DECEMBER 2021

Iberostar continues its journey to become carbon neutral by 2030

The company has become the most ambitious tourism leader in terms of sector decarbonization commitments

Iberostar Group has consolidated, in the framework of COP 26, its firm commitment to being 100% carbon neutral by 2030 through its action and agreements on decarbonization. The tourism company, with the action it has taken since 2017 with its Wave of Change movement, has become the most ambitious tourism leader in terms of sector decarbonization commitments.

Iberostar will not only complete its commitment by 2030 with zero dependence on fossil fuels, sustainable land use and consumption patterns that mitigate climate change, pollution and affect biodiversity, but will work until then to balance its relationship with nature, betting on a responsible tourism model.

Declarations and adherences during COP 26

In 2020, the most complicated year tourism has seen, Iberostar achieved its goal of being single-use plastics free in all its hotels and operations globally. Achieving this through authenticity, scientific rigor and creative solutions drove the company towards an even greater transformation, expanding their objective and moving towards a circular economy with an ambitious 2030 Agenda.

Iberostar is ahead of many of the commitments and declarations that have been signed at COP 26, focused this year on halving emissions over the next decade and achieving carbon neutrality by 2050, something that Iberostar will achieve much earlier aligned with its firm objective of maintaining the 1.5ºC agreement from the 2015 Paris Summit.

As proof of Iberostar’s commitment, it has signed two binding declarations aligned with its responsible tourism model at COP 26:

  • Iberostar has joined the Science Based Targets Initiative, aligned with the 1.5ºC target in order to cut global emissions by half. Iberostar’s next step is to present climate science-based targets to be validated and verified by this organization starting in 2022.
  • Iberostar has signed the Glasgow Declaration, a catalyst for increased urgency on the need to accelerate climate action in tourism and ensure strong action. As signatories, Iberostar commits to deliver climate action plans in the coming year and to implement and report them accordingly.

Roadmap to becoming carbon neutral by 2030

Iberostar Group's initiatives to combat climate change include the commitment to become a carbon neutral company, reaching carbon neutrality by 2030. In addition to minimizing its footprint, Iberostar will offset nearly 75% of its carbon footprint with nature-based blue carbon solutions such as mangrove restoration.

To become carbon neutral by 2030, Iberostar works to improve the energy efficiency of its operations, using renewable energy to the maximum extent possible and moving towards operations powered by electricity rather than fossil fuels. Iberostar aims to reduce its energy consumption by at least 35% by 2030, relative to its 2019 baseline, and will include in its corporate compensation scope 1 and 2 emissions and future scope 3 emissions.