Rezidor reports responsible business results

The Rezidor Hotel Group has once more reported outstanding Responsible Business results: In 2008, the environmental indicators energy per m², water per guest night and waste per guest night have decreased across the board, and the number of eco-labelled hotels has tripled. “We are proud of these key achievements which reflect our longstanding commitment to a responsible way of doing business.

Our dedicated Responsible Business Programme which is in place since 2001 focuses on the health & safety of our guests and employees, respect for social and ethical issues, and on reducing our negative impact on the environment”, comments Catherine Rubbens, Director Responsible Business.

Environmental indicators decreased
Rezidor achieved a reduction in all three environmental indicators across three brands: Energy per m² (kWh) went down 6% for Radisson SAS hotels, 14% for Park Inn hotels and 4% for Regent hotels. Water per guest night (litres) went down 3% for Radisson SAS, 7% for Park Inn and 2% for Regent. Waste per guest night (kg) went down 2% for Radisson, a staggering 22% for Park Inn and 6% for Regent. “We had particularly strong results in countries like Sweden, Norway, Finland, France, Germany and the United Kingdom where our hotels further improved their energy, water and waste management as part of the eco-labelling process”, says Catherine Rubbens.

Number of eco-labelled hotels tripled
Recognising the challenges of improving Responsible Business to its maximum potential, at the beginning of 2008 Rezidor committed to tripling the number of eco-labelled hotels in five key target regions: the Nordics, Netherlands/France/Tunisia, UK, Ireland and Germany. The group started the year with 17 eco-labelled hotels in these areas, and by December this number had increased to 65 properties. It even reaches around 100 hotels when further properties are taken into account which have already submitted their eco-labelling applications and are on track to achieve their certification in early 2009. “All certifications are independent and internationally recognised third-party labels”, underlines Catherine Rubbens. “This ensures a fully transparent and credible communication about our achievements.”

Group wide training programme rolled out
In 2008, Rezidor furthermore has set up a new training which is mandatory for our over 30,000 employees in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. It has two components: “Living Responsible Business aims to inspire employees to make a difference both at home and at work – and provides information and practical tips on how they can do that. Leading Responsible Business targets Heads of Departments and Hotel Managers to ensure they set the right example on a daily basis”, explains Catherine Rubbens. The launch was completely done in-house – for this purpose Rezidor has developed a model with 24 Master Trainers and 148 Hotel Trainers.

Source: HotelNewsNow