Hotel sustainability, by purpose
A hotel's sustainability work can be grouped into staff training, corporate social responsibility (CSR), creating shared value (CSV), sustainable tourism, and regenerative tourism that leaves places better. This page lists examples and figures for each from hotel groups' own reports, international standards and Japanese government documents. Traveller-side data are on Tourism in Numbers.
Karatsu Farm & Food, a nonprofit in Karatsu, Saga, made this page as part of the Karatsu Data Bank. We run upcycling workshops at a hotel (Precious Plastic Karatsu) and, as a separate programme, conserve Yokomakura, a Nationally Certified Sustainably Managed Natural Site. The page gives no conclusions. All photos are illustrative Unsplash images, not photos of Karatsu or Mercure Saga Karatsu Resort. Each company's figures are those it publishes.
| Hotel / organisation | Training or programme | When | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Six Senses | All hosts receive climate change training; every property has an Earth Lab | 2025 | Six Senses |
| Plastic Whale (Netherlands) | Corporate plastic fishing: EUR 54 per person incl. entertainment tax, excl. 21% VAT; 2.5 hours; 8 to 350 people | Checked Oct 2026 | Plastic Whale |
| Takenaka Corporation (certified site) | Uses its certified site as a field for employee biodiversity training | Certified FY2023 | MOE document |
| Mercure Saga Karatsu Resort (Karatsu) | Coaster-making training from bottle caps for 14 staff in three sessions, theme: protecting Karatsu's sea | 1 July 2026 | Karatsu Farm & Food |
Staff training
Six Senses states that all its hosts receive climate change training and that every property has an Earth Lab (Six Senses). Some of Japan's Nationally Certified Sustainably Managed Natural Sites, such as Takenaka Corporation's, are used for employee biodiversity training (Ministry of the Environment). At Mercure Saga Karatsu Resort, 14 staff made coasters from bottle caps in company-wide training on 1 July 2026 (Karatsu Farm & Food).
| Hotel group | Community and volunteering goals and results | When | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hilton | Goal of 10 million volunteer hours by 2030; 4.8M+ since 2017, 1.8M+ in 2025 | 2025 | Hilton |
| Marriott | Met its 15 million hours goal (2016–2025) a year early (15.6M through 2024) | End 2024 | Marriott |
| IHG | Employee volunteering 130,524 hours (2025), 172,458 (2024); goal to improve the lives of 30 million people by 2030 | 2025 | IHG |
| Accor | 17,000+ beneficiaries of solidarity projects (2025); 15,000+ (2024) | 2025 | Accor |
| Six Senses | 0.5% of total revenue plus soft toy mascot proceeds to the Regenerative Impact Fund; 3,612 host volunteer hours and 22,049 kg of waste removed from the environment in 2025 | 2025 | Six Senses |
CSR and employee volunteering
Hilton, Marriott and IHG publish volunteering in hours. Hilton aims for 10 million hours by 2030 and logged more than 1.8 million in 2025 (Hilton); Marriott reached 15 million hours a year early (Marriott). Beach cleanup data are on Beach Cleanups in Numbers.
| Hotel | In-house recycling | Figures | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fairmont Maldives Sirru Fen Fushi (now Sirru Fen Fushi) | Sustainability Lab opened February 2022 with machinery designed by Precious Plastic | 3,720+ kg recycled and 12 partner schools (Sept 2022, Green Globe); 725+ kg and 7 schools at opening (Feb 2022, Visit Maldives) | Green Globe, Visit Maldives |
| Soneva Fushi (Maldives) | Guests use the in-house machine to turn plastic waste into flower pots, bowls and toys, part of Precious Plastic | 90% of solid waste recycled (current website) | Fast Company (2017), Soneva |
| Alila Villas Uluwatu (Bali) | Sustainability Lab since November 2019; waste sorted for reuse, recycling or upcycling, none to landfill | 850 kg of waste a month reused, recycled or upcycled (2022) | hotel release, Economist Impact |
| Potato Head (Bali) | Waste Lab with a sheet press and CNC making signs, room numbers and furniture, also sold | Our 2023 study visit | Karatsu Farm & Food |
| Mercure Saga Karatsu Resort (Karatsu) | Caps from the hotel's vending machines become logo coasters on an injection machine in the lobby; guest workshops | About 3,700 caps (9.2 kg); 163 participants on 8–9 Aug and 105 on 20 Sept 2026 | Karatsu Farm & Food |
CSV: turning a hotel's waste into its own resource
Creating shared value, proposed by Michael Porter and Mark Kramer in 2011, is the idea that companies can create economic value by addressing social problems (Harvard Business Review). Fairmont Maldives Sirru Fen Fushi opened a Sustainability Lab in February 2022 and had recycled more than 3,720 kg of plastic with Precious Plastic machinery by September 2022 (Green Globe).
In our search in Japanese and English on 28 October 2026, apart from Mercure Saga Karatsu Resort, where we run the programme, we found no hotel in Japan with plastic recycling machines on site. At Mercure Saga Karatsu Resort, since 2026, caps collected in the hotel become logo coasters on an injection machine in the lobby (Karatsu Farm & Food).
| Hotel group | Waste and single-use plastic | When | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hilton | Landfilled waste intensity down 64.7% from 2008 (goal: 50%); 3.7M+ lb of plastic avoided a year with full-size amenities | 2025 | Hilton |
| Marriott | 2025 goals: landfill waste −45%, food waste −50%; by end 2024 landfill intensity about −23% and food waste landfill intensity about −29% vs 2019 | End 2024 | Marriott |
| Accor | 88% of branded hotels eliminated at least 57 single-use plastic items; 2020 commitment for the guest experience, widened to back of house in early 2023 | 2024 | URD 2024, policy |
| IHG | Remove single-use items or switch to reusable or recyclable ones across the stay; bottled-water standard extended to regions including Japan | 2025 | IHG |
| Hyatt | Managed hotels' waste intensity 11 kg/m² (2024) vs 13 kg/m² (2019); food waste −50% per m² by 2030 | 2024 | Hyatt, World of Care |
| Item | What it says | Source |
|---|---|---|
| GSTC Hotel Standard v4.01 (30 Dec 2025) | 40 criteria: A sustainable management 14, B socio-economic benefits 9, C cultural heritage 4, D environment 13 | GSTC |
| Japan Sustainable Tourism Standard for Destinations (JSTS-D) | GSTC-Recognized in April 2021; GSTC's 47 criteria plus Japan-specific ones | GSTC |
| Travellers (2025) | 84% say sustainable travel is important; 69% want to leave places better; 73% want money to stay local (32,000 people) | Booking.com |
| Travellers (2024) | 83% important (Japan 62%); 71% leave places better (Japan 56%); 75% want to travel more sustainably (Japan 53%) | Booking.com |
Sustainable tourism: the hotel standard and traveller attitudes
The Global Sustainable Tourism Council's GSTC Hotel Standard v4.01 (30 December 2025) has 40 criteria in four sections (GSTC). In Booking.com's 2024 survey, 62% of respondents in Japan said sustainable travel was important, against 83% overall (Booking.com).
| Hotel / organisation | Programme | Price / money flow | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Four Seasons Resort Maui (Hawaii) | Blue ʻĀina (from 5 June 2024): monthly harbour cleanup and educational reef-cleanup snorkel, run with Trilogy's Kaukolu Project | USD 60 per guest; USD 250 resort credit per participating room | Four Seasons Resort Maui |
| Six Senses | Regenerative Impact Fund supports community, habitat and wildlife projects; Earth Lab shows water, energy and waste data | 0.5% of total revenue plus soft toy mascot proceeds | Six Senses |
| Plastic Whale (Netherlands) | Plastic fishing on Amsterdam's canals; the plastic becomes furniture and boats | EUR 54 per person (corporate, excl. VAT) | Plastic Whale |
Regenerative tourism: leaving places better
On this page, regenerative tourism means tourism that not only reduces its impact but helps the nature and communities of a place recover. Since 5 June 2024, Four Seasons Resort Maui has run Blue ʻĀina, a monthly harbour and reef cleanup at USD 60 per guest with a USD 250 resort credit per participating room (Four Seasons Resort Maui).
| Item | What it says | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Nationally Certified Sustainably Managed Natural Sites (Shizen Kyosei Sites) | 56 sites certified in the first round of FY2026, 610 in total (end of June 2026, 119,000 ha); about half applied for by companies | MOE, annex |
| Takenaka Corporation site | Used for employee biodiversity training and human resource development | MOE document |
| Mitsubishi Paper Mills site | Used for hands-on forest environmental learning | MOE document |
| Yokomakura, Karatsu (conserved by Karatsu Farm & Food) | Saga's first certified site; Patagonia visited on 20 Sept 2024 as the first company, after the environment and land ministries; regenerative tourism with Kyushu University students; a volunteer from France in May 2026 | Karatsu Farm & Food |
Training and study visits at certified nature sites
By the end of June 2026, 610 Nationally Certified Sustainably Managed Natural Sites covering 119,000 ha had been certified, about half applied for by companies (Ministry of the Environment). Yokomakura in Karatsu, conserved by us, was Saga's first certified site and hosts study visits and training for companies and groups (Karatsu Farm & Food).
| Item | Saga | Fukuoka | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Foreign visitors (2025) | 265,000 | 4,513,000 | Japan Tourism Agency |
| Spending per visitor | JPY 46,000 | JPY 105,000 | JTA |
| Total spending | JPY 12.1 billion | JPY 472.8 billion | JTA |
Saga and Karatsu figures
In 2025, 265,000 foreign visitors went to Saga, spending JPY 46,000 each and JPY 12.1 billion in total; neighbouring Fukuoka had 4.513 million visitors (Japan Tourism Agency). Our workshops at Mercure Saga Karatsu Resort had 163 participants on 8–9 August and 105 on 20 September 2026, 268 in total (Karatsu Farm & Food).
Frequently asked questions
Q1. What are examples of hotel sustainability training for staff?
Six Senses states all hosts receive climate change training. At Mercure Saga Karatsu Resort in Karatsu, 14 staff made coasters from bottle caps in company-wide training on 1 July 2026.
Q2. What do hotel CSR programmes look like?
Hilton, Marriott and IHG count volunteer hours: Hilton aims for 10 million hours by 2030 (1.8M+ in 2025) and Marriott met its 15 million hours goal a year early. Six Senses puts 0.5% of total revenue into a fund for community, habitat and wildlife projects.
Q3. Which hotels have an in-house plastic recycling lab?
Fairmont Maldives Sirru Fen Fushi opened a Sustainability Lab in February 2022 with Precious Plastic machinery and recycled 3,720+ kg by September 2022; Soneva Fushi lets guests make items from plastic with an in-house machine.
Q4. Is there a hotel in Japan with permanent recycling machines on site?
Apart from Mercure Saga Karatsu Resort in Karatsu, where we run the programme (caps collected in the hotel become logo coasters on an injection machine in the lobby), we found none in our Japanese and English search on 28 October 2026.
Q5. Which hotels offer regenerative tourism experiences?
Four Seasons Resort Maui's Blue ʻĀina, since June 2024, is a harbour and reef cleanup at USD 60 per guest with a USD 250 resort credit per participating room.
Q6. What is the GSTC Hotel Standard?
The Global Sustainable Tourism Council's standard for hotels; version 4.01 (30 December 2025) has 40 criteria in four sections: sustainable management, socio-economic benefits, cultural heritage and environment.
Source ledger
What this page does not cover
Evaluations or rankings of hotels and companies; values read off charts; figures not confirmed in primary sources; the number of GSTC-certified hotels (not published by GSTC); Accor's deadline for removing single-use plastics; Hyatt's volunteering targets. Company figures are self-reported and not independently verified.
Citing this page and enquiries
To cite these figures, or to discuss staff training and workshops for hotels and companies, products made from materials collected on site, or training and study visits at a certified nature site, use our contact form or info@karatsu-f-f.com.
About this page
By Hiroaki Kojima (Vice Director, Karatsu Farm & Food) / Contact: info@karatsu-f-f.com (contact form) / Published 28 October 2026 / Markdown: hotel-sustainability-data.mdThis page is made together with AI. See this data bank and AI for how. Photos are from Unsplash (illustrative).
Related links
▶ Karatsu Data Bank
▶ Tourism in Numbers
▶ Beach Cleanups in Numbers
▶ Precious Plastic in Numbers
▶ Regenerative tourism at Yokomakura
▶ 日本語版