PARSIPPANY, N.J.—Since first establishing its sustainability program in 2006, Wyndham Worldwide, one of the world’s largest hospitality companies, is measuring positive trends in reducing its environmental impact around the globe. The results are reflected in two new sustainability reports released by the company this month— Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) and Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) reports, reflecting the strategies, efforts, and results across the company’s diverse businesses.
With a wide and growing range of businesses, Wyndham Worldwide includes Wyndham Hotel Group, the world’s largest hotel company based on number of properties; Wyndham Exchange & Rentals, the world’s largest member-based vacation exchange network and marketer of serviced vacation rentals; and Wyndham Vacation Ownership, the world’s largest vacation ownership business.
“As the global market continues to grow and integrate, the hospitality industry has an increasing ability and responsibility to shape sustainability innovation on the world stage,” says Stephen P. Holmes, chairman and CEO of Wyndham Worldwide. “By continually evaluating and improving how we operate and increasing knowledge among millions of people we interact with on a daily basis, Wyndham Worldwide is excited to be a leader in reducing the hospitality industry’s collective environmental impact.”
Emission Reduction Goals for 2016, 2020
Wyndham Worldwide has invested in exploring and adopting sustainable practices through its Wyndham Green program, which focuses on sustainability across the global company. During the past five years, Wyndham Worldwide has placed the program among its top five strategic priorities across the company, successfully implementing energy efficient strategies with a goal to reduce emissions by 12 percent by 2016, and 20 percent by 2020.
“The direction Wyndham Worldwide has taken on sustainability has made tremendous progress, and continues to be a strategic focus that will make a lasting impact around the world,” says the Right Honourable Brian Mulroney, former Prime Minister of Canada, and member of the Wyndham Worldwide Board of Directors. In 2006, Mr. Mulroney was named the “Greenest Prime Minister in Canadian History,” and has been recognized for positive environmental impact. Mr. Mulroney has participated and provided input into the company’s Wyndham Green sustainability program.
“Accurately tracking and measuring our results is almost as important as deciding what to do in the first place,” says Faith Taylor, vice president of sustainability and innovation at Wyndham Worldwide. “What makes meaningful measurement a challenge for our company is our uniqueness in the industry. Wyndham Worldwide is the only global hospitality company with corporate offices, hotels, resorts, rentals, and timeshare properties in its portfolio. So, we have focused a lot of our recent efforts developing a custom eco-software tool to accurately evaluate our efforts against a wide range of businesses around the world.”
With input from associates around the world, the company has implemented numerous energy and emission reduction strategies, including:
• Working with hotel franchise owners, Wyndham Hotel Group has implemented green standards such as energy efficient lighting and re-linen programs in more than 7,190 franchised hotels.
• One of the oldest vacation rental brands in the Wyndham Exchange & Rental portfolio, Landal GreenParks, has implemented a 100-item green savings checklist, energy management systems, and waste-generated renewable energy systems, and they preserve the biodiversity of more than 250,000 acres at its more than 70 holiday parks and almost 11,000 bungalows, villas and apartments throughout Europe.
• Wyndham Vacation Ownership was recently recognized by American Resort Development Association (ARDA) for the development of its green certification program implemented at its more than 160 resorts. Among the first of its kind, the program was honored as one of the best sustainability programs in the timeshare industry.
• More than 350 Wyndham Worldwide locations have received state, national and global green certifications.
• This past year, Wyndham Worldwide received (LEED) Silver interior certification from the United States Green Building Council for its 250,000-square-foot corporate headquarters located in Parsippany, N.J. Since its opening, the facility has reduced water, energy and waste usage by 10 to 30 percent. The company also recently received the “Green Pioneer” award from Con Edison Solutions for purchasing 100 percent of the building’s electricity from wind generation.
“As one of the world’s largest hospitality companies, we understand our important role and the impact we can have on the industry,” Holmes says. “With over 58 brands in nearly 100 countries, we leverage the versatility of our unique portfolio of hotels, vacation exchange, vacation rentals, and vacation ownership to drive sustainable, profitable growth, while recognizing that each step we take is part of a larger journey, where we continually set our goals higher for our people, our company, and our planet.”
To view the reports, or for more information on sustainability programs at Wyndham Worldwide, visit www.WyndhamGreen.com.
