Holiday Inn 2008 Annual Report Download - page 25

BUSINESS REVIEW
Business review 23
Corporate responsibility
Corporate Responsibility (CR) is a key issue for IHG and deserves
the same level of attention and business acumen as other areas of
the business. Acting in a responsible manner and doing good goes
beyond our legal obligations. It helps us to create value for the
business and build competitive advantage. It is key to attracting
people to work for us and it helps us to define our business
strategy.
Our approach
Following consideration by the Board in 2008, IHG has established
a new CR Committee to review and advise on matters relating to:
• the environment;
• community and social investment; and
• policies relating to Corporate Responsibility.
We endeavour to make responsible choices, considering the social,
economic, ethical and environmental impact of our operations
whilst ensuring delivery of our core purpose, Great Hotels
Guests Love.
This approach shapes IHG’s response to challenges such as global
climate change. Integrating corporate responsibility objectives into
our business has also provided opportunities to be more innovative
in how we manage our challenges.
IHG’s CR strategy focuses on two key areas:
• the environment, including reducing our carbon footprint.
We are aiming to make a night’s stay with IHG more
carbon efficient; and
• our communities, including concentrating on the creation
of local economic opportunity and charitable work.
Review of 2008
Over the past year we have measured our environmental impacts,
surveyed general managers about what they do to help their
communities, innovated new and better ways to design, construct
and operate our hotels
To help us align our CR agenda with Great Hotels Guests Love, we
carried out consumer research to understand what really makes
a difference to our guests. Additionally, our general managers
were surveyed to establish the activities undertaken to support
their local communities.
We asked our hotel owners about the issues of ‘responsible’
tourism and respecting local communities. We also worked with
them and partner organisations such as Harvard University,
Cornell University and National Geographic to develop a rounded
view of how we should approach CR in a meaningful way. We are
implementing policies to cover the environment, communities
and human rights. To reinforce these policies, we are helped by
a steering group of senior executives and we have communicated
our CR work generally through our online CR Report.
An important element of our CR strategy was the launch of our
innovative online programme entitled Green Engage. This is an
industry-leading educational and measurement system which
enables owners, operators and managers to make environmentally
friendly and sustainable improvements to the design, construction
and operation of their hotels. There were several important
reasons behind the development of Green Engage. One is the
principle that IHG should innovate in order to reduce its carbon
footprint rather than just offset it. Over time, having reduced as
much of our carbon impact as practicable through innovation,
we shall seek the most effective means to offset any remaining
carbon. This system is also designed to guide our hotels on what
a ‘green’ hotel is and what they can do to save energy costs.
The changes recommended through Green Engage are designed
to please customers, who we know care about our approach to
corporate responsibility issues, as well as hotel owners who can
reduce energy costs through more efficient operating methods.
Green Engage will continue to be supported by our dedicated
Green Aware training, which offers managers and staff practical
advice on ‘green’ changes that they can make immediately.
We will continue to test our learning about ‘greener’ hotels through
our award-winning online Innovation Hotel which allows visitors
online to provide us with their feedback and challenge our learning
in this area.
IHG recognises that to be successful we must invest in people,
treat them fairly and create local economic opportunity for our
employees and business partners as well as the communities in
which we operate around the world. This is all the more important
in difficult economic conditions. The IHG Academies programme,
started in China, demonstrates successful investment in our
communities. The programme works by IHG forming partnerships
with a number of educational bodies to equip students with
hotel-specific skills.
IHG’s CR progress over the last 12 months was recognised by the
Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators in October
2008, when the Group won the award for Most Innovative Approach
to Corporate Social Responsibility. The award commended IHG’s
overall stakeholder engagement programme, including its first
comprehensive online CR Report and the Innovation Hotel website
tool, as well as its progress in corporate reporting.
Code of Ethics
Among the Group’s core values is the concept that all employees
should have the courage and conviction to do what is right. The
Group’s global Code of Ethics and Business Conduct consolidates
and clarifies expected standards of behaviour and communicates
the ethical values of the Group. It states clearly that IHG’s reputation
is built upon the trust and confidence of our stakeholders and
is fundamental to our operations worldwide. A Confidential
Disclosure Channel also provides employees with a means to
report any ethical concerns they may have. The Code is applicable
to all employees and is available on the Company’s website at
www.ihg.com/investors under corporate governance.