IHG’s Six Senses Goes a Step Further on Being Green Among Hotel Chains
Photo Credit: Six Senses Bhutan: Investing in local farming is one way it contributes to the community. Six Senses Bhutan
Skift Take
While other chains may have difficulty getting owners to spend on sustainability, Six Senses commits them by management contract. And while other chains are just getting rid of single-use plastic straws and bottles, Six Senses wants to be completely free of plastics by 2022. Will parent IHG follow suit?
Ask Guy Heywood how he gets his hotel owners to support the green cause, and the answer from the chief operating officer at Bangkok-based Six Senses Hotels Resorts Spas, is “get the right owners.”
One way the chain does this is to embed a clause in the management contract that stipulates that 0.5 percent of revenue must go toward a sustainability fund.
No other chain is believed to make it mandatory for owners to put aside a percentage of earnings into a sustainability pot — not even Six Senses’ new parent, InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG).
In another unprecedented move, the chain has also set a goal of being completely free of plastics from 2022, that is, not just eliminating low-hanging fruits such as single-use plastic straws and plastic water bottles, but every piece of plastic at its corporate offices and hotels.
When contacted by Skift if IHG intends to take a leaf out of Six Senses’ green book, CEO Keith Barr said, “We’ve worked very closely with the
