Holiday Inn 2012 Annual Report Download - page 37

Corporate Responsibility 35
In 2012 we continued to invest in Green Engage, adding new features,
such as the carbon calculator, energy and water benchmarks and
multi-unit reporting. As at 31 December 2012, 2,219 of our hotels
were enrolled in Green Engage. Our user base has since grown to
over 2,260 hotels. Our aim is to have our entire estate tracking,
managing and reporting its environmental impact over time.
Green Engage is driving revenue for IHG as well. Our research
shows that many frequent travellers prefer hotels which are
meaningfully engaged in managing their environmental impact.
We have made it easier for this growing band of customers to book
a Green Engage hotel by introducing an online booking capability
for guests who want to stay at Green Engage hotels.
We think it is important for us to lead by example so we extended
our environmental sustainability principles to our corporate office
in Denham, UK, which incorporates a range of sustainable design
features and uses Green Engage on an ongoing basis.
In addition to internal programme improvements, we have
demonstrated leadership through our role in the International
Tourism Partnership (ITP)/World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC)
Working Group seeking to agree a common carbon metric for the
industry. The common methodology was agreed in 2012, a big
step forward for our industry. We were able to quickly build it into
Green Engage with our hotels able to start applying it immediately.
Sustainable communities
Our scale gives us a real opportunity to improve and transform
the lives of local people in the communities where we operate.
Our community strategy, which sets out how we seek to create
local economic opportunity, is critical to achieving economic success
and delivering Great Hotels Guests Love. In 2012 we continued to
increase our focus on the community, successfully expanding
both the IHG Academy programme and the IHG Shelter in a Storm
Programme. To support the expansion of these programmes we
work in collaboration with expert partners.
IHG Academy
The IHG Academy is a collaboration between individual IHG hotels
or corporate offices and local education providers and/or community
organisations providing local people with the opportunity to develop
skills and improve their employment prospects in one of the world’s
largest hotel companies.
Within a consistent framework, each IHG Academy is tailored to meet
the needs of local communities as well as hotels around the world.
All IHG Academy programmes have three things in common:
• they operate together with local community organisations and/or
education providers;
• they include a work experience placement, giving participants
skills and real experience of working in a hotel; and
• they include performance feedback and a recruitment discussion,
giving participants an opportunity to gain real experience of the
job interview process, thereby improving their chances of finding
a job in the hotel sector and in many cases, secure a job in one of
IHG’s hotels.
Participants of an IHG Academy come from all walks of life and
range from university graduates through to disadvantaged young
people, reflecting the range of careers, as well as opportunity for
progression, available at IHG. In February 2012, we launched an
IHG Academy in Newham East London, UK. This award-winning
collaboration provides a hospitality certification and work experience
in IHG hotels and, as part of our contribution to the London 2012
Olympics and Paralympics Games legacy, it supports the
regeneration of East London.
We currently have over 150 IHG Academy programmes in 37
countries around the world and our vision is to have as many IHG
hotels as possible participating in an IHG Academy. Our ability to
build skills and raise aspirations across hundreds of communities
continues to drive our commitment to this programme.
For more information on the IHG Academy visit
www.ihgacademy.com
Celebrating the 150th IHG Academy opening, Beijing, China
IHG Shelter in a Storm Programme
Through the IHG Shelter in a Storm Programme, our hotels receive
guidance on when and how best to respond when natural or man-made
disasters occur. Our global partnership with CARE allows us to draw
on expertise in humanitarian assistance and helps us find appropriate
partners in the area when disaster strikes, directing help to where it is
needed. When a disaster occurs, funds from the IHG Shelter Fund can
be allocated to enable our hotels to respond quickly and effectively to
support our guests, employees and the local community with financial
support, vital supplies and accommodation.
The IHG Shelter Fund, a pool of funds from the fundraising efforts of
IHG hotels and corporate offices, is a key element of the IHG Shelter
in a Storm Programme, enabling us to respond quickly when disaster
strikes, instead of waiting to raise funds after the event.
In 2012, $545,000 was raised for the IHG Shelter in a Storm
Programme and the fund was put into action to support 10 disasters
across six countries, including responding to severe flooding and a
cyclone in Fiji, Superstorm Sandy on the US East Coast, flooding in
Manila and the UK, wildfires in Colorado and Hurricane Isaac on the
US Gulf Coast. On each occasion we assessed the damage to IHG
hotels and the impact on their employees and communities, and
allocated funds from the IHG Shelter Fund to help with essential
supplies and accommodation.
For more information on the IHG Shelter in a Storm Programme
or to donate visit www.ihgshelterinastorm.com
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