Hilton becomes largest UK hotel group to be MSC certified

Hilton has announced today that over 50 of its UK hotels are now certified to the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) chain-of-custody.

At an event to raise awareness about sustainably sourced seafood, students from Bournemouth & Poole College teamed up with TV Chef Matt Tebbutt at his Hilton Bournemouth restaurant Schpoons & Forx to serve the best of sustainable British seafood to over 60 special guests.

Part of Hilton’s Global Month of Service community engagement platform, students and guests learned from Matt, Hilton executives and representatives from MSC and Seafish about how to create more sustainable seafood dishes.

The event marked an additional 19 managed Hilton branded hotels becoming MSC certified, confirming Hilton as the largest hotel group to be certified to this standard. It was held during Seafood Week (7-14 October) and follows Hilton’s recent announcement about its industry-leading multi-year sustainable seafood goals as part of a global partnership with the World Wildlife Fund (WWF).

Matt Tebbutt, Chef and Broadcaster, said, “Today was about giving local students and the wider community a flavour of what it means to cook more sustainably. We all enjoy eating great food but it’s so easy to forget about where it all comes from. This was a great opportunity to take a step back, reflect, and learn about how we can all help to preserve our environment.’

Tebbutt added, ‘More than 30% of our oceans are overfished and businesses have a huge part to play in tackling this issue through supporting more sustainable fishing practices.’

Many managed Hilton branded hotels across the UK are celebrating sustainable seafood throughout the month of October. Hotels are encouraging customers to eat more fish more often, offering additional MSC-certified seafood options and providing guests with more information on the sustainability of the fish caught, bought and served in the UK.

Paul Farrow, Vice President, Supply Management EMEA, Hilton said, “We have made significant progress in recent years and in the UK alone have now achieved MSC certification for 53 of our hotels, including Hilton Bournemouth.

‘Global Month of Service is about strengthening our communities and, as professional buyers and chefs, we can do that every day by supporting the fishing industry across the UK, encouraging sustainable practices and professionals in this industry.”

George Clark, UK Commercial Manager, MSC, said, “It’s fantastic to see a global company like Hilton adopting the MSC’s science-based certification and seafood traceability for even more of their restaurants. Choosing fish with the blue MSC label makes a real difference, protecting stocks and the environment for future generations.

‘With the expansion of their MSC certificate to 53 hotels in the UK and by increasing their fish choices to a total of 14 different species, it will be easier than ever for Hilton chefs to put sustainable and traceable fish on Hilton menus.’

Hilton’s Global Month of Service is the company’s largest annual community service initiative, mobilising hundreds of thousands of Team Members from all over the world to impact their local communities through a variety of volunteer projects.

Since 2012, Hilton teams have been offering their time and expertise in hospitality to support issues from conserving natural resources, to mentoring and exposing youth to the opportunities in hospitality, to collecting surplus food and distributing it to local organizations and everything in between.