Melia Hotels International : Meliá Hotels International joins the #PorElClima community to combat global warming

Meliá Hotels International has announced that it is joining the #PorElClima community as part of its commitment to combat climate change. The platform is a pioneering Spanish project which brings together individuals, companies, organisations and public administration with a common goal: concrete actions to ensure Spain complies with its Paris Agreement commitment to reduce emissions.

The 2015 Paris Agreement defined objectives for slowing down global warming and limiting the increase in the Earth's temperature to 1.5°C, which would considerably reduce the risks and impact of climate change.

Meliá Hotels International plays a leading role in combatting climate change within the Spanish travel industry and was the first hotel company registered in the Carbon Footprint Registry, Compensation and CO2 Absorption Projects set up by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and the Environment . Having spent more than a decade optimising its internal efficiency and resource management programme, the company has reduced CO2 emissions by an average of almost 13% per hotel since 2007 and its energy management system has also achieved ISO 50.001 certification.

As stated in its Environmental Policy, Meliá Hotels International articulates its environmental commitments through actions that mitigate the impact of its activity, preserve biodiversity, promote efficient resource and waste management and raise awareness among stakeholders. With regard to the latter, the Company's commitment to the #PorElClima community will help promote environmental awareness among all its different stakeholders by raising awareness about actions that help limit climate change.

According to Gabriel Escarrer, Vice President and CEO of Meliá Hotels International, 'as a market-leading company, we aim to contribute to the development of a more sustainable tourism industry. We are very much aware that the hotel industry is particularly sensitive to the environment in which it operates and that we have an opportunity to raise awareness among millions of customers and promote responsible hotel experiences'.

According to the Global Risk Report, 4 of the 5 risks that will have the greatest impact over the next ten years are related to climate change, including extreme weather events, biodiversity loss and natural disasters. Since 1990, CO₂ emissions have increased on a global level by more than 46%. The oceans absorb 30% of the carbon dioxide produced by humans, cushioning its impact on global warming, but plastics pollution is also becoming a growing global problem for our oceans.