The Emirates Environmental Group (EEG) has launched the Emirates Hospitality Sustainability Alliance (EHSA) at Coral Beach Resort Sharjah, creating a new platform to accelerate environmental sustainability across the UAE’s hospitality sector.

The launch brought together hospitality leaders, sustainability professionals, industry stakeholders and partners around a shared goal of moving sustainability beyond individual initiatives towards collective action, accountability and measurable results.

EHSA was established in response to the growing environmental challenges facing the hospitality industry.

While hotels and hospitality organisations across the UAE are implementing sustainability programmes, EEG said greater collaboration, knowledge exchange and coordinated action are needed to address issues including energy and water consumption, waste, food waste, procurement, supply chains, resource efficiency and consumer behaviour.

Dr Habiba Al Mar’ashi, Co-Founder and Chairperson of the Emirates Environmental Group, said: “Today represents much more than the launch of a new Alliance. It marks the beginning of a collective journey for the UAE hospitality sector – one that brings together ambition, collaboration, accountability and measurable action. Many organisations are already doing important work. The opportunity before us is to connect these efforts, strengthen them and create a platform through which the hospitality industry can move forward collectively. EHSA has been established to create that connection.”

Dr Al Mar’ashi further added: “Sustainability cannot remain an aspiration or a collection of isolated initiatives. 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. EHSA has been established to create the collaborative environment needed to support this journey, bringing the sector together to exchange knowledge, address shared challenges and progressively strengthen sustainability performance.”

The Alliance will provide participating organisations with opportunities to share best practices, strengthen capabilities, explore innovative solutions and collaborate on common environmental priorities.

Its long-term objective is to embed sustainability into operations, decision-making, organisational culture and the guest experience, rather than treating it solely as a compliance requirement.

EHSA’s future programme includes the planned development of a dedicated sustainability standard for the hospitality sector, which will be introduced at a later stage.

 EEG will also work to expand participation and strengthen engagement across the wider hospitality ecosystem, including government entities, suppliers, service providers, sustainability professionals, environmental organisations and academia.

“The true measure of what we launched today will not be the number of people who attended this gathering,” Dr Al Mar’ashi 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. Our invitation to the hospitality sector is clear: join us, contribute your experience, share your challenges and become part of shaping the next chapter of sustainable hospitality in the UAE.”

Concluding, Dr Al Mar’ashi said: “The UAE hospitality sector is recognised globally for its ambition, innovation and pursuit of excellence. We now have an opportunity to ensure that environmental leadership becomes an equally defining characteristic. Today, we have created the platform and introduced a pathway for progress. What happens next depends on our collective willingness to participate, collaborate and act. 31 August 2026 is therefore not the culmination of this journey. It is our starting point.” -TradeArabia News Service