In September 2015, representatives of 193 countries adopted a historic commitment by approving the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that were agreed upon after more than 3 years of negotiations and with the participation of all member countries of the UN, NGOs and other agents.

For this reason and to complete the pending work, the States renewed their commitment to social development and the fight against poverty with the new agenda that outlines a roadmap for the next 15 years, under the name: "Transform our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development”.

The bet of this commitment will be to achieve sustainable development in the economic, social and environmental spheres in a balanced and integrated manner, through 17 objectives with 169 goals.

Among the new Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are, for example, that of eradicating poverty throughout the world; end hunger and achieve food security; guarantee a healthy life for all human beings, as well as quality education; achieve gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls; facilitate availability of water throughout the world; reduce inequalities, among others.

17 Goals to transform our world

The concept of sustainability has now become one of the main axes of tourism management, this paradigm shift being the result of awareness about the impact that tourism activity brings to the environment, society and destinations.

According to the report "Ecological and sustainable tourism: profiles and trends", the tourism sector is responsible for around 5% of global carbon dioxide emissions, of which 1% corresponds to the accommodation sector.

At Rafaelhoteles we consider that the activity of the Hotels, directly or indirectly, creates an impact on the environment in the communities where we are present, which is why we are committed to initiatives to improve the efficiency of resource consumption, selection of responsible suppliers and energy. green.

We advance in the implementation and optimization of the use of environmental resources to reduce the impact on the environment and the carbon footprint, as well as making our contribution to building a fair society in a more supportive and equitable world.

The main actions and the SDGs to which we contribute are:

-Use of 100% green energy in 2021 (SDG 11,12,13)

-Plan for saving water consumption with water regulators installed in all room taps (SDG 11,12,13)

-Protection of DHW pipes to avoid heat loss (SDG 11,12,13)

-Through the Canal de Isabel II in Madrid we contribute to the sewage system and purification that includes the collection of wastewater and its subsequent treatment to return it to the riverbed in optimal conditions  (SDG 11,12,13)

-"Insect hotel" in establishments with gardens, which contributes to making these spaces more sustainable. The Bichotel favor the pollination of our plants and crops, have biological pest control work and favor soil fertility in addition to preserving biodiversity (SDG 15)

-Sustainable management of recycling: paper, glass, plastic, organic waste (SDG 3,12,13)

-Control of the correct management of electronic waste for its destruction with the transfer operator Recycling Technology (Nº NIMA 2800101548) to the destination of the transfer, Grupo Blas Recuperaciones (Nº NIMA 2800023538) (ODS 3,12,13)

-Collaboration with the company Delete Gestión Documental Integral,SL (B44907095) who collects, transports and destroys confidential documentation following established security measures (SDG 3, 12,13)

 -For environmentally friendly cars, we offer in some of the establishments, the charging service for Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles (PHEV) (ODS 3,12,13) 

-Collaboration with Ambilamp, a non-profit association, which develops a system for collecting and treating waste from lamps and luminaires that are treated in a specialized plant (SDG 3,12,13)

-Through the insertion company Otro Tiempo Otro Planeta,SLU, as an authorized transfer operator for the transport of used cooking oil (Environmental registration number 13T02A1800009381X and NIMA 2800115657), has been collected  420 kilos of the used cooking oil in 2022 (SDG 1, 12) 

-Use of cleaning materials that respect the ecosystem and do not affect biodiversity (SDG 12,13)

-Otro Tiempo Otro Planeta, insertion company, as authorized manager for used coffee capsules (Environmental registration number 13G05A1400023892T and NIMA 2800091209) has collected in 2022 the coffee capsules  (SDG 1.12)

-Employee portal that allows effective and dynamic internal communication  (SDG 4,9,16)

-Registered Equality Plan (code 90108502112021) with the main objective of respecting the
real and effective equality of all our workers (SDG 5)

-Performance evaluation for the development of effective Human Resources management (SDG 8)

-Management of OHS training to reduce occupational risks and create a safe work environment within our health and safety at work policy (SDG 8)

-Internship program and collaboration agreements with centers
colleges and schools, which facilitates professional access to young people recently
graduates (SDG 8,17)

-Corporate social responsibility action with the Tierra de Hombres Foundation in the "Journey to Life" campaign with which we want to make our clients aware of the importance of helping sick African children with no possibility of treatment in their countries of origin, to the time we raise funds to transfer and operate them in Spain (SDG 3,16)

-Analysis of the satisfaction levels of our customers through an online satisfaction survey (SDG 9)

-Monitoring of the comments about our establishments published on the internet through a online reputation (SDG 9)

-Presence of Rafaelhoteles in social networks as channels of communication with our clients, in addition to offer a personalized response to those who request information (SDG 9,16)

    -Law on the Protection of Personal Data (LOPD) The files with personal data are collected in the General Registry of the Spanish Agency for Data Protection (SDG 9,16)

-The hotel buildings have the energy efficiency certificate (SDG 7)

At Rafaelhoteles we want our clients to enjoy each of our hotels to the fullest, regardless of the need that motivated their choice, being aware of the impact generated by our activity with the intention of adjusting to the global needs of our society with the capacity to make an effort to build a better world together.

We will continue working on general actions linked to the SDGs to contribute with our actions to the objective of achieving more sustainable tourism (Definitive Guide to Sustainable Tourism) and on specific actions on the twelve basic sustainability indicators for all types of hotels, an initiative proposed by WTTC (World Travel & Tourism Council) at the Philippine Global Summit held in April 2022.