TRAVEL & LEISURE
MARBELLA CLUB
Founded by Prince Alfonso von Hohenlohe in 1954, this now-legendary resort occupies a prime patch of Marbella’s Golden Mile, tucked away from the buzz amid peaceful pine groves. A love-letter to slow living, Marbella Club has gracefully evolved from its rustic, motel-style origins to encompass 115 rooms and suites and a collection of 17 villas. The 5,000 sq m, Kids Club is one of the best in Europe, making the hotel a paradise for families. Marbella Club is also a dazzling destination for socialising with 10 restaurants and bars, and perfect for wellness travellers, thanks to its sea-fronted Thalasso spa and heavenly Holistic Studio, set in lush botanic gardens, offering deeply healing, integrative health practices.
SUSTAINABILITY PURPOSE
As a family run hotel, the very personal and emotional bond to the Marbella Club goes hand-in-hand with a mission to not only minimise their impact on their society and environment, but to also leave it slightly better than they found it. Based on a profound respect for their grandparents’ way of life, their natural resources and the people who preserve them, we at the Marbella Club pledge and actively work in the following areas: follow sustainable practices to reduce the impact of their operations on the environment and to ensure energy efficiency; support the efforts of local initiatives, producers and artisans to safeguard ancient traditions and practices; underscore their commitment to the wellbeing of their employees by securing equality of conditions and opportunities; and finally, motivate their employees into being catalysts of change.
Established
1954
Headquarters
Marbella, Spain
Employees
400+
Categories
Travel & Leisure
Website
Distribution
Primary markets include: UK, US, Spain, Europe and Russia
SUSTAINABILITY REPORT CARD
Click below to see the detailed breakdown of Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) performance. The Marbella Club has been comprehensively assessed and scored against all key areas of sustainability, including impact on climate, nature and water, treatment of workers and communities as well as how ethically the business is run. Performance is assessed against international agreements, global frameworks, standards and legislation.
REAL CHANGE IN ACTION
BIODIVERSITY
With emphasis on conservation, responsibility and mitigation Marbella Club are continuously working towards understanding their impacts and dependencies on biodiversity. The club work closely with Fundación Aula del Mar Mediterráneo (FAMM), a Malaga based marine conservation research centre, who together with the club have been working on a four-year long seahorse repopulation project. Not only has this initiative increased the understanding of the status of Spain’s native seahorse populations, the project has also prompted stakeholder awareness and engagement in relation to biodiversity. To further understand and mitigate their impact on people and nature, Marbella Club completes an annual Natural Capital Assessment in which risks and opportunities for positive action are identified. The club also ensure to align with the Sustainable Development Goals, in particular SDG 13 (Climate Action) and SDG 14 (Life Below Water).
CLIMATE
From net zero emission practices to analysing their scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions, Marbella Club have a wide range of initiatives in place all aimed at reducing their impact on the environment. The club have implemented SMART metering and carbon control systems throughout the hotel to understand and optimise their energy usage, as well as significantly reducing their GHG emissions from bottled water transportation through opting for Nordaq 500, premium filtered water bottles. Furthermore, Marbella Club are in the process of developing their Environmental Management System, highlighting the risks and opportunities associated with their operations as well as setting reduction targets.
WASTE & WATER
To promote responsible consumption and production patterns, Marbella Club have implemented Environmental and Waste Management policies that largely focus on Reducing, Recycling, Reusing, Repairing and Recovering. These policies are widely communicated throughout the hotel ensuring all internal and external stakeholders are aware of the correct ways in which to dispose of waste. Following LEANPATH's tech-based organic waste management system, the club also partakes in an annual 7-day waste audit conducted by a third party. Through this, non-hazardous waste is monitored and measured to generate total annual weight estimates which can then be used to set year on year reduction targets. The hotel has also invested 800 hours of one-to-one waste management training to employees aiming to spread awareness of its efforts to promote a circular economy.
SUSTAINABLE PROCUREMENT & THE SDGs
Following their detailed sustainable procurement policy, Marbella Club ensure to only select suppliers who align to their core ESG values, prompting a more sustainable approach to sourcing. The club work closely with suppliers to increase transparency and traceability and highlight the importance of ethical and local sourcing. In addition to SDG 13 and 14, Marbella Club have conducted an in-depth analysis of the SDGs, selecting 3 additional goals to align with including SDG 3 (Health & Wellbeing) through wellness programmes and awareness trainings, SDG 10 (Reduce inequalities) through robust DEI policies, and SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption & Production) through emphasising the importance of a circular economy as well as their detailed waste management policy.
With emphasis on conservation, responsibility and mitigation Marbella Club are continuously working towards understanding their impacts and dependencies on biodiversity. The club work closely with Fundación Aula del Mar Mediterráneo (FAMM), a Malaga based marine conservation research centre, who together with the club have been working on a four-year long seahorse repopulation project. Not only has this initiative increased the understanding of the status of Spain’s native seahorse populations, the project has also prompted stakeholder awareness and engagement in relation to biodiversity. To further understand and mitigate their impact on people and nature, Marbella Club completes an annual Natural Capital Assessment in which risks and opportunities for positive action are identified. The club also ensure to align with the Sustainable Development Goals, in particular SDG 13 (Climate Action) and SDG 14 (Life Below Water).
From net zero emission practices to analysing their scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions, Marbella Club have a wide range of initiatives in place all aimed at reducing their impact on the environment. The club have implemented SMART metering and carbon control systems throughout the hotel to understand and optimise their energy usage, as well as significantly reducing their GHG emissions from bottled water transportation through opting for Nordaq 500, premium filtered water bottles. Furthermore, Marbella Club are in the process of developing their Environmental Management System, highlighting the risks and opportunities associated with their operations as well as setting reduction targets.
To promote responsible consumption and production patterns, Marbella Club have implemented Environmental and Waste Management policies that largely focus on Reducing, Recycling, Reusing, Repairing and Recovering. These policies are widely communicated throughout the hotel ensuring all internal and external stakeholders are aware of the correct ways in which to dispose of waste. Following LEANPATH's tech-based organic waste management system, the club also partakes in an annual 7-day waste audit conducted by a third party. Through this, non-hazardous waste is monitored and measured to generate total annual weight estimates which can then be used to set year on year reduction targets. The hotel has also invested 800 hours of one-to-one waste management training to employees aiming to spread awareness of its efforts to promote a circular economy.
Following their detailed sustainable procurement policy, Marbella Club ensure to only select suppliers who align to their core ESG values, prompting a more sustainable approach to sourcing. The club work closely with suppliers to increase transparency and traceability and highlight the importance of ethical and local sourcing. In addition to SDG 13 and 14, Marbella Club have conducted an in-depth analysis of the SDGs, selecting 3 additional goals to align with including SDG 3 (Health & Wellbeing) through wellness programmes and awareness trainings, SDG 10 (Reduce inequalities) through robust DEI policies, and SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption & Production) through emphasising the importance of a circular economy as well as their detailed waste management policy.
Standards & Accreditations
To provide evidence of sustainability performance across luxury companies' full value chain, 180+ memberships, accreditations and specialist certifications are taken into account during assessment
Marine Stewardship Council (MSC)
Certified Humane
ISO 14001 Environmental Management
ISO 9001 Quality Management
Oeko-Tex
FSC Certified
JOURNEY SO FAR
03/2024
CERTIFICATION
02/2024
RISK MAPPING
02/2024
FINAL SUBMISSION
03/2022
BASELINE SUBMISSION
03/2021
BEGAN ASSESSMENT
A WORD FROM THE OWNER
Our outlook on sustainability is inextricably linked with our hotel’s heritage and preserving it. We are honoured to be working side-by-side with the team at Positive Luxury, a community of forward-thinkers who have beautifully linked our industry with our common passion for being responsible
JENNICA SHAMOON ARAZI
OWNER
WHY POSITIVE LUXURY
The Butterfly Mark assessment framework provides us with the guidance we need to ensure we are embedding sustainability at every level of our business and building a strong ESG position for the future. Undergoing this process helped us minimise risk by ensuring our hotel operation is beyond compliant with existing environmental legislation and future proofed against incoming national and international government regulations. Obtaining the Butterfly Mark itself demonstrates our genuine commitment to the UN´s Sustainable Development Goals, increases our social credibility amongst both our clients and employees, and helps us achieve long term shareholder value.
LEIGH BARRETT
DIRECTOR OF GROUP SUSTAINABILITY