Hyatt Hotels Corp unveils new ESG platform
Hyatt Hotels Corporation has unveiled World of Care – a global Environmental, Social, Governance (ESG) platform – designed to address challenges faced by Hyatt’s colleagues and guests and advance diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I) initiatives.
World of Care builds on Hyatt’s more than 60 years of efforts to care for the planet, people, and responsible business, and the launch of this platform provides an opportunity to support key milestones and initiatives for Hyatt – including:
• Sharing, for the first time, detailed workforce diversity data;
• Rolling out a new global human trafficking training, one of the most comprehensive in the hospitality industry;
• Elevating wellbeing for global colleagues through a dedicated week of programming and new wellness assessment.
“Hyatt’s purpose – to care for people so they can be their best – guides every aspect of our business,” said Mark Hoplamazian, President and CEO, Hyatt. “The events of the past year have underscored the urgency for the private sector to address societal issues with empathy, clarity, and accountability. World of Care deepens Hyatt’s commitment to caring for our people, planet, and communities.”
Building on Hyatt’s Change Starts Here commitments announced in June 2020 to accelerate DE&I across its business, the company today released its 2020 diversity data, disclosing global gender and U.S. racial and ethnic workforce representation across levels. Recognizing the impact of transparency and accountability on DE&I progress, Hyatt will report its diversity data annually moving forward.
In addition, Hyatt has built on its existing practice of tying annual incentive planning to diversity, equity, and inclusion progress and has linked executive stock compensation via its Performance Share Unit Plan to progress on the topic. Hyatt’s Performance Share Unit Plan is a key component of the executive team and group president’s compensation.
“At Hyatt, we know that we achieve our greatest success when all colleagues feel confident bringing their whole selves to work each day. These diverse backgrounds and points of view fuel innovation and connect us more closely to all who are in our care,” said Malaika Myers, Chief Human Resources Officer, Hyatt.
“We recognize there is much progress to be made – for our company, our industry, and our global society. Sharing our diversity data publicly and tying executive compensation to progress will ensure DE&I is further prioritized and embedded throughout the company so that Hyatt can truly reflect the diverse communities it serves and contribute to a more just world.”
Caring for the planet
Under its 2020 environmental framework, Hyatt achieved its 25% per sq m greenhouse gas reduction goals early across its three regions, took a leadership position in sourcing seafood more responsibly by becoming the first global hotel brand to set sustainability goals with World Wildlife Fund, and initiated the transition to large format bathroom amenities.
Hyatt’s new environmental framework is focused on climate change and water conservation, waste, and circularity, responsible sourcing, and thriving destinations. By focusing on these impact areas, the new framework is designed to foster collective action across departments, business vendors, and suppliers, and beyond so that destinations around the world are vibrant for our guests, colleagues, and communities.
As part of this framework, Hyatt is in the process of setting a 2030 science-based target to significantly reduce the greenhouse gas emissions from Hyatt hotels. In order to build on past achievements and accelerate progress, Hyatt is working with 3Degrees, a B Corp that helps organizations around the world achieve renewable energy and decarbonization goals.
Additionally, Hyatt and its hotels are contributing toward the 12.3 target of the UN Sustainable Development Goals by working toward a 50% global reduction per square meter in food waste sent to landfill or incineration by 2030 compared to a 2019 baseline.
Hyatt’s Environmental Social Governance (ESG) Committee sets the strategy across the organization to advance World of Care. The Committee is comprised of senior executives and subject experts across ESG functional areas. In addition, the ESG Steering Committee is chaired by the Executive Vice President, General Counsel, and Corporate Secretary, and includes the Chief Financial Officer, the Chief Human Resources Officer, and the Senior Vice President of Global Operations with direct responsibility for the alignment of Hyatt’s principles across Hyatt’s regional structure. The Committee is overseen by Hyatt’s CEO as well as the Board’s Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee.
Through World of Care, Hyatt’s activities are aligned with key aspects of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UNSDGs) in pursuit of a better and more sustainable future for all. – TradeArabia News Service