a&o Hostels GmbH & Co. KG
Climate Impact & Sustainability Data (2022, 2023)
Reporting Period: 2022
Environmental Metrics
Total Carbon Emissions:20,766 t CO2e after offsets
Scope 1 Emissions:2,568 t CO2e
Scope 2 Emissions:4,805 t CO2e
Scope 3 Emissions:13,393 t CO2e
Renewable Energy Share:97% (38 of 39 houses use 100% green energy or EECS certificates)
ESG Focus Areas
- Sustainable Corporate Governance
- Climate Protection
- Resource Preservation
- Employees
- Human Rights
- Responsible Sourcing
Environmental Achievements
- Switched to green electricity in 38 of 39 hostels.
- Reduced CO2 emissions by 10% until 2021 (already accomplished).
Social Achievements
- Provided free stays for thousands of Ukrainian refugees.
- Gave more than 18,000 free beds to educational groups.
Governance Achievements
- Established a strategic sustainability management process.
- Developed an Integrity Code and a Responsible Sourcing Policy.
Climate Goals & Targets
Long-term Goals:
- By 2026: 20% of hostels to have photovoltaic systems.
- By 2026: Improve energy efficiency ratings of all buildings by one class.
- By 2026: 10% of surface unsealing per year at inner-city locations.
- By 2027: 50% reduction in food transportation distances by prioritizing local food sources.
Medium-term Goals:
- By 2024: 40% of core KPIs, interim and long-term targets integrated into company steering.
- By 2024: Implementation of a biennial employee satisfaction survey.
- By 2025: 40% improvement in collaboration with waste removers to increase material reuse.
- By 2025: 80% of hostels to have CO2-neutral linen service.
- By 2025: 90% of company vehicle fleet to be hybrid or fully electric.
- By 2025: a&o to be Europe’s first net-zero CO2 emission hostel chain.
- By 2025: 10% of human rights assessment at all 39 a&o locations completed.
- By 2025: 10% of potentially human rights critical materials and products assessed/addressed.
Short-term Goals:
- By 2023: 100% implementation of new human resources software; 30% integration of human rights decision-making criteria in procurement processes.
- By 2023: 40% of hostels to offer special sustainability accommodation packages.
- By 2023: 10% of hostels to have green building facades.
- By 2023: 10% of employees to receive sustainability training.
- By 2023: 10% of human rights risk assessment completed.
- By 2023: 10% of human rights policy statement completed.
- By 2023: 97% of hostels to use only green electricity.
Environmental Challenges
- Limited access to information about the origin of materials purchased.
- Limited influence on supply chain conditions due to low purchasing volume.
- Scope 3 emissions from upstream and downstream processes.
Mitigation Strategies
- Implementing Responsible Sourcing Standards to motivate suppliers.
- Shifting company vehicle fleet to hybrid or electric vehicles.
- Dialogue with selected main suppliers to incorporate results into procurement processes.
Supply Chain Management
Responsible Procurement
- a&o Responsible Sourcing Policy
Climate-Related Risks & Opportunities
Transition Risks
- Concretisation of environmental requirements for the supply chain
- Addressing requirements of the EU taxonomy
Reporting Standards
Frameworks Used: GRI
UN Sustainable Development Goals
- SDG 6
- SDG 7
- SDG 8
- SDG 11
- SDG 12
- SDG 13
In-depth comparison of the a&o value chain against all 17 SDGs in 2022.
Reporting Period: 2023
Environmental Metrics
Total Carbon Emissions:20,219.06 t CO2e
Scope 1 Emissions:1,027.30 t CO2e
Scope 2 Emissions:5,842.78 t CO2e
Scope 3 Emissions:13,348.98 t CO2e
Renewable Energy Share:97%
ESG Focus Areas
- Governance
- Environment
- Social
Environmental Achievements
- Reduced CO2e emissions by 77.87% since 2015 to 3.32 kg CO2e per overnight stay.
- All but two a&o hostels are GreenSign certified (most at Level 4, one at Level 5).
Social Achievements
- Established requirements for sustainable sourcing.
- Developed an additional a&o policy on human rights laying the foundation for a risk-based due diligence process.
- Five health and safety incidents reported in 2023 (down from 12 in 2022).
Governance Achievements
- Established a strategic sustainability management process based on a materiality assessment.
- Set short, medium, and long-term targets across all ESG dimensions.
- Implemented a&o Code of Ethics and a&o Responsible Sourcing Policy.
- Developed a Declaration of Principles on Human Rights.
Climate Goals & Targets
Long-term Goals:
- Not disclosed
Medium-term Goals:
- Extend the installation of photovoltaic systems in our hostels wherever possible by 2026.
- Improve the energy efficiency ratings of our buildings and properties which are below level C by one class for each hostel by 2026.
- Increase the number of hostels with CO2e-neutral linen service to 80% by 2025.
- Shorten food transportation by 10% annually by 2027.
Short-term Goals:
- Net Zero CO2e emissions by 2025.
Environmental Challenges
- Further large financial investments are required for energy-efficient renovations of older buildings.
- Limited access to information about the origin of purchased materials, potentially critical to human rights.
- Low purchasing volume limits influence on supply chain conditions and conditions in countries of origin.
- Scope 3 emissions remain challenging due to data collection difficulties.
Mitigation Strategies
- Budgeted €20 million for energy-efficient renovations over the next five years.
- Implementing the ‘a&o Responsible Sourcing Policy’ to motivate suppliers to adhere to high environmental standards.
- Shifting to local food supplies to reduce transportation distances.
- Discontinuing tropical fruit and seafood offerings.
- Transitioning to a 90% hybrid or fully electric company vehicle fleet.
- Initiating partnerships with external experts for energy efficiency analyses.
Supply Chain Management
Responsible Procurement
- a&o Responsible Sourcing Policy
Climate-Related Risks & Opportunities
Reporting Standards
Frameworks Used: CSRD, GRI
Certifications: GreenSign
UN Sustainable Development Goals
- SDG 6
- SDG 7
- SDG 8
- SDG 11
- SDG 12
- SDG 13
These SDGs were considered in the materiality assessment and subsequent sustainable business strategy.