Name: Andrea Pinabell
Title: Vice President Sustainability, Global Citizenship
Company: Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc.
Years with Starwood: Four
Primary responsibilities: “My primary role is to reduce Starwood’s overall impact while helping to support the business. Additionally, it is my role to find best practices and scale them around the world.”
Organization’s most significant sustainability-related accomplishment: “One of the most significant has been our 30/20 by 2020 program. We were the first company to include a franchise portfolio within its impact reduction goals.”
Organization’s most significant sustainability-related challenge moving forward: “Finding innovative and creative financing vehicles as we push toward 30/20 by 2020.”
STAMFORD, CONN.—As Director of Sustainability and now as Vice President Sustainability, Global Citizenship, Andrea Pinabell has pushed and led Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide toward one of the lodging industry’s most ambitious goals—a reduction of energy consumption and carbon emissions by 30 percent and water consumption by 20 percent by 2020 (baseline 2008). According to Starwood’s 2014 Global Citizenship Report, the company has reduced energy use by 12 percent, carbon emissions by 16 percent, and water use by 17 percent per built hotel room across all owned, managed, and franchised properties. Starwood now has more than 1,270 properties in some 100 countries.
Pinabell, who is part of a group of five sustainability-focused associates at Starwood headquarters, is backed by dedicated sustainability teams in each of Starwood’s four divisions. “The way we are structured, we also have sustainability champions at each of our hotels,” Pinabell says. “One of our foundational initiatives is that every hotel must have a sustainability champion. We rely on those folks to be our points of contact. They pool together the resources at the local level. It could be the general manager or someone in housekeeping. Sometimes it is the F&B director or an engineer. What makes sustainability champions successful is their passion.”
In addition to overseeing the development and implementation of Starwood’s strategy, goals, reporting, partnerships and programs with regards to carbon emissions, energy and water, Pinabell also is responsible for waste-reducing initiatives, sustainable food and beverage and supply chain, as well as Starwood’s green building and community development strategy.
Progress in Waste Reduction
In the area of waste reduction, recycling is a brand standard. Reuse and reduction are also emphasized. Some Starwood properties are growing food on-site to use in restaurants, composting remaining food waste, and powering shuttle vehicles with biodiesel fuel made from waste kitchen oil.
Starwood measures it progress in energy, water, carbon and waste through its Environmental Impact Assessment System (EIAS+). “All of our properties report through the EIAS tool,” Pinabell says. “We track energy, water and waste data on a monthly basis.”
In the area of supply chain and procurement, Starwood has been particularly active under Pinabell’s watch. Sustainability requirements are embedded in FF&E standards and the company just released a poster, pocket guide and supplemental instructional materials to help associates make seafood selections that do not negatively affect human health, communities, fish populations and the environment. In 2014, the company became the first global luxury hotelier to commit to banning shark fin in all restaurants and food and beverage services across its global portfolio. In 2012, Starwood banned all whale and sea turtle from its menus.
Supplier Code of Conduct Released
Pinabell says Starwood launched a supplier code of conduct earlier this year. “It looks at our sustainable food and beverage policy,” she says. In 2014, 100 percent of Starwood’s new supplier contracts included its corporate social responsibility clause which states that vendors must commit to the highest ethical, human rights, and environmental standards throughout their organization and in their selection of subcontractors. New suppliers in high-risk categories like linens and amenities are also audited by third-party vendors, including Bureau Veritas (BV), for social criteria. Last year, Starwood partnered with CDP to gather information on its top 215 suppliers’ emissions and environmental and climate change strategies using a standardized disclosure process.
Overseeing Starwood’s green building strategy is also part of Pinabell’s role. Starwood has gained recognition for its commitment to LEED certification for Element. Element has grown significantly in recent years. According to Starwood’s website, there are now more than 50 Elements either open or in development. “Element is such a great brand,” Pinabell says. “LEED validates the brand’s commitment to eco-innovation.”
In the area of community and associate development, Starwood has many ongoing programs. Pinabell says the Starwood Associate Relief Fund (SARF), which is managed by the social responsibility team, will mark its 10-year anniversary in 2016. The mission of the Starwood Associate Relief Fund (SARF) is to help ensure safe living conditions for Starwood and franchise associates after a natural disaster or a large scale act of displacement through the provisions of need-based emergency financial grants.
A LEED Accredited Professional
Originally from Iowa, Pinabell says she grew up in and around nature. “My love for the environment stems from my childhood,” she says. Prior to working at Starwood, she was most recently the Director of the Sustainable Cites Institute and managed the Sustainable Community Development program at The Home Depot Foundation. Pinabell sits on several councils and boards including Conservation International’s Business Sustainability Council and the NOAA Ocean Sanctuary Business Council. She holds a B.S. degree in chemical engineering with an environmental focus from Iowa State University and is a LEED Accredited Professional.
In regard to what she enjoys most about her work, Pinabell said, “I am a very lucky person. I can come to work and make a positive difference.”
When asked how the lodging industry overall is doing with its commitment to sustainability, Pinabell said, “In the last four years we have made some great strides. Our customers and clients continue to drive that.” Pinabell cited joint efforts such as the Hotel Carbon Measurement Initiative and the Hotel Water Measurement Initiative—both led by the International Tourism Partnership—as evidence of the industry’s progress.
Go to Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc.
Glenn Hasek can be reached at editor@greenlodgingnews.com.
