Corporate environmental sustainability and practices: The case of Meliá Hotels International

Abstract

[eng] Growing concerns about climate change and natural environment degradation are starting to cause companies to question their way of operating, the role they play in the society and what can they do to contribute to sustainable development and reduce their environmental impacts. Against this background, companies can take a proactive approach towards the natural environment and contribute positively to mitigate those environmental impacts or they can take a reactive approach and make decisions in an attempt to comply with regulations and fix their environmental impacts once they have occurred. Throughout this work, the concept of corporate environmental sustainability is studied through a review of literature and the current state of the relationship between companies and the natural environment is shown. In addition, a case study on the Mallorcan company Meliá Hotels International is carried out and through a qualitative study using interviews and secondary sources I present and argue about their corporate approach to the natural environment and show some of the environmental practices and environmental tools they have used to achieve their success.