The Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) is pleased to welcome Hilton as the newest sustainability partner for Travel Lab Asia, a platform for triple-bottom-line innovation in Asia’s travel industry that helps corporates source technology solutions for their most pressing sustainability and environmental problems. Travel Lab Asia is an initiative of the Asian Development Bank’s ADB Ventures and is supported by PATA and Plug and Play.
“We are delighted to welcome Hilton as our newest corporate partner, joining both Minor Hotels and Jetwing Hotels, in seeking innovative CleanTech solutions for a more sustainable future,” said PATA CEO Dr. Mario Hardy. “It is inspiring to see these three organisations embrace sustainable and responsible business practices through technological solutions, and I do invite other corporates in the hospitality sector to join us along this journey.”
Jeannie Kwok, Director, Corporate Responsibility at Hilton, said, “We look forward to partnering with providers who can help us accelerate our progress in areas like energy reduction, in line with Hilton’s Travel with Purpose 2030 Goals to cut our environmental footprint in half and double our social impact. This collaboration with Plug and Play, ADB Ventures, and PATA is a great match.”
In the first year of the programme, Travel Lab Asia will focus on helping corporate partners source and integrate CleanTech solutions for improved business performance and environmental impact. Participating corporates will have unrivalled access to sustainability-focused technology solutions from around the world. They will receive support to articulate their sustainability-related technology needs and to develop pilot proposals with solution providers. Furthermore, they will have access to ADB’s research and counsel on environmental and social impact measurement, enabling them to tell clear and credible brand stories as regional leaders in sustainability. Travel Lab Asia also includes the potential for de-risked investment funding from ADB at the pilot, post-pilot, and adoption stages.
CleanTech includes technology for energy efficiency, waste reduction, recycling and circular economy, food waste management, reduced water use and loss, waste and effluent management, water collection and distribution, natural resource management, and climate change adaptation and mitigation.
Two additional corporate partners are still being considered for the programme, which begins January 1, 2020.
