NH reinforces its commitment to sustainability as a collaborator of AEMES Smart

NH becomes the venue for the meetings of the AEMES Smart companies, the Association of Mobility and Sustainable Environment Companies and Smart, established mainly in the Hotel NH Collection Constanza.

Sustainability is a strategic value for NH Hotel Group, and acts as a lever for cross-cutting value that translates into the experiences they offer their customers. The company continues to bet on innovation to develop eco-efficient solutions. The vision of sustainability at NH Hotel Group encompasses its clients, the destinations where its hotels are located and the planet on which we live.

Sustainable hotels

At NH Hotel Group they design and operate Eco-Efficient and sustainable hotels. Its design and construction teams consider rigorous sustainability standards so that the eco-efficiency variable is included from the initial phase of the project. In the operation of the hotel, they have a management system to guarantee the application of the company's environmental standards.

Hotel design

The Eco-efficient Hotel Guide is the cornerstone for sustainable growth, symbolizing the NH Hotel Group's commitment and support for the transition to a low-carbon economy and contributing to the sustainability of the destinations in which it operates. Water and energy saving strategies are applied and guidelines are defined for the use of materials and construction, in order to achieve more efficient and environmentally friendly hotels.
The objective of NH Hotel Group is for its new owned establishments to comply with international sustainability standards such as LEED® or BREEAM.

Sustainable buildings

The procedures with which they manage their hotels guarantee an excellent service, ensuring care of resources, offering the greatest efficiency.

Green rooms

More than 8,900 rooms in almost 100 NH Hotel Group hotels have some type of environmental certification accredited by third parties independently, be it the ISO 14,001, ISO 50,001, Green Key or other systems.

Environmental certifications

NH Hotel Group hotels have the ISO 14001 environmental management system and the ISO 50001 energy efficiency system, certified for accommodation, restaurant, meeting and event services. At the end of 2021, 47.3% of hotels in Germany, Spain and Italy had ISO 14001 (a total of 96 hotels) or ISO 50001 (30 hotels) certifications.

In addition to the ISO certification, there are some hotels that also have other environmental certifications such as BREEAM, LEED, Green Key, Hotels+Greens. The goal is to have an increasingly important volume of hotels with globally recognized environmental certifications, specific to the tourism sector, and approved by the Global Council for Sustainable Tourism, the main world body.

In 2021, 3 hotels obtained sustainability recognition for the first time, which represents a total of 161 certified hotels out of the 347 that make up the portfolio.

As a sign of its environmental commitment, 163 hotels in the portfolio have obtained the TripAdvisor Green Leaders awards, with which a total of 46% of the company's hotels have this recognition. Throughout the year, 294 of the company's hotels have also obtained the Booking environmental label and the entire portfolio is part of the HRS Green Stay initiative.

In September 2021, NH Hotel Group signed an alliance with Bioscore to independently rate the behavior of all the hotels in the portfolio based on six pillars (emissions, energy, water, waste, restoration and social responsibility).

Sustainable mobility

During the stay and tourist visits of the clients, the company offers mobility services such as carsharing or bicycle rental. There are currently 57 hotels with charging points for electric cars, 61 bicycle rentals and 15 with skate rentals.

In 2021, an agreement was signed with a partner to provide all hotels in Spain and Portugal with recharging points in accordance with current standards (semi-fast charging), under advantageous service conditions for NH Hotel Group customers. This model wants to be extended to other countries, where the demand for charging points is growing and an essential requirement.

Alliance with Volvo and ENEL

NH Hotel Group has also created an alliance with Volvo and Enel to install a charging totem for electric vehicles next to the NH Plaza Santiago in Chile. For greater impact, accessibility is given to both guests and the general public. This is the first Volvo totem installed in Chile. The objective of this project is to place chargers through the Enel subsidiaries in the capitals where NH Hotel Group has a presence in the Americas Business Unit area.

Sustainable products

NH Hotel Group offers its clients healthy options, organic food and a range of local products, thus supporting the economy and culture of the destinations in which it operates.

Breakfasts

At NH Hotel Group, they are committed to a healthy and ecological diet, and for this reason they have created a new breakfast concept that combines innovative cuisine, local products and culinary avant-garde with everything the body needs.

Breaks for meetings

They are committed to local and seasonal products and offer these products in their hotels, always seeking to align innovation and the highest quality with the opportunity to get to know the local gastronomy. In their meeting breaks they have incorporated a Green corner that includes unique, healthy and vitamin-rich products that help inspire and develop the full potential of their clients' meetings.

Sustainable fishing

The company's hotels promote sustainable fishing through compliance with legislation regarding the consumption of species and the responsible acquisition of said products.

Urban gardens

Some NH Hotel Group hotels have space to install urban gardens. The cultivation of plants in these spaces improves the landscape and the gastronomic value of the dishes. In addition, they reduce the negative environmental impact by reducing the need to transport these products and create a sense of community among employees.

Hotels for bees

Aware of the scarce space in cities for biodiversity, of its importance in ecosystems and aware of the critical situation of bees in Europe, five Group hotels continue to provide a safe home for bees on their roofs for guests. These hotels are: NH Wien City (Austria), NH Collection Wien Zentrum (Austria), NH Danube City (Austria), NH Vienna Airport (Austria), NH Berlin Alexanderplatz (Germany), NH Potsdam (Germany), NH Köln Altstadt ( Germany), NH München Ost Conference Center (Germany).

Cage free eggs

NH Hotel Group promotes animal welfare, prioritizing the use of eggs laid by free-range hens. This initiative was launched in hotels in northern Europe, which currently use free-range eggs in their preparations. Additionally, as part of MINT, the Company joins Minor Hotels in its commitment to source all eggs consumed at its facilities from cage-free hens by the end of 2027.

Amenities

They have also renewed the amenities preferred by their clients. For the selection of the products, they have carried out an eco-efficiency analysis that guarantees the choice of products that respect the environment as an added factor of product quality.

Although NH Hotel Group does not sell products, it offers customers (as a complementary service) paper bags for personal use. The paper bags are always empty, only focused on helping customers if they need it.

Sustainable innovation

Innovation and eco-efficiency help guarantee the comfort of its clients, achieving maximum performance, facilitating healthy environments and well-being, and promoting the conservation and protection of the natural and urban heritage where its hotels are located.

Digitization has been one of the most present approaches in terms of innovation during 2021. It has been introduced through different initiatives such as:

• FASTPASS: an initiative whose main objective has been to offer customers the possibility of carrying out three innovative services such as Online Check-in, Choose Your Room and Online Check-out, which put all the control over their stay in the hands of the customer.

• Tablets in Reception: In order to continue at the forefront of innovation and offer the best services to its customers, NH Hotel Group presents Smart Tablet in Reception, a new proposal that reduces physical elements of contact and time spent in reception of hotels, thus improving the customer experience by digitizing all phases of the processes during check-in and check-out.

The objective of these initiatives is not only to provide an improved customer experience, but also to contribute their grain of sand towards the fight against deforestation.