The event held earlier this week was a remarkable gathering of professionals from the hospitality industry, the real estate sector, investment, hotel operations, suppliers, research and the education sector.
Each speaker brought valuable perspectives, contributing to a deeper understanding of sustainability and innovation within the industry. The event was a resounding success, with the barn's atmosphere contributing to a sense of camaraderie and open exchange. "What is said in the barn stays in the barn," was the motto of this event. Directly on the Amstel, between greenhouses, art and organic crops, there was no room for egos, PR & advertising, it was plain speaking. The contributions of each speaker were highly valued, leaving many participants with new knowledge and inspiration to drive sustainability in their own practices.
"Keep your sustainability strategy away from the marketing team," warned Ufi Ibrahim, Chief Executive of the EEA (Environment and Energy Alliance, a club of like-minded investors), right at the start of the first discussion. She was supported by an investor: Luc Boschmans from Tristan Capital Partner, who sees the hotel industry as a sustainable partner - and is happy to sit at the round table with them. However, he pointed out that both parties require different data. At the moment, this is precisely what is causing owners and operators to drift apart, as each demands that the other disclose data. In any case, investors/owners see themselves as a power package - because the financial market demands data from them. If they don't have any, they can't/won't make any more investments.
"It's all about data and flexible contracts," remarked Heidi Schmidtke from JLL Hotels & Hospitality Group later in her presentation on asset risks. She showed the audience exactly how traditional and "green" financing and valuations differ from one another.
Help the industry to die with dignity
It was to continue with exciting rounds of plain talk. Graham Miller, Professor of Sustainability at the Nova School of Business in Lisbon, kicked off the next round with a discussion on the terms "greenwashing" and "greenwishing". He explained how greenwashing involves companies exaggerating their environmental efforts to mislead consumers. This practice is now being targeted by the Green Claims Directive, which mandates EU countries to prosecute such businesses within two years. He highlighted the importance of the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), which will require companies to report their environmental impact starting this year.
Graham quoted Kermit, the famous frog from the Muppet Show, with British humour. He once sang "it's not easy being green"... Accordingly, Graham was especially critical of "greenwishing", which he described as "the naive belief that small changes to current practices will be enough to meet future sustainability goals". He stressed that only significant systemic changes can achieve the necessary sustainability targets. Citing Johan Rockström's planetary boundaries framework, he warned that "many environmental limits have already been breached, necessitating urgent action."
Miller also stressed the need to go beyond just measuring sustainability and start taking real actions. He criticised the heavy reliance on technology as a "cure-all" solution, saying that "technological progress needs to be 10 times faster than in the past to make a real difference." He believes that sustainability should be the primary objective, with the economy adjusted to support it, and not the other way around.
Looking ahead, Graham urged businesses to redefine value beyond economic terms to include social and environmental dimensions. He advocated for businesses to lead the change rather than just adapting to it, promoting innovation and collaboration across industries. His most provocative statement was: "We should help the industry to die with dignity." Put positively: The industry needs to rebuild itself. And this was promptly followed by a lively discussion about radical thinking.
The yellow catch box was flying through the air more often: a bit of fun between profound questions. HI Maria Mindal
The values inside the material
The circular economy is one of the new paths to a new world of value creation and profitability. Three professionals showed how this can be managed. Pablo van den Bosch, co-founder of Madaster, shared his expertise on sustainable data management and the importance of transparency in the built environment.
Madaster functions as a register for products and materials in the built environment, encompassing buildings, real estate, and infrastructure. The platform focuses on the entire supply chain, from design and construction to demolition. The platform has over a thousand clients and manages more than 25 million square meters of registered space. Madaster simplifies compliance reporting, handling the complexities of various sustainability standards and regulations. The platform is connected to over 75 environmental product declaration (EPD) databases, ensuring comprehensive data integration. "The true value lies in the underlying data".
The passports Madaster provides are available at different levels, including individual products, buildings, and investment portfolios. By the beginning of next year, Madaster aims to have passports for every building in the Netherlands, expanding to Germany, Belgium, and beyond. "Our primary goal is driving change by achieving net zero." Pablo stressed that waiting until 2050 is too late.
JoAnna Abrams, CEO of the Oregon-based data company MindClick, focused on the importance of product intelligence in connecting the supply chain for hotels. The platform evaluates products throughout their life cycle, helping hotels make informed decisions to support sustainability and circularity goals. The platform uses a good-better-best rating system to assess various products and their environmental impacts.
JoAnna highlighted how MindClick connects suppliers and vendors with hotel requirements, ensuring that products meet regulatory and sustainability standards. Her platform evaluates products at every stage of their life cycle, focusing on reducing carbon emissions, waste, and enhancing circularity.
Gesa Rohwedder from the project management company Drees & Sommer underscored the importance of overcoming financial hesitations and the need for a unified approach to sustainability within the hospitality sector. Her insights called for immediate action and greater commitment from all stakeholders to ensure long-term sustainability and compliance with future regulations.
Gesa discussed the common scenario where operators and owners pass the responsibility back and forth, neither fully committing to sustainable practices. This blame-shifting results in a lack of decisive action towards sustainability. She mentioned her experience working with clients on developing building design guidelines that incorporate sustainability. During these workshops, she often asks, "How sustainable would you like to be?" This question reveals varying definitions and levels of commitment to sustainability among stakeholders.
The emissions in real estate
Julia Wein from CRREM, the Carbon Real Estate Risk Monitor, discussed the importance of managing carbon emissions in real estate. She noted that the rising costs of materials with high carbon footprints, such as steel, will increase due to stricter carbon pricing under the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS) by 2027. Julia also explained that stranded assets are properties that fail to adapt to new environmental regulations and market demands, risking devaluation.
She highlighted the increasing consideration of materials' recyclability and embedded carbon in building evaluations. Julia also described how CRREM provides detailed building material passports, cataloguing all materials and their carbon footprints. This helps in managing and planning for lower carbon impacts. She emphasized the need for data integration from various sources to provide a comprehensive view of a building's carbon impact. And stressed the urgent need for transition to a net-zero economy by 2030 to avoid severe climate impacts. Collaboration with manufacturers to adopt sustainable business models is crucial.
Sustainable Data
Alina Arnelle, Chief Sustainability Officer at BeCause, spoke on the importance of selecting specific data points and methodologies provided by NGOs, investors, operators and suppliers. She emphasized training staff to use these methodologies consistently for reliable sustainability reporting. Alina also stressed the importance of verifying data origin and accuracy within the value chain. Technology minimizes human error in materiality assessments. Standardizing data points helps maintain credible Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). Continuous technological integration and benchmarking provide trustworthy data and insights, improving sustainability practices.
BeCause platform gathers and manages sustainability data efficiently, integrating it into various frameworks without redundant data entry. This tech start-up from Copenhagen is in the process of setting up a model that will, among other things, aggregate and neutralise the hundreds of "green labels" that currently exist - from hotels and hotel groups to all other hospitality partners and OTAs. In 2027, the EU Commission will clean up the certification jungle.
Pure relaxation at the end of the first day: underway on the IJ. The waterway separates Amsterdam city centre from Amsterdam North. HI Maria Mindal
The summary of Day 1
Gesa Rohwedder summarised the facts and feelings of this first HITT day: "The awareness and the consciousness of sustainability are increasing, but the willingness to execute and go all the way is often hindered by financial reasons. One of the challenges we have in our industry is the fragmentation of the asset class, the stakeholders, and the interest. But after the conference today, I'm even more committed to say, listen, guys, we need to start." / SD, BB, map
A summary of day 2 of HITT Amsterdam will follow next week.
- THE PICTURE GALLERY for HITT 2024 can be found on the HITT microsite.
