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SUSTAINABILITY - NICO NICHOLAS, CO-FOUNDER AND CEO, ZEERO GROUP: "MOTHER NATURE WILL ULTIMATELY PREVAIL"
The travel entrepreneur who transformed tree planting into climate investment is redefining luxury hospitality's approach to sustainability. |
Catégorie : - Économie du secteur
- Interviews et portraits
- Produits et Fournisseurs
- Développement durable - Fournisseurs - Interviews - Les Leaders du secteur
Interview de Sonia Taourghi le jeudi 28 août 2025
 Nico Nicholas is the co-founder and CEO of ZEERO Group
Crédit photo © ZEERO Group
What began as a simple tree-planting initiative for travellers has evolved into a revolutionary co-ownership climate investment model that's attracting attention from luxury hospitality giants and recently secured a partnership with IATA's Strategic Partnerships Programme.
With ZEERO now operating across 29 countries and developing cutting-edge solutions from wastewater-to-biofuel conversion to sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) production, Nicholas is proving that climate action can be both profitable and scalable.
Journal des Palaces: How is ZEERO specifically working with luxury hotels, resorts, and private aviation companies to transform sustainability from a cost burden into a competitive advantage?
Nico Nicholas: We're delighted to exclusively reveal that ZEERO has recently partnered with the World Sustainable Hospitality Alliance to help the luxury travel sector accelerate climate action through co-creation of projects addressing both waste management and clean energy.
By adding only a few euros or dollars to each booking – but allowing guests to remove the charge if not wanted – this model costs the hotel nothing. Through a collaborative approach, it enables projects to be quickly developed and delivered globally.
ZEERO's projects focus on converting municipal wastewater into biofuels – up to 81% lower in emissions than fossil fuels – that can power electricity generators, providing grids with 24-hour renewable energy whilst reducing waste processing burdens on regions.
By partnering with ZEERO, luxury hospitality brands can position themselves as bold leaders in travel transformation. Forward-thinking businesses integrating these solutions will build stronger resilience, elevate brand prestige, and unlock new growth pathways.
How does ZEERO's co-ownership climate contribution model integrate into luxury guest journeys without compromising premium service standards?
Rather than burdening guests with decisions during their stay, ZEERO enables properties to embed climate contributions directly into booking or folio, either as an included benefit or subtle, optional addition. This reflects luxury travellers' expectations: sustainability should be effortless and built into the experience by default.
Through this model, hotels demonstrate real climate leadership by funding high-impact, community-connected projects that reduce emissions and deliver tangible benefits to the local environment and economy.
The process is both holistic and practical, allowing properties to uphold their brand promise whilst supporting long-term planetary and community wellbeing – without ever compromising the elegance and ease of guest experience.
What specific SAF solutions is ZEERO developing for private aviation operators and luxury hospitality groups?
The world's wealthiest 10% is responsible for 66% of carbon emissions since 1990, with the wealthiest 1% producing up to 50 times more greenhouse gases than the bottom 50%. Private jet use has grown over 25% in the past decade, whilst SAF currently makes up just 0.3% of global jet fuel consumption.
ZEERO's approach is unique: our sustainable fuel projects are structured as joint ventures with co-ownership opportunities. Private aviation operators and luxury hospitality groups can convert climate contributions into equity – owning shares of renewable energy or fuel infrastructure they help create.
Our biofuels and SAF are compatible with existing infrastructure. Where physical delivery is limited, ZEERO uses "book-and-claim" platforms built on blockchain technology, allowing environmental benefits to be claimed globally regardless of geography.
By collaborating across private aviation and luxury hospitality, ZEERO enables high-impact investments that transform climate contributions into tangible returns – financial, environmental, and reputational.
How does ZEERO partner with premium hotel groups and luxury travel advisors to create meaningful climate impact narratives that resonate with affluent guests?
While local philanthropic projects offer compelling guest stories, ZEERO believes luxury travel must confront global challenges like waste management and rising emissions that impact every aspect of life and business.
Climate change is intensifying extreme weather events globally. Overwhelmed wastewater systems spill into rivers and oceans, contaminating coastlines and forcing resort beaches to close – damaging ecosystems, reputations, and revenues.
ZEERO helps premium hospitality partners move beyond isolated efforts toward a unified, industry-wide narrative: shared responsibility, global collaboration, and measurable impact. By supporting innovative infrastructure solutions, brands actively solve systemic problems crossing borders.
Small guest contributions aggregated across properties create continuous funding for high-impact projects, generating environmental and community benefits plus powerful, authentic stories resonating with values-driven travellers.
This is sustainability storytelling with substance: transparent, transformative, and truly global.
How do you demonstrate the business case for ZEERO's climate investment model to luxury hotel CEOs, particularly regarding guest satisfaction and financial returns?
With global regulations on emissions, waste, and resource use becoming increasingly stringent, ZEERO helps hotel leaders stay ahead of compliance pressures. Our joint venture approach enables properties to invest early in regenerative infrastructure, reducing future operational costs.
ZEERO's climate contribution model isn't an expense – it's a strategic growth asset. By embedding low-carbon, circular economy principles, we help brands generate measurable outcomes building resilience, elevating reputation, and unlocking new value.
Affluent travellers increasingly demand visible, credible climate action. ZEERO enables hotels to meet this expectation through curated, high-impact investments funded via aggregated climate contributions. These initiatives are cost-neutral to operators yet generate meaningful, purpose-driven stories resonating with modern luxury guests.
This isn't just a sustainability programme – it's a blueprint for future-proofing. Those who act now won't just adapt; they'll define luxury hospitality's future.
How can ZEERO's nature-based solutions create exclusive sustainability experiences for luxury guests while generating authentic environmental impact?
When hotels offer exclusive experiences in natural settings that educate guests about human environmental impact and showcase protection efforts, they help shift our relationship with nature from extraction to stewardship.
Whilst ZEERO supports partners' local nature projects, many are performative rather than contributing to systemic change. Authentic impact asks us to look beyond local borders. Travel accounts for ~7% of global emissions, warming our planet and accelerating climate disasters globally.
ZEERO's nature-based solutions focus on high-impact projects in regions particularly vulnerable to climate change, acknowledging that communities contributing least to the problem are often most affected. These initiatives deliver vital carbon benefits through forest restoration whilst regenerating ecosystems, providing resilience and jobs, supporting often severely impoverished Indigenous communities.
Over 80% of tourism relies on healthy natural systems, and more than half of global GDP depends on nature. Stewardship is no longer niche – it's a business imperative.
How is ZEERO positioning itself to serve luxury hospitality's corporate client base as companies implement strict sustainability mandates for travel?
As corporate clients adopt stricter sustainability mandates, luxury hotels must adapt to remain competitive. ZEERO is uniquely positioned through ZEERO360 – a full-service, end-to-end carbon intelligence platform.
ZEERO360 integrates seamlessly with major travel management systems to automate Scope 3 emissions measurement and reporting. Corporations receive monthly, data-rich reports enabling them to monitor, manage, and mitigate travel-related emissions with ease.
For events, ZEERO EVENTS offers powerful carbon measurement integrated into platforms like Cvent. This allows luxury hotels to support corporate clients in delivering low-impact, ESG-compliant meetings.
Unlike traditional software models, ZEERO asks for climate contribution participation instead of software fees. If tools are free, entire supply chains can access them regardless of budget, standardising measurements rather than each supply chain part using different methodologies.
How do you envision the evolution of luxury travel over the next decade? What role will sustainability play in defining ultra-premium hospitality experiences?
Climate change is no longer a distant threat; it's present-day business risk driving regulatory pressure, rising environmental costs, and infrastructure strain. Immediate, coordinated action is essential.
Over the next decade, ultra-premium hospitality will be redefined not just by luxury, but by leadership in sustainability. High-net-worth travellers, among the highest carbon emitters, are uniquely positioned to contribute meaningfully to climate solutions.
Adding a $5 climate contribution to a $1,000+ stay, when tied to transparent, high-impact projects, isn't only acceptable – it becomes a point of pride for discerning guests.
The next generation will expect more than comfort and exclusivity – they'll seek value alignment. ZEERO's climate financing model enables luxury brands to embed measurable impact into every stay, transforming small guest contributions into large-scale decarbonisation projects.
We have a rare opportunity to reshape luxury travel as a force for good – where ecosystems regenerate, cultural heritage thrives, communities prosper, and travel fosters deeper human connection. The luxury brands embracing this vision will not only succeed, they'll define global hospitality's future.
Mother Nature will ultimately prevail. Our task is to ensure we're on her side.
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