Marriott latest hotel group to align CSR with the Global Goals

Marriott International launched the group’s new CSR strategy called Serve 360 and is the latest global group to align responsible business activities with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Marriott's Serve 360 Empower commitments

The company says that the new sustainability and social impact initiative is designed to foster business growth while balancing the needs of associates, customers, owners, the environment and communities.

Called Serve 360: Doing Good in Every Direction, the platform includes commitments for 2025 to:

• Reduce water by 15%, carbon by 30%, waste by 45% and food waste by 50%
• Contribute 15 million associate volunteer hours, 25% of which will be skills-based, to capitalize on personal talents and core business skills
• Train 100% of associates to know the signs of human trafficking
• Embed human rights criteria in recruitment and sourcing policies

Ray Bennett, Chief Global Officer, Global Operations at Marriott International and Serve 360 Executive Leadership Council Co-Chair said, “As the global hospitality leader with properties and associates across 125 countries and territories, Marriott International has a global responsibility and unique opportunity to be a force for good in all aspects of our business – from helping to reduce carbon and water use to providing our associates with human trafficking awareness training.

“We recognise that how we do business is as important as the business that we do. Incorporating environmental and social initiatives, including human rights awareness training, into our business is not only the right thing to do, it has a direct impact on our profits and beyond.”

Guided by the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals, Marriott created Serve 360 to guide the company’s commitment and deliver positive results through four priority areas or “coordinates”:

• Nurture Our World – Advancing the resiliency and development of our communities.
• Sustain Responsible Operations – Reducing the company’s environmental impacts, sourcing responsibly and building and operating sustainable hotels.
• Empower Through Opportunity – Helping people prepare for jobs in the hospitality industry.
• Welcome All & Advance Human Rights – Creating a safe and welcoming world for associates and travellers alike.

Tricia Primrose, Global Chief Communications Officer at Marriott International and Serve 360 Executive Leadership Council Co-Chair said, “Building off our 2007 Sustainability goals, Marriott is proud to issue our next generation of goals, inclusive of social and human rights targets to address some of the world’s most pressing challenges.

“Associates and customers want to work for and do business with a company that aligns with their values and drives positive community impact. We are proud to be part of the solution.”

The platform also builds on Marriott’s support for ITP’s Goals and Vision for 2030. The International Tourism Partnership is the hotel industry’s voice for sustainability, leading the sector to a fairer future for all. The organisation launched Goals on carbon, water, youth employment and human rights, supported by its members. They are:

• YOUTH EMPLOYMENT: Collectively impact one million young people through employability programmes by 2030, thereby doubling the members’ current impact on youth unemployment.
• CARBON: Embrace science-based targets, and encourage the wider industry to join in reducing emissions at scale
• WATER: Embed water stewardship programmes to reduce the number of people affected by water scarcity; also improve water-use efficiency and identify ways to address water scarcity.
• HUMAN RIGHTS: Raise awareness of human rights risks, embed human rights into corporate governance, and address risks arising in the labour supply chain and during hotel construction.

Learn more about Serve 360 and Marriott’s commitments here.

Source: Green Hotelier

Hotels can adopt seafood supply chain Code of Practice to protect human rights

A new Code of Practice which includes labour rights issues at sea will help hotels check their seafood supply chains.

Human Rights at Sea has announced its close involvement in the Steering Group for the development of the Publicly Available Specification (PAS) 1550:2017, which concerns a new voluntary Code of Practice for due diligence and fair working practices in the fisheries sector. 

The document's full title is PAS 1550:2017 Exercising due diligence in establishing the legal origin of seafood products and marine ingredients - importing and processing - Code of Practice.

Human Rights at Sea - a charitable organisation - worked alongside 15 other stakeholders including the British Retail Consortium (BRC), ClientEarth, Environmental Justice Foundation (EJF), FishWise, Food and Drink Federation (FDF), Lovering Foods Ltd., Marine Management Organisation (MMO), MRAG Ltd., Oceana, The Pew Charitable Trusts (Pew), Seafish, UK Seafood Industry Alliance, Tesco Stores Limited, Wm. Morrison Supermarkets plc and WWF.

As a Code of Practice, this PAS takes the form of guidance and recommendations. It incorporates labour issues and considers illegal treatment of crew on fishing vessels to be linked with illegal fishing. It's long been recognised that the industry - including shrimps and prawns and the canning of tuna - has human rights issues for employees. One of the aims of this PAS is to help enable decent working conditions to be provided not only on board vessels but at all factories, work stations and during all activities throughout supply chains.

The PAS builds on the BRC Advisory Note for the UK supply chain on how to avoid Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishery products, which was published in February 2015, by including in addition, aspects of traceability as well as social elements. The PAS is aimed at processors and importers and gives recommendations on: the considerations within a due diligence system in order to minimise the risk of IUU seafood in the supply chain; the considerations to minimise the risk of a lack of decent conditions at work in the supply chain; and what traceability systems are used to deliver the ability to verify the claim.

Ensuring suppliers are aware of and are adopting the PAS will help hoteliers ensure their seafood supply chain is free of human rights issues.

A PAS is a document that standardises elements of a product, service or process. PASs are usually commissioned by industry leaders - be they individual companies, SMEs, trade associations or government departments.

The PAS was developed with the financial support of the Environmental Justice Foundation (EJF), Oceana, The Pew Charitable Trusts (Pew) and WWF) Its development was facilitated by BSI Standards Limited and it was published under licence from The British Standards Institution (BSI). It came into effect on 31 July 2017.

It's possible to request a free copy from this website.

Source: Green Hotelier

A month of Responsible Business Action - Radisson Hotel Group is making a difference

Hotels and corporate offices around the world organized over 1,200 events during the 14th year of the Responsible Business Action Month, a core pillar of the Hotel Group’s overarching Responsible Business program.

Every year, Radisson Hotel Group devotes September as its Responsible Business Action Month. The month is celebrated across the globe, with hotels and corporate offices coming together for various actions to reach out to the community and support those in need. Even though focus is placed on September, many of the global initiatives are taking place year-round. The month is also devoted to contributing to Radisson Hotel Group’s global charity partners such as Just a Drop (Radisson Blu), the Global Food Banking Network (Radisson), Read Indeed (Country Inns & Suites by Radisson Hotels) and Youth Career Initiative (Park Inn by Radisson).

“During September, we make every moment matter by creating a positive impact on local communities through fundraising activities, donations and enthusiastic volunteering by our hotel teams around the globe.” says Inge Huijbrechts, Global Vice President of Responsible Business. During the month, each of Radisson Hotel Group’s brands implement programs that have a positive and unique impact to their communities.

At the Radisson Blu hotels, the Blu Planet program was supported through participation in volunteer activities related to water scarcity and water mindfulness. This included for instance Walks for Water and ocean and river clean-up activities that you can read about in our previous news feature as well as other initiatives. The highlight was the launch of Radisson Blu’s pilot Blu Planet for Housekeeping, which gives guests the opportunity to forego housekeeping services. More than 60 hotels participated in the initiative and for every night a guest opted in, the hotels donated on the guests’ behalf to the charity Just a Drop, which funds drinking water projects in Guatemala, Kenya and India.

Park Inn by Radisson continued with its award-winning initiative Adding Color to Lives with activities in support of helping youths at risk. The initiative was partnered by a world-famous street artist, Joel Bergner, and guided by him, Park Inn by Radisson employees and local youth designed and painted murals in the cities of Stuttgart (Germany), Riga (Latvia), St Petersburg (Russia), Bucharest (Romania) and Sharon, Pa. (U.S.).

Radisson Hotels focused to care and give back to communities by supporting the fight against hunger, serving meals to people in need and through food drives and fundraisers held for local foodbanks while Radisson Hotel Group’s lifestyle select brand Radisson RED had a focus on the sharing economy.  The RED hotels held swapping events for fashion, books and tools and collected donations via the pay forward principle.

Park Plaza Hotels & Resorts continued the work on the “Save Tomorrow’s Trees Today” campaign while Country Inns & Suites by Radisson Hotels collected books for children in need and worked together with local communities on literacy activities.

In response to the series of devastating hurricanes that hit communities in the U.S., Latin America and the Caribbean in August and September, Radisson Hotel Group teams also came together to raise funds for employees affected and Radisson Hotels deployed a campaign to their members who helped raise 93,000 USD in donations for the American Red Cross.

Source: Radisson Hotel Group

Mon Arbre à Moi – A story of reforestation

The runner-up to the Green Key Best Practice Competition 2017, Hôtel Métropole Monte-Carlo, inspires with their determined initiative of reforestation.

In January 2017, Hôtel Métropole Monte-Carlo launched its project Mon Arbre à Moi – My Very Own Tree to reforest a hillside that had been burnt down by an act of arson. The hillside in question overlooks the town of Menton, which borders with the principality of Monaco. As an important number of the staff members live in Menton, the Green Committee at Hôtel Métropole Monte-Carlo decided to take action and get involved in an important cause for the area.

Mon Arbre à Moi is a significant symbolic initiative that was jointly crafted by the Metropole, the municipality of Menton and the Office National des Forêts (National Forests Office) involving partnerships between several actors. On event day, olive-tree seeds were given to the staff members´ children so that they, together, could plant the first new trees on the burned-out site. A local association, Les Ânes Maritimes, participated by lending their donkeys to help carry the jerry cans needed to water the trees.

The initiative is a long-term project uniting the participants annually on 21 March, celebrated as the International Day of Forests, to visit their trees, to water them and to see how they have grown. Once the trees start to produce olives, the project participants will be invited to harvest them. The olives will then be sent to a local olive oil producer, L´huile Saint Michel, and once produced the olive oil will be given to the guests at the Metropole. Guests will also have a chance to directly participate in the ongoing project by planting their own seeds and thereby help with the reforestation.

Mon Arbre à Moi proves that it is perfectly possible to be a luxury hotel while cultivating real ecological authenticity and take a stand for the environment. The initiative has helped nature rebuild itself and to recreate the hillside landscape of Menton, and as a long-term act for the planet, only recycled water is used to water the olive trees. The initiative has also been warmly welcomed by guests at the hotel and it has helped in raising awareness on the Metropole’s environmental pledge and green policy.

The reforestation initiative is a strong showcase of different stakeholders coming together and creating partnerships for a central environmental cause, and it is the reason Hôtel Métropole Monte-Carlo was awarded second place at the 2017 Green Key Best Practice Competition.

From Georgia to the Netherlands - Radisson is keeping Responsible Business a top priority

From cleaning up the canals of Amsterdam (the Netherlands) to the beaches of Batumi (Georgia), Radisson is active in their support to keep the planet litter-free!

In Batumi, Georgia, the Responsible Business team from the Radisson Blu Hotel Batumi held a beach cleaning activity. During the summer, the beaches are filled with tourists visiting from all over the world. While the hotel loves hosting them, the beach tends to get a bit messy. The hotel, therefore, led by example and picked up garbage along the beach, keeping their 'front yard' looking as great as ever. 

The team from the Radisson Blu Hotel Amsterdam and Radisson Blu Hotel Amsterdam Airport also got together recently for 'Pride Plastic Fishing'. The day after the Amsterdam Canal Pride, the famous canals of Amsterdam need a bit of love and attention and a lot of cleaning up! After a briefing about how to clean the canals, then the team set sail - a great combination of cleaning and sightseeing! 

Source: Radisson

Comwell hotels in Denmark gain The Organic Cuisine Label

The Green Key awarded Comwell hotels are moving in the direction of more sustainable operation. Running a hotel is resource demanding and puts strain on the environment and Comwell decided to address the issue by changing their way of operation. Today, all the hotels have gained The Organic Cuisine Label in bronze in addition to their Green Key certification.

The Organic Cuisine Label in bronze indicates that 30-60 % of the food served is organic, which means that the Danish hotel chain with its 15 establishments now serve around 600 000 guests with organic food. The change towards using more sustainable produce has taken under a year and during this time, the Comwell hotels went from serving 5 % organic to an average of 50 % organic produce in their establishments. In addition, over 200 staff members have received training in sustainability.

According to Peter Schelde, CEO of the Comwell hotels, the change is rooted in a vision to contribute to a greener future. Comwell wants to be a forerunner when it comes to sustainable practices and according to Schelde, an organization the size of Comwell can have a real difference on people’s lives and on the environment. The responsible and sustainable use of resources is not only restricted to the restaurants; it is also an essential part of the whole business operation at Comwell and its hotels. “The focus on sustainability is there to increase the overall experience of both guests, staff and cooperation partners”, Schelde says. 

Source: Comwell press release

Siberian Green Key hotel active in social responsibility

The Green Key awarded Cronwell Resort Ugorskaya Dolina is working very actively with its social responsibility. 

Cronwell Resort Ugorskaya Dolina is located in Khanty-Mansiysk, a city located east of the Ural Mountains in Siberia, Russia. As part of its social responsibility, the hotel is providing space for the local ethnography museum to display exhibitions about the native population of the region. Guests staying in the hotel can without entrance fee visit the exhibition and learn more about the everyday life of the local Khanty and Mansi tribes.

The hotel is also active in supporting the local community in other ways. The hotel has been engaged in a project of having children at a nearby local orphanage drawing pictures, and the hotel has been selling the drawings to raise funding for more activities for the children in the orphanage.

To spread the knowledge about the unique cider tree growing in Siberia, the hotel is planning to be engaged in handing out cider seeds to guests visiting the hotel, and nearby schools involved in the Eco-Schools programme will be preparing instructions about how to grow the cider tree.