A MET Student Wins the Hilton Sustainability Cup

Sustainability is increasingly recognized as a fundamental value in every production sector, and tourism is no exception. In fact, for years the sector's key players have been committed to reducing the environmental impact of their business, with the hotel industry particularly making great progress. We are talking above all about the large hotel chains who host millions of tourists, traveling for either leisure or work, every year and include sustainability themes in their corporate policies. Although so much has been done, so much more can – and must – be done. Last July, for the very purpose of gathering insight and ideas, Hilton Milan launched a contest aimed at Milan-based universities. The challenge was to develop a project that focused on one of three proposed areas (food, energy and supplies) with a focus on the hotel industry or destination, based on the project's purpose and sustainability benefit.

Serena de Bernardis is a Bocconi student currently enrolled in the Master in Economics and Management of Tourism (MET), and worked alone on the project despite the challenge requiring group work. She ended up in first place, winning a check for €5,000. "We actually started as a team in July, but then for personal reasons my fellow classmates had to abandon the project, so I decided to ask the jury for the go-ahead to carry on with the work alone." Alone against everyone, one might say. However, Serena – a 25-year-old Genoa native – after an initial moment of perplexity, decided to continue. "I changed the idea of the project that we had thought of as a team, and developed another one. I thought, what is one of the biggest problems on the planet? The island – or rather the islands, the largest of which, estimated at 2.6 million square kilometers, is located off the coast of Chile and Peru – of plastic. So this is what I want to take action on." Serena then had to think about fundraising, an action specifically aimed at Hilton customers. "I proposed that the hotel increase the cost of its rooms by 1%, with this extra amount being allocated to The Ocean Cleanup, a non-profit association tackling this phenomenon. Hilton would pay a similar fee and then become a partner of the association." In this way, Hilton would be seen as the first hotel chain to be among the supporters of the initiative, enjoying a positive brand image in return.

"We always encourage the participation of MET students in contests promoted by companies in the tourism sector," says Marianna di Salle, coordinator of the MET program, "as it is a unique opportunity to meet executives and professionals in the sector, as well as with students from other universities. Serena de Bernardis presented an innovative proposal capable of having both a local and global declination, therefore easily replicable in the various properties of the Hilton Group."

The project impressed the jury for not only its originality, but also – and above all – for its practicality and ease of implementation, explains Daniele Fabbri, General Manager of Hilton Milan. "Every young person who participated in this initiative has carried out such high-level, highly articulated projects with important research as their foundation. It was therefore not easy to declare the winner of the first edition of the Hilton Sustainability Cup, but we wanted to award Serena de Bernardis' "Hilton For The Ocean Clean Up" project as it was more comprehensive, easily achievable and in line with the required criteria."