Action and progress on sustainability challenges: case examples from Marriott, Booking and Soneva

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to provide an insight on how hospitality companies engage with the sustainable development goals (SDGs) and whether their corporate social responsibilities declaration and actions could achieve the targets of the SDGs by 2030 as they relate to their respective companies.

Design/methodology/approach

This study provides a case study analysis of three selected hospitality companies – Marriott International, Booking Holdings and The Soneva Group. The data for the study were obtained from secondary resources such as the companies’ publications and websites. It uses the module of sustainability challenges and the monitoring framework provided in the global sustainable development report 2019.

Findings

All the companies examined in this study are investing significant effort and resources to achieve the goals. They are focussing mainly on actions related to challenges that present high to medium levels of socio-political agreement and factual certainty. Though significant progress has been made towards achieving social and economic goals, there is still a large gap in relation to environmental goals. The efforts made solely by the hospitality companies to achieve the targets of Goal 13 are not enough, as hospitality companies cannot achieve these targets on their own. More actions and contributions from governmental and international agencies will be required.

Originality/value

This paper contributes to an understanding of the role that the SDGs play in the hospitality industry and how companies should engage and interact with the goals. Further research might be needed to analyse the financial implications of the SDGs in relation to the companies’ efforts and their respective investment contributions.

Citation

Landau, T. (2020), "Action and progress on sustainability challenges: case examples from Marriott, Booking and Soneva", Worldwide Hospitality and Tourism Themes, Vol. 12 No. 5, pp. 563-573. https://doi.org/10.1108/WHATT-06-2020-0042