RIU’s hotels and offices in Spain operate with 100% green energy

International

The Spanish energy provider Iberdrola and RIU Hotels & Resorts have signed a long-term contract for the former to supply 100% green energy to the hotel chain’s establishments and head offices in Spain, which consume a total of around 70 gigawatt hours per year.

This agreement, which came into effect on 1 August, will allow the hotel group to sustainably power the more than 11,000 rooms at RIU’s 27 hotels in Spain with 100% renewable energy. This will prevent 30,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions, the equivalent of planting approximately 300,000 trees.

What’s more, Iberdrola and the RIU group are studying the possibility of expanding the contract to include establishments in other European countries and Mexico, where both companies also operate. The companies’ different international sections have already made preliminary contact for this purpose.

The Chief Procurement officer of RIU Hotels & Resorts, Bartolomé Enseñat, believes that this agreement is “a big step forward in our aim to make our operations sustainable. We are very proud to announce to our customers and colleagues that, from today, all the energy we use in Spain is 100% renewable, as certified by the Spanish National Markets and Competition Commission (CNMC). Iberdrola was the perfect partner to help us reach this goal and we hope that this is just the beginning, as we’ve set our sights high when it comes to sustainability”.

Miquel Cardona, Iberdrola’s sales representative in the Balearic Islands, thanked the RIU group “for choosing the company’s green energy to supply its customers in Spain in a more sustainable and environmentally friendly manner. We hope to continue working with RIU on different projects to jointly increase the electrification of its activity”.

Iberdrola with green energy as the basis of a sustainable economy

For the past 20 years, Iberdrola has followed a sustainable growth strategy based on electrification. The company plans to invest 150 billion euros in renewable energy, electricity grids and energy storage by 2030 to stay at the forefront of the energy revolution.

This pioneering commitment has turned the Iberdrola group into a global energy leader with an installed green capacity of more than 38,300 MW, 19,300 MW of which are in Spain (2,200 MW of solar capacity).

The company aims to be carbon neutral before 2050 and reduce its global emissions intensity to 50 g CO2/kWh by 2030. It is well on the way to meeting this target after having already reached a figure of 60 g CO2/kWh in Europe thanks to its commitment to the energy transition and the Paris Agreement.

RIU’s commitment to sustainable establishments

The creation of the energy purchasing department is one of the RIU Sustainability area's greatest achievements this year, and this agreement is its first major project. Reducing CO2 emissions is one of the main aims of the chain, which is also working simultaneously on other projects related to the circular economy. This comprehensive commitment involves waste management and reuse and having a positive impact on the local economy, as well as process digitalisation — which allows us to reduce the amount of paper we use and improve working conditions and processes — and sustainability certifications — which represent a global commitment in terms of hotel operations.

For further information please visit: www.riu.com