CHICAGO—Hyatt Hotels Corp. published Hyatt’s 2022 World of Care Highlights and Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DE&I) Report, spotlighting colleagues and hotels around the globe who are bringing Hyatt’s commitment to caring for the planet, people and responsible business to life across the communities it serves. Hyatt also announced progress across environmental and social impact initiatives, which include, for example, strengthening the engagement of hotels around renewable electricity opportunities and working with the Hyatt Hotels Foundation to empower survivors of human trafficking.
As the world evolves and new challenges emerge, Hyatt has advanced its global Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) strategy through World of Care, which was derived by closely listening to what is most important to colleagues, guests, customers, hotel owners, investors and the communities in which Hyatt hotels operate around the world. Grounded in transparency and accountability, annual World of Care reporting enables Hyatt to share progress against 2030 environmental goals and 2025 Change Starts Here commitments across who the company employs, develops and advances; who it supports; who it buys from and works with.
“Over the past 65+ years, care has been at the heart of everything we do at Hyatt, which is why caring for the planet, people and responsible business—the three pillars of World of Care—are so deeply embedded across our organization,” shared Margaret Egan, Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Executive Sponsor of World of Care. “As we move forward on our journey to help preserve and support thriving destinations, now and in the future, we will continue to challenge ourselves to listen, learn and take action against the evolving needs and priorities of our stakeholders.”
Caring for the Planet
From a pilot program to reduce food waste in Asia Pacific to engaging hotels on the use of renewable electricity in the United States and Europe, Hyatt teams across the globe are accelerating efforts toward Hyatt’s 2030 environmental goals—focused on areas of climate change and water conservation, waste and circularity, responsible sourcing and thriving destinations.
As part of the waste and circularity goals, seven Hyatt hotels in Asia Pacific conducted food waste prevention pilots in 2022, including Grand Hyatt Seoul in South Korea and Hyatt Regency Beijing Wangjing in China with additional Hyatt hotels planning to begin pilots later this year.
In support of taking action against climate change, Hyatt-owned hotels in the United States adopted 100 percent renewable electricity through Green-e Energy certified Renewable Energy Certificates that match their electricity use—which on average will reduce their building emissions by more than 50 percent—and now offer carbon-neutral meetings and events. Hyatt is continuing to work with franchised property owners to assist their efforts toward increased use of renewable electricity. And later this year, Hyatt will work with Hyatt-managed full-service hotels in the Americas region to make it even easier for guests and members, customers, and colleagues to identify Hyatt properties recognized for their environmental efforts through best-in-class environmental certifications. In particular, Hyatt hotels are prioritizing Green Key Global, Green Key F.E.E., Earth Check, and other certifications recognized by the Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC).
Caring for People
Through multiple efforts, including Hyatt’s Change Starts Here commitments and RiseHY, a global program providing career pathways for young people, Hyatt’s DE&I strategy encompasses unique perspectives from colleagues, guests and members, customers and hotel owners to foster a true sense of belonging and bring Hyatt’s values to life.
“Through World of Care, Hyatt is prioritizing inclusive behaviors at all levels of our organization, and we are committed to ensuring that our DE&I practices are more than just words on a page,” said Malaika Myers, Chief Human Resources Officer, Hyatt. “It’s about putting empathy into action and building an organization whose leaders reflect the diverse communities in which Hyatt hotels operate around the world.”
In line with Hyatt’s commitment to report on workforce diversity data annually, Hyatt’s third-annual report shows increased levels of people of color leaders and managers in the U.S., with collective growth over 10 percent since 2020. And in line with Hyatt’s Change Starts Here commitments, specifically around who Hyatt employs, develops, and advances, 360 women have been promoted to senior leadership roles globally since June 2020.
As part of progress toward who Hyatt buys from and works with, it continues to drive efforts to include Black, Latino, Asian, female, and veteran suppliers into its supply chain opportunities. At the end of 2022, Black suppliers accounted for one-third of total diverse- and women-owned supplier spend, surpassing Hyatt’s 2025 Change Starts Here 10 percent goal. Hyatt also expanded its reach beyond existing supply chains and identified new avenues to work with diverse suppliers and support racial equity. In 2022, these efforts included building relationships with Black-owned businesses in a broad spectrum of industries, including banking, food and beverage, technology, operations, and security, among others.
Hyatt also emphasized its global workforce diversity ambitions at the regional level by creating opportunities for colleagues across offices and properties. For example, the INSPIRIT Mentoring Program was created to embrace equity and empower female leadership growth and has successfully facilitated more than 170 mentor and mentee relationships across 18 countries in the Europe, Middle East & Africa region. Following successful mentor opportunities, colleagues in India took the initiative to create their own INSPIRIT chapter, which boasts more than 150 participants.
Hyatt’s purpose to care for people includes respecting human rights and promoting the wellbeing of the most vulnerable. Since helping to launch the American Hotel & Lodging Association Foundation’s No Room for Trafficking (NRFT) Survivor Fund in 2022 with a $500,000 contribution from the Hyatt Hotels Foundation, NRFT has announced its inaugural Survivor Fund grantees, including Safe House Project, Business Ending Slavery and Trafficking (BEST), Restore NYC and the University of Maryland’s SAFE Center, as detailed here. Additionally, Hyatt’s Chief Financial Officer Joan Bottarini, joined the NRFT Advisory Council as co-chair, shaping the hotel industry’s unified efforts to support human trafficking survivors with critical resources on their path toward empowerment and self-sufficiency.
Caring for Responsible Business
Hyatt affirmed its commitment to fulfill the company’s values through other organizations it does business with by adding a new focus area: Working with Other Businesses. This includes owner, operator and supplier engagement, a Supplier Code of Conduct, and a supplier diversity program. Additionally, Hyatt is working with suppliers to engage EcoVadis, an organization that screens suppliers on criteria such as environment, labor and human rights, ethics, and sustainable procurement.
To learn more about Hyatt’s World of Care efforts and progress, visit www.Hyatt.com/worldofcare or browse the 2022 World of Care Highlights, 2022 DE&I Report and 2022 GRI Index.
