Numa’s ESG Journey: Paving the Way for more Sustainable Hospitality

Step into our ESG Journey blog series—your backstage pass to how numa Group is diving into the world of Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) responsibility. This is the go-to place where you can follow along and see how numa stays are becoming the eco-friendly, socially responsible home away from home you never knew you needed.

Now more than ever, it’s not enough to have sleek design and a great location. We know that our guests, YOU, want to have an incredible experience that minimises your impact on the planet, and maybe even did a bit of good. You want to support companies with a compass for doing the best they can for the planet, their employees, the communities they operate in—companies who care about ESG

But what is ESG? It stands for environmental, social and governance. Sustainability is usually front and centre, and covers everything from corporate climate policies to energy use to natural resource conservation and more. Meanwhile, the social side of ESG is less buzzy but still important for any kind of company with a conscience–think open dialogue, fair labour practices and a commitment to diversity and cultural awareness. And we can’t forget governance, the unsung hero in ESG, is shaping the industry landscape to ensure accountability, integrity, and transparency within a company. 

The demand for better sustainability, transparency, and integrity isn’t just coming from eco-conscious travellers–it’s pretty important to everyone. Unsurprisingly, Gen-Z are not only interested in products, but also in brands that actively contribute to a better world—90% of them, in fact.¹ And even the corporate world agrees, with 88% of corporate decision-makers saying they prefer hotels that are making choices more sustainable choices, according to HRS Green Stay Reporting.² Investors are even realigning their preferences, as they also seek out companies with a long-term commitment to environmental and social responsibility.³

It’s important to us to be a brand that’s the best by doing our best throughout every step of our company–and sharing our experiences so other can get onboard too, explains our Co-founder and CEO, Christian Gaiser: "Numa Group is committed to driving positive change through our evolving ESG initiatives. We recognise that this is not something we can achieve overnight - it is a continuous effort to improve. Our goal is to become a driving force in the hospitality industry, showing that issues like sustainability, fair labour practices, and diversity are a fundamental responsibility we all share.”

For numa, the name of our sustainability game is growing transparency and accountability across our organisation. We’re seen a lot of big promises around, and while we have ambitious goals, we are not claiming to be a fully "green" or perfectly sustainable company just yet. Instead, we’re dedicated to finding the right balance that ensures we reduce numa’s environmental impact by minimising the greenhouse gases that our operations, suppliers, properties, and even employees emit. And we are excited to share our journey—a journey we aim to be a model for the industry, as our Head of Partnerships and ESG, Laura van Meer, explains: "numa is  on a journey towards a greener, more sustainable future and we’re committed to doing better for the planet and our guests. For us, this isn’t just about compliance–we’re making ethical, sustainable stays a norm, not a luxury."

In a changing ESG landscape, Numa Group is committed to leading by example, demonstrating that sustainability is not just a responsibility but an opportunity to shape a better future for everyone. 

We know that ESG integration is more than just a passing trend: it's a big part of who we're becoming! In early 2022, we started our ESG journey so we could tackle some of the issues we knew we couldn't wait for, like reducing single-use plastics, finding more sustainable suppliers and forming an ethics committee. As we set our sights on 2023, we’re taking our commitment to the next level, as we find a solid approach to get an independently certified carbon reduction plan and significantly cut our GHG emissions even more than before.

We’re dedicated to this journey to do better for the planet, our employees—and well, for you, our guests—so stay tuned for our upcoming blog posts and other mediums, where we'll dive into specific initiatives, partnerships, and the evolving landscape of ESG in the hospitality industry.

Sources: 

1. 1. Edelman (2021), Edelman’s Gen Z Lab, available from https://www.edelman.com/future-consumer#form
   2. HRS (2022), Sustainability Reporting, available from https://www.hrs.com/enterprise/sustainability/
   3. Harvard Business Review (2019), The Investor Revolution: Shareholders are getting serious about sustainability, available from https://hbr.org/2019/05/the-investor-revolution