
Willy LegrandIU International University of Applied Sciences | IU
Willy Legrand
PhD
About
156
Publications
57,795
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Introduction
I am a Professor and lead author of 4th ed. Sustainability in the Hospitality Industry: Principles of Sustainable Operations (https://www.routledge.com/Sustainability-in-the-Hospitality-Industry-Principles-of-Sustainable-Operations/Legrand-Chen-Laeis/p/book/9780367532505).
Since 2019, I co-chair the HospitalityNet World Panel on Sustainability in Hospitality (https://www.hospitalitynet.org/panel/36001926.html).
Additional affiliations
March 2003 - present
Position
- Professor
Description
- Dr. Willy Legrand is Professor of Hospitality Management at the IUBH International University of Applied Sciences in Bad Honnef - Bonn, Germany since 2003. Over the past 15 years, he has established over two dozen undergraduate and graduate courses on sustainable development in tourism and hospitality management in Germany but also as a visiting professor at universities in China, Dubai, Singapore, France, India, Peru and the United States. Prof. Dr. Legrand is the lead author of Sustainability
Publications
Publications (156)
As we start 2025, corporate travel and business events reactivate. There is a pressing need for the business event industry to adapt to a landscape evolving with digitalization, sustainable regulations, and changing societal values. Business events significantly contribute to the visitor economy, enhancing job creation, attracting talent and invest...
Hotels have experienced a significant increase in insurance costs over recent years. Several contributing factors include the rise in natural disaster frequency, exposing businesses and buildings to significant physical risks. Compliance with energy efficiency regulations has necessitated further investment, impacting building costs. Finally, the c...
With growing scrutiny from travellers and investors who demand clarity of sustainability information, and policymakers who mandate increased accountability, there is a shift in the air. Major hotel brands as well as independent owners and operators are increasingly adopting third-party certifications to demonstrate their commitment to sustainabilit...
Artificial Intelligence (AI) has the potential to revolutionize sustainability practices. Or so the theory.
Advancing the sustainability agenda is not (yet) the main driver for businesses to utilise artificial intelligence. Studies point to other goals related to AI implementation such as automating workflows, cost savings and quality improvement...
Waste Not, Want Not: Food as a Major Sustainability Lever?
Lever 1: Food waste
The recent Food Waste Index Report 2024 [1] highlights the chilling reality of global food waste with one billion meals going to waste daily (p.XVI) with the food service sector accountable for a staggering 28% (p.46). However, the report stresses the substantial data g...
The global hospitality sector is at a crossroad when it comes to implementing sustainability. Consumers demand trustworthy information while regulators and investors expect transparent disclosure on sustainability performance. Owners, brands and managers aim to mitigate the sector's footprint thus reaping the financial and reputational benefits. In...
Loss and Damage: these two words have become synonymous with the stark reality of climate change consequences.
At a governmental level: discussion is on-going on how to set up the fund (Loss and Damage Fund) that should address the financial needs of vulnerable nations faced with severe floods, droughts, or extreme heatwaves (see COP28 [1]). The...
Travelers are increasingly aligning their journeys with their values - sustainability being foremost[1] - with a desire for a transformative or regenerative experience. The now-mainstreamed initiatives of hotels - from water-saving schemes to extensive recycling programmes - though commendable, only scratch the surface of the potential role they pl...
Biodiversity and the science that addresses its conservation, loss, and recovery, including conservation biology and restoration ecology, are high on the contemporary global agenda. While the hospitality industry has taken major steps toward net carbon zero and even net positive business, we argue that it has another significant advance to make. Th...
In this chapter, Gabriel Laeis and Willy Legrand outline the reciprocal relationship of the hospitality industry and climate change. The chapter begins by analysing the role tourism in general and the hospitality industry specifically play in terms of greenhouse gas emissions and climate change exacerbation, discussing current trajectories of scope...
This research focuses on the physical work environment, in particular the possibilities and limitations of biophilic design in hotel office space. Biophilic design has already gained attention in directly influencing the guest experience, but little focus has been given to work space. Traditionally, the hospitality industry places employees’ office...
Risks affecting the hospitality industry are not only related to inflation, war, and geopolitics. Science has proven that climate-related risks and biodiversity loss are a threat to the fabric of society. The convergence of global systemic risks has a name: 'global polycrisis'[1]. In addition, localized events such as wild fires or potential torren...
A company’s overall success and resilience in the market is increasingly linked to its Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) performance. Following a brief review of sustainable development and corporate sustainability,
the concept and rationale behind ESG is discussed with an emphasis on the criteria and limitations of ESG scores. ESG matter...
There is a large global inequality in carbon emissions. Per capita emissions range from less than 1 metric tonne to more than 35 tonnes1 of CO2e with a global average of roughly 4.5 tonnes per capita2. Aligning the global community to the Paris Agreement requires the per capita average to drop at 2 tonnes by 20503. Affluence and carbon footprint go...
In a finite world, striking a balance between the use of resources and ensuring that basic social standards are met is the crux of development. In business, the same applies: how do we navigate the murky waters of growth without depleting everything else? The global economy, with its fair share of challenges, is ripe for circularity but with little...
“The High Ambition Coalition (HAC) for People and Nature, with over 85 member countries [1], is calling for a 30 x 30 target: a global endeavor by governments to safeguard 30% of the land and ocean areas by 2030 [2]. The initiative comes with growing scientific evidence that large sections of the earth must be conserved in a natural state to addres...
Global standards vs. local realities-how to make it work in hospitality?
"Amongst global sustainable hospitality experts there seem to be two co-existing, and sometimes contradictory, concepts for structuring sustainability agendas. On the one hand, there is an appeal to comply with and be guided by recognized global standards and certification sc...
The 24hr Food & Sustainability Hackathon Vol. IV: Tasteful Transformation is organized and presented by the IU International University of Applied Sciences (DE) and the Hotel Management School Maastricht (NL) with additional participation from students at the Julius Maximilian University of Würzburg (DE) and the University of Hohenheim (DE).
The id...
You wonder what ecosystem services are and why it matters to the hospitality sector? Everyone is talking about net zero carbon but are they all talking about the same thing? You have heard of hotels engaging in more circularity, adopting nature-based solutions and implementing a carbon offsetting scheme, but what does this all mean? The world of su...
This chapter aims to establish the relation of luxury tourism to sustainability and questions whether tourism in its current form is not itself a luxury. By analysing consumer travel motivation and demands of luxury tourism, we examine the impact of these perceptions and ask whether Anthropocene tourism does not by definition have a negative impact...
From the Glasgow Declaration on Climate Action in Tourism [1] to the Net Zero Roadmap for Travel & Tourism [2], the industry is taking on the decarbonisation challenge and giving itself net zero toolboxes. We have officially entered the Decade of Decarbonisation.
Has the industry equally and forcefully entered the United Nations Decade on Ecosystem...
Two-weeks of negotiations in November 2015 led to the Paris Agreement. The culmination of 20 years of discussions, concessions and compromises. Is the Paris Agreement an important document to the hospitality industry? Without a doubt. Science-based targets driving the industry decarbonisation efforts are based on the 2°c (1.5°c) threshold as per th...
Slowly but surely, supply chains and procurement practices are taking their rightful place on hospitality's sustainability agendas. For too long, the negative environmental and socio-economic impacts linked to the industry's procurement practices have remained unnoticed, overlooked and, ultimately, accepted. Whether food and beverages (F&B), furnit...
A recently published large-scale survey points out that the vast majority of travelers are keen on staying at hotel properties that engage in sustainability (1). Willingness-to-stay (WTS) is important to the extent in which hotels can capitalize on their sustainability endeavors through transparent communication. However, the same travelers seem to...
The 2021 World Economic Global Risk Report listed ‘climate action failure' as the top risk in regards to impact since 2013 [1] and biodiversity loss in the top 5 risks, both in terms of impact and likelihood [2] Climate change, in particular, is considered a threat multiplier for biodiversity [3] and a 40% drop in natural capital per person has alr...
What actions must be undertaken by hotels and related businesses involved in the tourism value chain to restore ecosystems and contribute to the Sustainable Development Goals? 84 university students across four universities, two dozen experts and lecturers collaborate for 24 hours – The Highlights
June 2021- Under the tag line “Connect. Inspire. Co...
The hotel real estate sector has its work cut out to fully decarbonize until 2050 – here is some help.
Ahead of the UN Climate Change Conference COP26 in Glasgow this November 2021, a series of breakthroughs can be observed in terms of climate actions. Governments are aligning policies towards a carbon neutral future; advances in technologies are m...
Nature and its ecosystem services are at the center of the hospitality business proposition: from food and beverage offers to guests' enjoyment of natural landscape at a destination. Nature is not only a 'capital' component available to businesses, but a source of solutions to mitigate and adapt to climate change and protect biodiversity while ensu...
From single-use plastics to building efficiencies, from extended producer responsibility (EPR) to user-pays principle (UPP), regulations are an intricate component of how society governs environmental impacts. Of course, there seems to always a fine balance between reactive and proactive approaches to regulations, between ‘Too late: cleaning up’ an...
Legislation regulates the way we utilize natural resources, avoid pollution and harmful substances, manage waste and protect ecosystems and human rights. Supporting sustainability through the use of proactive legislation is nothing new. Rather than being a constraint to businesses and individuals, proactive legislation can eliminate competitive dis...
At a time when many people are experiencing stress, burnout, and strain at work, a relaxing vacation becomes increasingly important. Remote locations such as Bali, the Maldives, or the Caribbean have experienced a steady increase in popularity: exotic dishes, turquoise water, and white sandy beaches are often tourist magnets. While the corona crisi...
Evidence shows that spending time in nature helps reducing anxiety, improving mental health and well-being, let alone boosting physical health. Nature is good for us; can we be good to nature too? It's no wonder that one recent large-scale survey conducted by Booking.com (2020) identified 'Impact Awakening: The Rise of Responsible Travel' as one of...
Under the motto "It is time to collaborate, form bonds, share knowledge and solve problems", the second edition of the 24 Hour Sustainable Hospitality Hackathon took place at the end of December 2020. The idea behind this hackathon is the virtual working environment of students and experts who care about the same issues (i.e. driving more sustainab...
January 2021-From encouraging longer stays to energy-performance contracting, the hands-on advice and strategic guidance provided by seasoned experts are geared towards future-proofing our industry. The talks in hospitality are about recovery, resilience, recalibration, pivoting or bouncing back; that's right, we've been shaken to our core and it i...
For scientists and, to a certain extent, politicians as well as society at large, 'climate change' is the new metanarrative. The challenge faced by all human society is the new storyline with the potential to unite. Traditional thinking is anchored in a very conservative approach to managing sustainability based on the 3Rs of reducing, recycling an...
Recovery, resilience, recalibration, or bouncing back are a few examples of keywords that are at the center of any discussion surrounding the hospitality industry's economic prospects this past year. However uncertain the economic future may be, major crises of earth systems are unabated to date. While similarities exist between resiliency and sust...
We are currently experiencing an energy crisis of a different kind - an industry-wide feeling of exhaustion, anxiety, stress, frustration, and fear. We are running out of energy. There is no doubt that the effects of the pandemic and resulting restrictions will have an adverse effect on people's wellbeing. Scientists call for action for mental heal...
“COVID-19 has exposed many of the weaknesses in our industry in terms of risk and hazard management, contingency, and resiliency plans but also in the way we blindly deal with our environment. Crises, as damaging as they may be, trigger opportunities in product, service, and systems innovations. Investing now in climate resilience is an enormous ec...
“Over the past 20 years, the hospitality industry has experienced a continuous increase in various 'stamps of approval', especially at the sustainable front. A few large certification bodies with extensive criteria catalogues dominate the market but hoteliers and consumers alike are still struggling to differentiate the reputable and credible ones...
The 2020 pandemic has catastrophic consequences on societies but particularly on the travel and hospitality sectors. The ways the industry currently deals with the crisis offer a glimpse into the crisis management endeavours in building a business case for disaster and climate resiliency. Climate emergency is not dissimilar to the coronavirus threa...
“Just when it seemed as if single-use plastics were slowly becoming a thing of the past, COVID-19 hit the industry. The second half of 2019 had seen more and more industry leaders making public pledges to abandon a product group that had become the infamous representative of an old and immoral, linear economy.
A few months later, the former sustain...
The General Assembly of the United Nations adopted Resolution 71/246 designating the 18th of June as Sustainable Gastronomy Day (United Nations, n.d.). This clearly indicates a perceived need to review and redefine the processes of and behind twenty-first century gastronomy. For decades and in response to the globalisation and industrialisation of...
“Covid-19 is climate change on warp speed” (Wagner, Mar.10, 2020).
The current pandemic has catastrophic consequences on the hospitality sector. The ways the industry currently deals with the crisis (for example, see: COVID-19 - Survival Guide for the Hospitality Industry) offers a glimpse into the crisis management endeavors in building a busines...
The hospitality industry has long been suffering from failing to attract and bind talent. The labour turnover rate is shocking: According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, hospitality employees quit their job two to three times more often compared to other industries. Researchers have painted a similar picture with employee turnover rates of...
Both clichés and greenwashing are amongst the biggest traps to fall into when communicating sustainability. A "let's save the world" claim and tacky towel policy stickers are superficial and unappealing and could be a turn-off to the small group of environmentally and socially-conscious consumers. Green certification and lengthy, detailed corporate...