As part of Hilton’s Travel with Purpose 2030 goals to cut its environmental footprint in half and double its social impact, Hilton Supply Management (HSM) and Engineering Operations EMEA are working with hotels to source renewable electricity and drive carbon reduction. In Vienna, Austria, this initiative has again achieved notable success, with HSM assisting all three Hilton properties in reinvigorating their 100% renewable electricity contracts while realizing significant cost savings and obtaining official guarantees of origin certificates. The supply of renewable electricity sources will now 100% originate from hydropower and together, all three properties in Vienna will produce zero CO 2 emissions when generating electricity.
As referenced in our recent Environmental, Social and Governance report, Hilton recognizes that increasing access to affordable, renewable energy will require governments to take swift action to implement ambitious emissions reduction plans. That’s why, in 2020, we joined more than 200 businesses and investors in calling on EU leaders to raise EU 2030 GHG emissions targets and endorse the ambitious goals set out in the European Green Deal. In addition, Hilton has pledged to reduce its Scope 1 and 2 carbon intensity by 61% by 2030 and is the first major hotel company to set carbon targets approved by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi).

As part of this commitment, Hilton leverages the sourcing power of HSM. In a previous HSM Insights article, you may have read about Hilton’s efforts to help increase hotels’ awareness of alternative energy options, specifically with the recently launched Renewable Supply Program in the U.S. This program requires suppliers to include a renewable energy plan in their RFPs and encourages our managed hotels to procure at least a portion of their electricity from greener sources.

Previously in 2018, HSM teamed up with our electricity supplier to convert Hilton Vienna Park, Hilton Vienna Danube Waterfront, and Hilton Vienna Plaza from standard electricity supply to 100% renewable electricity sources—70% hydropower, 11% windpower, 15% biomass, 2% solar, and 2% bio gas power. Under the newly renegotiated contract, all energy sources will come from 100% hydropower by 2022.
Each year, HSM works in coordination with Engineering Operations EMEA to manage energy contracts and secure electricity for the cluster in up to four tranches. While a switch to renewable energy would normally come with a price increase, the teams were able to offset these costs for the participating hotels through smart energy procurement and well-timed purchases on the electricity stock market. To do this, we watch the market diligently each day to monitor the commodity price and run a “Capital at Risk” strategy to purchase the electricity supply at optimal times that minimizes costs for our partners. On top of that, we negotiate volume tolerance limits that give our hotels the flexibility to use what they need above or below our contracted amount within the given range.

HSM recognizes the critical responsibility of the hospitality industry to help protect our planet and preserve the beautiful destinations in which we operate for generations to come. We have established relationships with large energy suppliers in region and strong connections with expert teams that monitor the energy markets daily to determine the best time to buy. We source the energy strategically to minimize costs for hotels and mitigate price increases. Working with a powerful and experienced procurement partner can help you reduce carbon emissions and boost your hotel’s bottom line, all at the same time.

As far as what’s next? Our team continues to explore new innovations that will help us reduce our environmental footprint while conducting due diligence on implementing additional renewable energy options, such as solar panels, at our hotels in regions around the world. For more than a decade, Hilton has been focusing on initiatives to measure, report and improve its environmental impact across its global portfolio of managed and franchised hotels through bespoke corporate responsibility management platform LightStay. We’d love to help bring these initiatives to life at your properties.