EVENT REPORT
Panellists at this year’s event Green initiatives for the real world
Sustainability and responsible practices were topics of note at this year’s Connections Luxury event in London. Erica Bush repots
A panel of luxury travel experts encouraged brands to involve guests in sustainable decision-making and offer “the luxury of choice” as the travel industry works towards a greener future. Speaking at Connections Luxury in London, panellists said changing consumer habits after the pandemic, and the rise of an environmentally conscious millennial generation, meant the way brands must approach sustainability has changed. In a session moderated by Aspire editor
Hollie-Rae Brader, Naomi Heaton, chief executive of The Other House in South Kensington, urged brands to consider their footprint. She said: “Luxury is now not just laying everything on and having this experience that is completely dissociated from real life. For the new generation, luxury is being able to make choices about how they want to live and how they want to impact the planet.” Hamish Scott, development director at sustainable certification agency Positive Luxury, added: “Consumer habits have changed. They’re looking at experiences and staying longer; they’re looking at different methods of transport. 75% of
“And those kinds of things are really
important, because we feel our residents want to make a positive impact, they want to change and want to be able to control and participate in [these decisions].” She added: “Technology will inevitably
underpin sustainability going forward.” Scott agreed digitalisation would
An experience at Connections Luxury
“definitely be a factor” but said businesses of all sizes should also endeavour to have a 360-degree approach to sustainability by starting small and working “incrementally to continuous improvement”. He said: “The key is having a holistic
generation X and millennials are using apps to track their environmental impacts. It’s about building trust and embracing the opportunities, and being transparent in terms of what you are doing.” Heaton said The Other House had
benefitted from being new and “starting from scratch”. The property will soon unveil an app to let guests view energy consumption and control metrics in their rooms such as light and air-conditioning usage. “That enables guests to make their
own decisions as to whether they want to modify their behaviour or not,” she said.
approach to sustainability and really understanding what your baseline is. If you don’t understand what your impacts are then you can’t improve them, so regardless of whether you’re a small business or a heritage business, it’s understanding those impacts and then putting together an action plan to reduce them.” Hamish also encouraged travel brands
to find “quick wins” such as reducing plastic, using QR codes for menus, leaning on local farms to source products and employing local workers to ensure they are striving towards long and short-term goals.
18 ASPIRE DECEMBER 2022
aspiretravelclub.co.uk
CREDIT: SARAH LUCY BROWN
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