EXTENDAM AND BETTERFLY TOURISM JOIN FORCES TO SPEED UP ECOLOGICAL TRANSITION IN THE HOTEL INDUSTRY

Extendam joins forces with Betterfly Tourism to help its hotel partners reduce their environmental footprint and incorporate social and governance criteria into their growth perspectives

The joint initiative was launched in late-2020 between Extendam, the leading European private equity investor in economy and mid-range hotels, and Betterfly Tourism, a tourism software company seeking to take concrete action with regard to sustainable development. It will enable hotels in Extendam’s portfolio to calculate their carbon footprint, measure their Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) impact and steer their improvements over time.

Extendam intends to draw up an action plan with each of its partners in a bid to reduce their environmental impact. The partnership provides strong, positive impetus in a hotel ecosystem currently comprising 240 establishments in France and Europe.

Betterfly Tourism uses the ecological labelling system implemented by the French agency for ecological transition (ADEME) and the Ministry of Ecological Transition to calculate each hotel’s environmental commitment based on four indicators: (i) CO₂ emissions per customer (ii) water consumption (iii) energy consumption and (iv) share of organic or eco-labelled purchases. It then attributes a score between A and E (A being the highest) to inform customers of the carbon impact of the hotel in which they are staying. This score is re-assessed each year, so that establishments can measure their progress and involve their employees in a collective ongoing improvement drive.

 “This partnership is an opportunity for Extendam to contribute to the hotel sector’s ecological transition. Sustainable tourism is a key collective challenge for the hotel industry of tomorrow, to which all of the sector’s stakeholders need to commit. Betterfly Tourism not only enables each player to calculate their environmental footprint, but also to reduce their impact over time. The ecological labelling system is a quick, concrete and motivational call to action and a means of involving customers and employees alike in a positive and pragmatic approach. The hardships of recent times have only served to speed up the sector’s transition towards sustainable tourism,” explains Bertrand Pullès, Deputy Managing Director, Extendam.

“At Betterfly Tourism, we are determined to speed up the tourism sector’s transition by reducing its impact on the environment and its costs, through simple, accessible online solutions. Our name was inspired by the theory of the butterfly effect and underscores the importance of taking small steps, remembering that each one can lead to an important end effect. We are thrilled to be assisting Extendam and its partners, as this initiative will trigger a considerable ripple effect across the entire sector,” adds Hubert Vendeville, founder and director of Betterfly Tourism.