Brussels – The International Air Transport Association (IATA) and the World Sustainable Hospitality Alliance (WSHA) have agreed to strengthen alignment on sustainability between the airline and hospitality sectors. The agreement, signed at the World Sustainability Symposium, will have an initial focus on the procurement of hotel services by airlines.
Airlines and hotels face many similar environmental, social, and governance challenges. These include responsible procurement, environmental management, social responsibility, supply chain performance, and increasingly complex sustainability measurement and reporting expectations.
The two organizations will jointly develop practical sustainability guidance for airlines procuring hotel accommodation using IATA's Integrated Sustainability Program (ISP) and WSHA's Universal Sustainability KPIs Programme. The guidance will include sustainability evaluation criteria for hotel tenders, ESG concerns for contracting, and best practice case studies.
"Airlines' sustainability performance includes many partners that support their operations. This collaboration will strengthen the ISP by connecting airline procurement priorities with the hospitality sector's expertise and experience. The result will be stronger supplier engagement and better-informed procurement decisions that advance sustainability across the travel value chain," said Marie Owens Thomsen, IATA's Senior Vice President Sustainability and Chief Economist.
"Sustainability across the travel ecosystem cannot be achieved in silos. By joining forces with IATA, we are bridging the gap between aviation and hospitality to establish unified, practical standards for hotel procurement. This partnership empowers airlines and hotels alike to move beyond fragmented reporting, driving meaningful, measurable environmental and social impact across the entire travel value chain," said Glenn Mandziuk, WSHA President & CEO.
Potential longer-term areas of cooperation include sustainability performance measurement and reporting, plastic and waste reduction, community engagement and human rights, climate resilience and resource efficiency. The organizations may also explore how closer airline-hotel cooperation could support sustainability outcomes at destination level and across the broader corporate and leisure travel value chains.
