Radisson Hotel Group has become the first hotel group in the world to offer carbon negative meetings, setting a new sustainability standard for events and hospitality.

For meetings booked between now and 31 January 2022, which take place before 31 March 2022, at any Radisson property in the world, the hotel group will offset double the carbon footprint as part of its Carbon Negative. Planet Positive initiative.

In addition, members of Radisson’s Radisson Rewards loyalty program can also choose to redeem their loyalty points to offset their stay.

The program is part of Radisson’s wider Responsible Program, which targets reducing the hotel group’s carbon footprint by 30 percent. It complements the hotel group’s Hybrid Meetings solution, which launched last year to offer flexibility and space optimisation when booking meetings.

It also reinforces the group’s 100 percent Carbon Neutral meetings offering, which has been in place across 1,600 of its hotels worldwide since 2019. So far, it has offset more than 30,000 tons of CO2, which is the equivalent of removing more than 6,500 fuel-driven cars off the road.

With the COP26 UN Climate Change Conference taking place in Glasgow from the end of October this year, Radisson Hotel Group executive vice president, global chief branding and commercial officer Eric de Neef said the climate change issue is one that needs all our attention.

“At Radisson Hotel Group, we are constantly reviewing how we as a global business can influence positive climate action, and how we can encourage the hospitality industry to push the boundaries on green meetings and events,” he said.

“We are proud to be pioneering this initiative and trust that meeting organizers around the globe recognise the positive impact they can have on the environment as face-to-face meetings increase.”

The carbon footprint for each meeting is offset through projects which combat climate change and contribute to sustainable development in line with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. These projects include a clean cooking and safe water program in Kenya, wind farm projects in Turkey, India, and the US to generate green electricity, and a forest protection program in Peru to reduce deforestation sustainably.

With the return of business travel, Radisson Hotel Group global senior vice president sustainability, security and corporate communications Inge Huijbrechts said now is the time for the industry to have a positive impact.

“For Radisson Hotel Group, it is important that we offset carbon emissions according to the highest quality standards and in line with the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs),” she said.

“This is why we select offsetting projects that are not only good for the environment, but also socially relevant, and this initiative plays a key role in helping us achieve our Responsible Business targets to protect people, planet, and community.”