The Rezidor Hotel Group: Sustainability Report 2012

Annelli Nealon: 10714437

10/19/2012

The Rezidor Hotel Group began in the 1960’s and now owns over 400 hotels in 70 Countries across Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Rezidor host a portfolio of iconic hotels and brands, they are passionate about innovative hospitality and groundbreaking designs. They have won numerous awards for their service concepts, culinary prestige and Responsible Business Programme.

The Sustainability Report

Their 34 page Sustainability Report 2012 is an extensive outline of the activities they are carrying out in order to be ‘Responsible’ for their impact on society and the environment. It is packed with clear facts on key resource measurements.

The award winning Responsible Business Program is about proactively taking responsibility for the environment and local communities. This has been in effect since the launch of their first environmental policy in 1989. “Rezidor’s Responsibility Business Programme is built on the principles of sustainable development and the triple bottom-line, where all hotels strive to take economic, social, ethical and environmental issues into consideration when making decisions in their everyday work” (The Rezidor Hotel Group 2012).

Their claim of being Responsible is backed up by actions that clearly indicate that this is not just ‘fluffy language’, irrelevant or suggestive ‘gobbledygook’ to ‘greenwash’ the exterior of the company in the eyes of the public. Credible proof of eco labels such as the ISO 14001, Green Key and the Nordic Swan Eco-Label indicate true ‘best in class’ approach.

Why is sustainability important to this company?

The President & CEO, Kurt Ritter, claims that sustainability is important because ‘we have a shared responsibility for the planet and the resources it contains’. The programme is also important because it aligns with company objectives in a mission to be an industry leader and maintain long term profits. There is no doubt that being an innovative industry leader in popular areas such as sustainability is attractive to stakeholders who are focused on corporate social responsibility (CSR) and environmental issues. Many customers these days, B2B and B2C, won’t buy from or do business with companies that have a bad CSR/environmental reputation.

Facts from The UN World Tourism Organisation and the World Travel and Tourism Council, in the report, state how three identified critical global impacts, climate change; resource use and employment, affect the industry’s business and value chain. The tourism sector faces huge risks if weather patterns, legislative pressures and taxation all increase. Hence, if long term profits are to be maintained in the industry action must be taken now, making sustainability in the forefront of importance to Rezidor.

What is the company doing to address sustainability?

The Hotel Group address sustainability in every aspect of their business. The CEO highlights how it is each employees responsibility to be environmentally conscious; for this reason training is provided (and compulsory) for all staff, Heads of Departments and General Managers. The Responsible Business Department report directly to the CEO and the Executive Committee are regularly updated on Plans, Progress and Strategies.

Their involvement in initiatives such as the Global Responsible Business Month (2011), World Cleanup (2012), the UN Global Compact and caring for Climate initiative, ‘Think Planet’ and many more; show that they are actively taking the time to be engaged in external development as well as internal.

Pioneering programmes to conserve resources are integrated into hundreds of their hotels at the renovation and construction phase, and reviewed regularly for possible improvements. Integrating the newest technologies in water saving, thermal insulation, waste and recycling management, carbon emission control and energy reduction is applied to the majority of their hotels.

How well have the company succeeded in sustainability?

The successes of the Rezidor’s responsible actions are clear to see in their key performance metrics and comparison statistics, stated in the report. The incremental improvement from year to year of their sustainability reports are complimented by an increase in recognition by established, recognised, environmental organisations such as the Ethisphere Institute, United States, who awarded Rezidor one of the World’s Most Ethical Companies 2010, 2011, 2012.

At present Rezidor are succeeding in sustainability. They have received eco-labels for 202 hotels (61%) and have made it their mission to 100% certification by 2015.

These eco-labels include:

Austrian Eco-label (3) BREEAM (1) Gold Leaf (1) Green Globe (2) Green Hospitality Award, Ireland (12) Green Key (75) The Green Tourism Business Scheme, UK (24) Green Leaf, South Africa (1) Hungarian Green Hotel Award (2) ISO 14001 (19) Maltese Eco-Label (1) Nordic Swan Eco-Label (38) Tunisian Eco-Label (1)

The Green Key is a non-profit, non-Governmental programme hosting the largest global eco-labels for accommodation; from which Rezidor have 75 accredited locations. To be awarded a Green Key label hotels must meet a list of criteria based on the Green Key 5 pillars of sustainability and responsibility (Green Key 2012). Similarly the Nordic Swan Eco-Label has a stringent set of criteria, in compliance with the ISO 14024 eco-labelling system, that must be met to receive its’ accreditation (Nordic Ecolabelling 2012). This proves that the Rezidor make significant commitments in addressing sustainability and are growing in their success of achieving their responsible mission.

When compared with other top global hotel groups, the Hilton and the InterContinental Hotel Group, Rezidor stand somewhat in the middle. The Hilton has 100% ISO 14001 certification on their hotels, and their percentage of resource reduction outweigh the Rezidor by a small, but no doubt significant, number (Hilton Worldwide 2012). The InterContinental Hotel Group, on the other hand, have not quite yet met their mission of 50% green engagement of hotels and only one third of staff have received green training. However, with 4,400 hotels to work on it is of no surprise that it will take this hotel group longer to catch up with the industry leaders than the Rezidor (IHG 2012).

I think it is fair to conclude that the Rezidor Hotel Group do a remarkable job of striving for sustainability. With some of their hotels using 30% less energy per square metre that the average household I would feel confident that by staying in one of their award winning hotels I am actually decreasing my own carbon footprint rather than increasing it, which is often not the case when we engage in leisurely activities.

References

The Rezidor Hotel Group (2012) Sustainability Report [online] Available @ http://www.rezidor.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=205430&p=respsustainabilityreports viewed (12/10/12)

The Hilton Worldwide (2012) corporate social responsibility/ sustainability [online] Available @ http://www.hiltonworldwide.com/corporate-responsibility/sustainably/ (viewed 16/10/12)

The Hilton Worldwide (2012) ISO details [online] Available @ http://news.hiltonworldwide.com/index.cfm/newsroom/detail/14408 (viewed 16/10/12)

The InterContinental Hotel Group (2012) Corporate Responsibility Report [online] Available @ http://www.ihgplc.com/index.asp?pageid=740 (viewed 16/10/12)

Green Key (2012) Green Key eco- label home page [online] available @ http://www.green-key.org/ (viewed 18/10/12)

Nordic Ecolabelling (2012) The Nordic Swan Eco- Label home page [online] Available @ http://www.nordic-ecolabel.org (viewed 18/10/12)