The term “corporate social responsibility” (or CSR) has become so overplayed in recent years that it’s difficult to determine which companies are legitimately committed to responsibility and which ones are simply recycling more than usual.
Here are five travel and tourism companies redefining CSR and paving the way for others to make a difference to end hunger, fight gender inequality and advance the use of renewable energies.
Celebrity Cruises Partners with Malala Fund
Celebrity Cruises announced a two-year partnership with Malala Fund, an organization with a mission to secure 12 years of safe, free quality education for girls. Because of the company’s commitment to gender equality, Celebrity will also name 19-year-old Nobel Laureate Malala Yousafzai, the godmother of its newest ship, Celebrity Edge, debuting in late 2018.
St. Ermin’s Hotel Provides a Home for 350,000 Bees
St. Ermin’s Hotel in London takes the bee-keeping CSR trend to a whole other level with 350,000 bees making honey on the property’s third floor, where meeting attendees can watch the insects at work from behind the glass. For the bees that don’t live in the hives, St Ermin’s even offers the Bee and Bee Hotel, with hexagonal suites for both solitary and social bee varieties to live in comfort.
El Nido Resorts Goes Above & Beyond the Definition of Eco-Friendly
Each of El Nido Resorts’ four properties in the Palawan archipelago of the Phillippines was built using renewable indigenous materials—recycled timber from old Filipino homes, for instance—that are integrated into the hotel design. Add to that rainwater harvesting systems, high-tech sewage treatment plants and solar panels as well as on-site composting and organic farms, and groups will quickly realize they can meet here without any guilt.
Omni Hotels & Resorts Launches Say Goodnight to Hunger
Omni Hotels & Resorts launched its Say Goodnight to Hunger program in June 2016. For every booking made directly on OmniHotels.com, Omni Hotels & Resorts has made a donation that provides dinner for a family of four to Feeding America. In the first two months of launching the program, Omni already donated more than 3 million meals, a number that will only continue to rise the more planners and their attendees book online.
JetBlue Signs Renewable Jet Fuel Agreement
Last September, JetBlue signed a 10-year renewable jet fuel purchase agreement with SG Preston, a bioenergy company, marking one of the largest renewable jet fuel purchase agreements in aviation history and the largest, long-term binding commitment by any airline globally for renewable jet fuel made with HEFA (hydro-processed esters and fatty acids). The airline expects to begin using the HEFA-based fuel as early as 2019.
