Kempinski Hotels has published its fourth consecutive Environmental, Social & Governance (ESG) Report for the year 2024. Compiled in partnership with global benchmarking, certification and advisory group EarthCheck and prepared in line with the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Standards, the report assesses all aspects of Kempinski operations based on ESG risks material to Kempinski’s value chain.
As well as highlighting the organisation’s progress in certain key areas, it also reveals further opportunities for Kempinski and the wider hospitality industry to continue the journey towards a more sustainable future.

“During this transitional year for Kempinski, sustainability represents a bridge between the brand’s 128-year history and a future-focused approach; a core part of our transformation for a better tomorrow,” says Stuart Dickie, Board Advisor and ESG Chair, Kempinski Hotels. “As Europe’s oldest hotel company, adapting and transforming in response to a rapidly changing world is part of our DNA. Guided by our desire to make a positive and lasting impact on every aspect of our hotel operations, the report provides a comprehensive overview of our ESG performance, and highlights areas where we have made significant progress and others that need greater attention.”

The report shows significant improvement in certain key areas. Environmentally, overall energy use, energy use intensity and emission production intensity all fell by 20%, while energy from green or renewable power increased by 10%. During the 12-month period, 34% of waste was recycled, reused or composted and there was a 47% reduction in waste intensity to landfill, while water use intensity fell for the third consecutive year to 700 litres per guest night.

By the end of 2024, 20 Kempinski hotels had adopted new EarthCheck-powered technology called VenueCheck to help event planners monitor, measure and manage the impact of their meetings and events to meet and exceed industry standards for sustainable event management. A total of 36 Kempinski hotels and residences were registered with EarthCheck in 2024, though a larger number of properties shared pertinent data for the purposes of this report.

Around the world, 36% of Kempinski hotels use 100% cage-free eggs, though 30% of hotels reported that cage-free eggs were unavailable in their supply chain. Ongoing partnerships with organisations including Clean the World and Solenis-Diversey saw notable reductions in waste through recycling programmes targeting plastic bottles, underutilised linen, used coffee capsules and plastic shreds. Ten hotels diverted 16.5 tonnes of soap from landfill via a partnership with Soap for Hope and 62% of hotels completed the transition to wooden key cards in 2024. ADVERTISEMENTOn the social pillar, Kempinski continued to make gains, highlighting the company’s people-centric approach and commitment to respecting and supporting communities and individuals inside and outside the organisation. Kempinski employs 81% local employees across the world and 38% female employees across all job levels. The pay gap between male and female employees was 1% in favour of women and there were 10% fewer work-related injuries reported during 2024 compared to the previous year, with zero workplace fatalities. A total of 170,000 hours of training were given to employees across the organisation, averaging 9.4 hours per employee.

Ongoing efforts around Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI) and a continued focus on employee health and wellbeing saw Kempinski receive the Gallup Exception Workplace Award for the fourth consecutive year. A total of EUR 259,000 was raised for projects supported by BE Health, Kempinski’s corporate social responsibility programme in which individual hotels support their chosen local healthcare organisations to address critical local health needs.

Governance remains an area where Kempinski has excelled, with a robust, multi-layered structure built around executive responsibility and a dedicated Sustainability Committee made up of 10 individuals from across the organisation, selected based on their operational expertise. An impressive 97.3% of preferred suppliers have signed the Kempinski Code of Conduct since 2023, while robust anti-corruption measures led to 40 operations being assessed across the portfolio and one verified incident leading to disciplinary action. Governance was equally strong in the digital domain, with 94% data privacy and security training compliance across all hotels and annual PCI DSS certification.

While most metrics demonstrate positive outcomes across the globe, Kempinski acknowledges that is still much work to be done: “Our progress to date has developed institutional capacity to better manage data and ensure its quality, transparency and accountability to drive progress and ensure credibility,” says Anne Marie Bettex-Baars, ESG Lead and Managing Director, BE Health. “Looking ahead, Kempinski recognises the importance of a structured, forward-looking framework for sustainability that aligns ESG efforts with overall business strategy, ensuring ESG contributes directly to long-term value creation, operational resilience and brand trust.”

The report was created voluntarily in line with the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Standards and covers the period from 1 January 2024 until 31 December 2024. As an active participant in the United Nations Global Compact, Kempinski’s sustainability efforts align with the Ten Principles for human rights, labour, environment and anti-corruption, embracing the precautionary principle seeking to do no harm.

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Source: breakingtravelnews.com