The world’s largest hotel groups are only just beginning to address the wide range of social and environmental challenges  facing the sector, according to the first-ever Tomorrow's Value Rating.

The new corporate sustainability measurement tool from international consultancy Two Tomorrows is used to evaluate how well the world’s biggest companies are managing their most pressing social and environmental issues. Every two months, a new sector rating examines the largest companies in a globally important industry. The headline results are published on the Fortune/CNNMoney.com website, and there is detailed analysis on this site.

The hotels sector is the subject of our first-ever application of the Tomorrow's Value Rating. We used it to scrutinise the sustainability performance of the world's 10 largest hotel groups.

Clear leader in the sector was Accor, followed by InterContinental Hotels and Marriott.

We found that the companies generally provide little information on their sustainability efforts and performance, and only a few demonstrate a systematic approach to managing their social and environmental impacts. As a result, they are running reputational risks, and missing out on opportunities for strategic differentiation. Also, many of them are poorly prepared for a future tightening of regulation.

Tourists and businesses have reined in their spending on travel, and the sector is having a tough time that may well carry on for a while. But those that fail to take sustainability seriously now are going to find it even harder in future.

Results of the Tomorrow's Value Rating of the hotel groups sector