Impacts
Six Senses 2024 Sustainability Impacts
Sustainability is a defining characteristic of what luxury means to us. It’s also an area where we want to be a story-doer rather than a storyteller. Our commitment to be considerate custodians of the places where we reside was a founding principle when we became a sustainable hospitality brand in 1995, and why we continue our focus on making a net positive impact on our local wildlife, ecosystems, culture, and communities today. Our 2024 impacts are meaningful and measurable, tracking everything from the things we reduce (energy, water, plastic) to the things we regenerate (habitats, endangered and critically endangered species, local economies and prosperity).
Initiated in 2012, and led by the group’s Vice President of Sustainability Jeff Smith, individual properties monitor and measure their environmental efforts. All of the group’s hotels and resorts contribute to Cornell University’s Hotel Sustainability Benchmarking program, which compares their performance against a global dataset of their peers.
In 2024, Six Senses sustainability data reveals that as a hospitality group:
Climate Action Plan
Across our properties, we welcome guests to many beautiful coastal and tropical locations that are increasingly impacted by climate change. Our Climate Action Plan goes beyond Scope 1 and 2 carbon reduction and aims to address resort operations, biodiversity, soil health, water stewardship, and engagement with suppliers, guests, and hosts. Certified by Control Union to meet GSTC criteria, our efforts support an industry-wide push against greenwashing.
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Climate justice
Some of our local communities are on the front lines of climate change impacts. As a regenerative business, we’ve joined the call for climate justice by driving carbon reduction while investing funds and efforts to strengthen our local communities with improved health care, education, and access to clean drinking water..
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Targets and progress
Our ultimate target is to cut carbon emissions to 46 percent below 2019 levels per occupied room by 2030. Our active target in 2025 is a 7.2 percent energy reduction (kWh) per occupied room and 8.1 percent carbon reduction (CO2e) per occupied room.
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Plant-based menus
With livestock supply chains a known contributor to global greenhouse gas emissions, all of our properties maintain kitchen gardens and links with local producers to boost the amount of seasonal fruit and veg on each plate. This helps us move towards our 2025 target of 40 percent plant-based menus, on point with our Eat With Six Senses principles.
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Soil health
Soil is fundamental to healthy food and ecosystems. It also has the potential to sequester 4 tons of carbon per hectare, which is why we compost organic kitchen waste to build high-quality soil. This means guests don’t just enjoy the plant nutrients but also beneficial microbes from roots, stems, and leaves to fuel and support long-term strength.
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Waste and circularity
We refuse, reduce, reuse, and recycle to meet our target of 15.7 percent waste reduction per occupied room in 2025. Since 2020, we have collected data on plastic and found sustainable alternatives to 82 common items, which we shared with the industry in our 2024 Plastic Freedom Playbook. Since then, we have continued to increase circularity and decrease waste – and therefore carbon – within our value chains.
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Funding solutions
0.5 percent of total hotel revenue and additional income from mascot sales and donations are allocated to a Sustainability Fund. Local projects support climate adaptation by building resilience, waste management services, plastic awareness, health, and education.
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Carbon accounting
All Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions are tracked following GHG Protocol using Green Engage software. The goal is a year-on-year decrease in energy consumption and transportation, along with facility and equipment upgrades, as well as renewable energy sourcing, until we achieve the group target of 46 percent carbon reduction per occupied room by 2030.
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Guest and host engagement
Through Earth Lab, experiences, and programs such as Climate Warrior and Junior Marine Biology, we inspire and empower guests of all ages to understand the importance a healthy climate. All hosts receive climate change training and many become Sustainability Heroes as part of a growing culture of being the change we want to see.
Since 2003, Six Senses has been bottling its own still and sparkling drinking water. By establishing on-site filtration and bottling facilities, each resort eliminates the transportation impacts and use of plastic water bottles. Six Senses drinking water has proved a taste-test winner with guests also.
Each Six Senses resort and hotel features an Earth Lab, which promotes sustainable living in inspirational and innovative ways. The space is used to host workshops that empower guests and community members to learn about and connect more closely with the natural world.
Regenerative Impact
Each Six Senses property designates and manages a Sustainability Fund, comprised of 0.5 percent of total revenue, in addition to proceeds from the hotels’ cute and cuddly soft toy mascot, that represents a Sustainability Fund project. The Sustainability Fund is invested in community, habitat, and wildlife projects local to the hotel, meaning that every guests’ stay contributes to positive social and environmental impact.
Each resort has taken on unique projects based on the local need and is aiming for the greatest measurable impact at that destination – and there are too many to list here. Guests at any Six Senses property can find out more by dropping into the Earth Lab or joining a sustainability tour. And we welcome all our guests to join us in celebrating these projects and partnerships, which are only made possible by guest visits and ongoing support.
Thanks to the commitment of our partners, hosts, and guests, here are some of our impacts reported for 2024:
- 10,277 domestic, stray, and livestock animals have an improved standard of living
- 143,083 square meters of habitat is being restored
- 28,764 kilograms of trash removed from the environment
- 7,347 sea turtle hatchlings made their way to the ocean from our beaches
- 16,084 participants from local communities in our projects
- 3,770 hours of hosting awareness raising activities
- 5,635 individuals with improved access to safe drinking water and sanitation
- 5,150 individuals with improved access to public waste management
- 9,442 students with improved access to education
- 131,015 individuals with improved access to healthcare