UAE hospitality groups unite to tackle environmental challenges

Dubai: The Emirates Environmental Group (EEG) has launched a new alliance bringing together UAE hospitality organisations to collaborate on environmental sustainability and improve measurable performance across the sector.

The Emirates Hospitality Sustainability Alliance (EHSA) was launched on August 31 at Coral Beach Resort Sharjah, bringing together hospitality leaders, sustainability professionals, industry stakeholders and partners, according to a statement from EEG.

The alliance will provide a platform for participating organisations to exchange knowledge and good practices, explore solutions and work together on common environmental priorities.

The initiative comes as hospitality businesses address environmental challenges including energy and water consumption, waste, food waste, procurement, supply chains and resource efficiency.

Dr Habiba Al Mar'ashi, co-founder and chairperson of EEG, said the alliance would help connect sustainability efforts already being undertaken by organisations across the sector.

“Today represents much more than the launch of a new Alliance. It marks the beginning of a collective journey for the UAE hospitality sector,” she said.

“Sustainability cannot remain an aspiration or a collection of isolated initiatives,” Al Mar'ashi added. “If we want to create meaningful change, we must be able to understand where we are, identify where improvement is required and measure the progress we make.”

EEG said EHSA will develop a pipeline of programmes to support hospitality organisations in improving their sustainability performance.

One of the planned initiatives is a dedicated sustainability standard for the hospitality sector, which will be introduced at a later stage.

The alliance will also focus on knowledge exchange, capability building and collaboration between organisations facing common environmental challenges.

Its planned work extends beyond hotels and hospitality groups, with EEG seeking engagement from government entities, suppliers, service providers, sustainability professionals, environmental organisations, academia and other stakeholders across the hospitality value chain.

Hospitality businesses have a direct impact on resource use and waste generation while also interacting daily with employees, guests, suppliers and local communities.

EEG said the alliance aims to encourage sustainability practices to become part of day-to-day operations, decision-making and organisational culture rather than remain limited to individual projects.

The UAE is a major global tourism and hospitality destination, and the continued growth of the sector has increased the importance of managing its environmental footprint.

Al Mar'ashi said the alliance's success would ultimately be measured by the changes it delivers beyond the launch event.

“The true measure of what we launched today will not be the number of people who attended this gathering,” she said. “It will be the partnerships that are created, the practices that improve, the resources that are conserved, the waste that is prevented and the measurable environmental improvements that follow.”

Al Mar'ashi described August 31, 2026 as the starting point for the alliance's work, rather than the culmination of the initiative.