSAM, the most prestigious international agency specialising in sustainable investment.

The global company continues to make progress in becoming a leading company in responsibility and sustainability in the hotel industry, and is only ranked behind industry giants Intercontinental and Hilton.

Meliá’s sustainability objectives encompass everything from tangible aspects of the business such as tax strategy or Corporate Governance, to more intangible aspects such as risk management, stakeholder relations, ethics, environmental management, human rights and talent management, among many others.

This responsible business strategy forms part of the Strategic Plan led by the company’s executive vice president, Gabriel Escarrer, and the entire management team, and has now been acknowledged by RobecoSAM.

Companies under evaluation have to respond to an extensive questionnaire every year on issues such as corporate governance systems, climate change strategy or talent management, the results of which determine their sustainability performance.

Questions are grouped into three categories: economic, environmental and social, and Meliá came first in the economic and environmental dimensions. Each category is divided into 20 criteria, and Meliá obtained the highest score in two of them and also led the industry in criteria such as Crisis and Risk Management, Fiscal Strategy, Environmental Reporting and Energy Eco-efficiency.

Escarrer said that “thanks to their importance in the socio-economic and environmental development of destinations and their influence on multiple stakeholders, travel companies play a fundamental role in promoting sustainability.

“As a company with a family origin and values, Meliá is strongly committed to sustainability on the human, strategic and operational levels.”