Arena Hospitality Group

Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Emissions

The measurement and management of our GHG emissions follows the methodological recommendations of the GHG protocol. The standard emissions scopes as set out in the GHG protocol are applied.

Eliminating/ reducing our GHG emissions is always a priority before we engage in any offsetting or other mitigating measures. 2021 represents the first year that Arena has calculated GHG emissions across all three emissions scopes and it represents the base year for ongoing GHG emissions comparisons.

Emissions totals are aggregated for the entirety of Arena’s sites for 2023, this includes owned, leasehold and operated assets in Croatia, Austria, Serbia, Germany and Hungary. Emissions are, however, not calculated for every location separately, but on a group level. Total Emissions in 2023 decreased by approximately 16% compared to 2022. Occupancy (based on rooms sold) increased by 5% from 2022 to 2023. Overall,  emissions intensity on an emission-per-sold room basis has decreased by approximately 19%.

In 2023, Arena has compensated a total of 75 tonnes CO2e Emissions through the activity “Compensating by planting" certified by HEART thinking & doing ltd.

More details on Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Emissions are available on pages 107-110 of the 2023 Annual Report. 

Energy consumed

Arena’s primary energy needs come from the fuels which are consumed onsite for heating and cooking as well as the electrical and heat energy supplied by energy utility companies. All our achievements in energy saving have been made possible by the commitment of our local hotel management teams, our technical team, our room division manager and the Management Board. Whilst we are proud of our successes to date, we need to ensure that the Group continues to perform well.

In 2023 we approved plans and contracted to install solar installations and in 2024 we obtained the necessary permits for installation of solar installations on six locations in Croatia, whereby we would produce five percent of our electricity demand. However small, this is a step in the right direction, and we are preparing ourselves with a much wider implementation of solar energy. Energy use is an essential point for the impact on the climate on the part of a company. Over the last few years, we have found ways within our means to save energy, because we want to make a conscious contribution. Again, the first step to saving begins with an up-to-date overview of energy use and its environmental impact. Through these continuous observations, we can strive for improvements and also track them. Even small changes, such as switching to LEDs or turning off screens that are not in use, can have a noticeable impact on energy efficiency and improve it.

More details on Energy consumption are available on pages 101-102 of the 2023 Annual Report.

Water Stewardship

As a Group, we encourage all our hotels to reduce their water usage and the amount of waste they produce. This is achieved in many ways including reducing the use of consumables such as cleaning materials and packaging and paper, to further minimise environmental impact. As part of our Responsible Business Programme dedicated teams help us to reduce our carbon footprint and waste, as well as contribute to better water preservation. All our properties are connected to the local municipality water system which provides and maintains adequate flow and pressure of water. We have established a centralised water surveillance system where for each property we receive hourly information about water consumption and water pressures on designated water meters. We perform daily consumption checks in the system and also the system sends an alarm if consumption is not in the prescribed parameters. This system helps us to locate potential water leakages or pipe breaks so that we can fix them without excess waste of water or customer complaints. During refurbishments, we install sanitary equipment (faucets, showers etc.) with low water usage to reduce overall consumption of water. For landscape irrigation purposes we implemented reverse osmosis systems of seawater for the production of irrigation water. The earth's water resources are notoriously unevenly distributed around the globe, at risk from climate change, and often polluted and overused. Our company is therefore very aware of the importance of using this resource, which is why water and water use play an important role. A considerate use of this resource is therefore very important to us and a key to also protecting the biodiversity of aquatic habitats. Therefore, both in our own company and along our value chain, we make sure that the impact on water as a resource is considered. In our company, we therefore encourage water conservation and considerate use.

More details on Water Stewardship is available on pages 103-104 of the 2023 Annual Report.

Waste

Our Group continues to implement the global waste management policy in such a way that the overall processes meet the "reduce, reuse and recycle" policy. In addition to the correct separation of waste by type, processes are analysed in order to reduce the amount of waste, e orts are made to extend the life of certain categories of waste with maintenance and processing techniques so that they can be reused. Through our waste policy, we aim to achieve low material consumption and small disposal volumes. During the supply chain, great attention is paid to the selection of products to reduce the amount of waste, i.e. to use recycled or degradable packaging.

In 2023, the Group continued cooperation with the Fund for Environmental Protection and Energy Efficiency of the Republic of Croatia by signing a contract related to the "Reduce Food Waste" project, which was carried out in 2023 in the kitchen of Park Plaza Histria. According to the contract, in the period from 2023-2027, using the Ecovim 300, food waste device and monitoring measurements, data on the reduction of the amount of food waste will be collected. For the year 2023, it was determined that the reduction of food waste by 76.26% was achieved. It is planned that the implementation of the project will continue in 2024, with the introduction of improvements in the procedure itself, based on previous experience, in 2023. The obtained substrate can be used as fertilizer, that is, as an organic addition to the soil. The produced substrate was subjected to physico-chemical analysis at the Institute of Public Health of Istrian County, which confirmed that the substrate is of a sterile nature.

More details on Waste is available on pages 111-112 of the 2023 Annual Report.

Biodiversity

Arena is both morally and financially incentivised to contribute towards the long-term sustainability of the natural environments in which we operate. Three Arena campsites ( Arena Tašalera, Arena Medulin and Arena Stupice) representing a total surface area of ca. 570,000 m2 are located within the boundaries of the nature park Protected Nature of Southern Istria in the most southern part of the Istrian peninsula. The areas under the preservation of Nature Park Kamenjak form an ecological network of mutually connected ecologically significant areas that substantially contribute to the conservation of natural balance and biodiversity. The operation of these campsites is fully aligned with the applicable EU and national legal provisions governing nature preservation in such protected areas. No works are performed in the campsites without prior approval of the competent authorities and are performed in line with the highest applicable standards. Arena maintains a large horticulture team with more than 30 team members who are providing care to the plantation and greenery. Arena also engages specialists to maintain and increase care and compliance of campsite areas under its operations.

More details on Biodiversity are available on pages 105-106 of the 2023 Annual Report.