Hilton’s Sustainability Chief: Clean Energy Push, Hotel Upgrades Behind Emissions Drop
Photo Credit: Waldorf Astoria Maldives Ithaafushi, which uses solar power. Source: Hilton Hilton
Skift Take
When clean energy starts to make business sense – not just climate sense – that’s where real traction begins. Hilton’s experience shows that in markets where renewables are cost-neutral, owners buy in.
Hilton says it’s unfazed by recent rollbacks in U.S. clean energy tax breaks, despite cuts to government programs designed to make renewables cheaper and more accessible to businesses.
Renewable energy is seen as a key solution in reducing the amount of fossil fuels used by hotels. Hilton says its strategy, built on partnerships with private utility companies, has insulated it from some of those risks.
“Utilities mostly work independently in the U.S. They're private entities,” Jean Garris Hand, Hilton’s global head of sustainability, told Skift. “Most of the renewable power that we are purchasing is through those utilities, so even if programs are being scaled back in some areas, our procurement still goes through.”
The company says its demand signals help shape those markets. “Where the rubber meets the road is where financial transactions are made,” Garris Hand said. “By requesting renewable power in markets, we’re sending the pul
