Morikawa went on to welcome this recognition as a way “to raise the visibility of projects in the company's sustainability strategy, encompassed through our pioneering movement in the industry, Wave of Change, which has inspired our ambitious 2030 Agenda

Wave of Change embodies the 2017 declaration by the Iberostar Group concerning its passion for the seas and oceans. Through this initiative, the Group has taken major steps in recent years to conserve the environment and combat climate change. This movement gave Iberostar a solid scientific underpinning to develop lines of action for its own Agenda 2030, moving towards a circular economy, promoting the responsible consumption of fish and seafood, and improving the coastal health of all the ecosystems surrounding its hotels.

The company supports and promotes this movement through a dedicated Sustainability Office comprising a multidisciplinary team of over 30 experts, including marine biologists, scientists and also other academic profiles, working together to devise action plans and make science-based decisions towards the goals of this decade.

Since its inception, the company went on to become the first hotel group in the world to eliminate single-use plastics from all its operations by 2020. This movement spurred the hotel operator to define a roadmap towards zero waste by 2025 and to cut down on food waste by implementing its own 3R department for waste management and artificial intelligence systems in its kitchens. It also advanced its strategy towards decarbonisation, the most ambitious in the sector, to achieve carbon neutrality by 2030, a full two decades ahead of the global net zero target set by the industry, operating four 100% electric hotels in Montenegro and Mallorca, and supplying electricity from renewable sources with a guarantee of origin at all Iberostar hotels in Spain and Brazil.

Additional milestones championed by Wave of Change include the Company's achievement in 2022 to ensure that all fish and seafood served in Mexico is responsibly sourced, globally surpassing 78% traceability for responsibly sourced fish. Working to improve the health of the ecosystems surrounding its hotels, Iberostar's scientific team promoted the construction of five coral nurseries in the Caribbean, three mangrove nurseries in the Dominican Republic and four coastal dune nurseries in Mexico. Iberostar is also on track to achieve the 2030 goal of having 25% of the space at its resorts occupied by green areas with large gardens to encourage the flourishing of local species and thus protect biodiversity at destinations where it operates.