Inspire. Innovate. Rotana Corporate Sustainability Report 2017 rotana.com Rotana Corporate Sustainability Report 2017 2 Table of Contents ABOUT THIS REPORT 4 MESSAGE FROM OUR ACTING CEO 6 OUR COMPANY 8 Profile Growth and Expansion Vision and Values Memberships and Awards RISK, GOVERNANCE and COMPLIANCE MANAGEMENT 16 Board Operation Business Integrity Risk, Governance and Compliance SUSTAINBILITY STRATEGY 26 Vision and Goal Approach Stakeholders Engagement Materiality Assessment GUESTS EXPERIENCE 34 Satisfaction Innovation and Technology Education and Inspiration Health, Safety and Security COLLEAGUES 44 Engagement Diversity and Equal Opportunities Development and Growth Wellbeing, Health and Safety ENVIRONMENT 58 Energy Water Waste COMMUNITIES 66 Community Outreach Nationalisation SUPPLY CHAIN 78 Responsible Supply Chain Local Supply APPENDIX A: GRI STANDARD CONTENT INDEX 84 3 Rotana Corporate Sustainability Report 2017 About This Report 4 otana Hotel Management Corporation PJSC is pleased to present its third Sustainability Report which features quantitative data for the 2016 and 2017 calendar years as well as additional data from previous years where this data provides useful comparisons, related information on material issues Ror notable information. Our sustainability reports are issued every 2 years. Reporting scope The reporting scope is global, unless otherwise noted for situations or circumstances where reporting data are collected and available only for a certain geography, business or issue. The report covers all Rotana hotels, four brands in the Middle East, Africa and Turkey excluding the Residences by Rotana brand. This includes 56 hotels which were in operation on 31st December 2017 and their material economic, environmental and social impacts. For new hotels that were opened in 2017, or hotels that discontinued operations during the year (4 hotels in Dubai, United Arab Emirates) data is only reported for the months they were in operation. Reporting standards While our Corporate Sustainability Report has not been independently reviewed by auditors or any other third party, we declare that this report has been prepared in accordance with the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Standards: Core option. The GRI Standard disclosures table can be found at the end of the report, in Appendix A. Defining report content Our reporting goal is to provide a detailed and balanced account of our sustainability performance, with a focus on the most significant issues (“material topics”) based on input from external and internal stakeholders. These topics have been determined through a materiality assessment (the results of which are discussed on pages 31 and 32) and shape the content of this report. In 2016, we conducted a comprehensive update of the company’s list of material issues and have aligned it with the UN sustainable development goals, SDGs, to ensure that future reporting continues to best capture the nature and impact of our businesses, as well as fully support global issues goals. The process was guided by the group’s Corporate Sustainability Committee. Performance data is accompanied by a brief description of our policies and management systems, as well as our activities and their impact on today’s business. This report serves multiple communication functions. It enhances our internal efforts towards transparency and disclosure and supports communication with many of our external stakeholders seeking to understand the way in which Rotana addresses environmental, social, economic and governance matters. The report also serves as our internal tool for communicating our annual progress. While the report development was overseen by the company’s Corporate Sustainability Committee and with the Abu Dhabi Sustainability Group Advisory, this third report was not subject to an external assurance audit. 5 Rotana Corporate Sustainability Report 2017 Message From Acting CEO t Rotana, we are going through a phase of exciting growth and development. Today, we are one of the largest hospitality groups in the region with a portfolio of 66 hotels across the Middle East, Africa and Turkey. AWhile our ongoing expansion is a strong motivation for us at all levels, we do understand there is a long road ahead of us, with many challenges along the way that we need to overcome in our journey towards fully reaching our goals, and setting new ones. Our strategy for achieving the sustainability commitment and goals is detailed in the “Sustainability Strategy“ of this report. The hospitality business like every other business must continuously think one step ahead of environmental, geopolitical, social and technological disruptions to achieve sustainable growth. These include the energy price shock, rise in electricity and water tariffs, unpredictable and extreme weather events. Among geopolitical trends, we have weathered global political change, wars and terrorism. Even technology keeps throwing challenges our way through data fraud and cyber-attacks. Disruption is a key enabler of growth that drives us to rise above every challenge. At Rotana, we leverage the power of disruption to constantly renew our commitment to our stakeholders as well as the communities in which we operate: from inculcating a more environmentally-friendly approach that involves our guests, colleagues, and to an extent, even our suppliers, to consistently standing by our high standards of professionalism and excellence in both new and existing markets. Challenges come and go, but at Rotana, we have remained firmly dedicated to achieving our business goals without losing sight of our key responsibilities, to ensure the health and prosperity of the communities in which we do business. Another key reason why sustainability has taken centre stage in Rotana’s day to day operations is the impact of macroeconomics and political trends, especially in light of a challenging global environment, which in the recent times, has witnessed slow and sluggish growth. Geo- political risks, previously confined to few countries is now more widespread resulting in hotel chains exploring newer markets and thereby intensifying competition. Given the current rhythm of change, sustainability has never been more vital to us. This is why, for this year, our report theme is “Inspire and Innovate“. It’s a theme that encourages us to innovate and that’s why we have launched a new award “Business Innovation award“. Inspiring all our stakeholders remains a key factor to achieving sustainable business. As we reiterate in this report, sound sustainability goals and their execution will remain our top priorities. Guy Hutchinson Acting Chief Executive Officer 6 Message From Head of Sustainability he United Nations has proclaimed 2017 the ‘International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development’. Under the aegis of the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) the declared aim is to strengthen awareness of tourism activities that contribute to sustainable Tdevelopment. Sustainability is one such priority that we uniformly embrace at Rotana across all of our teams and offices. And it is with great pride, I share with you our 3rd Corporate Sustainability Report, which will take you through the various initiatives Rotana has undertaken to advance environmental sustainability, in accordance with the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Our aim is to facilitate a balanced development of economies, societies and environments through more meaningful business engagement and value creation, with a sharp focus on our communities’ health and wellbeing. The report provides key insights into Rotana’s key achievements, targets and even some shortfalls. With workplace diversity and equal opportunities being among our most integral values, Rotana proudly employs 11,163 colleagues from 106 nationalities of which 17.8% are females. Our contribution to the community in the last year increased by 4% though employee-volunteering activities, fund raising and cash contributions. Among other achievements, 80% of hotels in the portfolio are HACCP-certified with a total of 44 hotels accessed for health and safety risks. Further, feedback from our guests has been positive too, achieving a 66.4% on our guest satisfaction survey. As part of our responsibility towards the environment, we are proud to have reduced our energy and water consumption by 7.74% and 21.25% per guest respectively over the reporting period, while in 2016 and 2017, we converted 190, 000 litres of our kitchen used frying oil to biodiesel. Similarly, in the areas of ‘Governance and Compliance’, Rotana achieved 100% success in the training of all our colleagues to ensure they adhere to our codes of ethics, integrity and anti-corruption. We remain firmly committed to making sure our fundamental values never change. We understand that only a strong sense of commitment, passion and hard work will allow us to turn challenges into opportunities as part of our efforts to achieve our sustainability goals well into the future. In fact, there are certain targets we have already set for ourselves to achieve by 2020. They range from our vision to operate 100 hotels, right down to meeting environmental goals such as reducing energy consumption by 10% (kwh/guest) and water consumption by 25% (litre/guest) from 2012 baselines. We will continue to see the future through the lens of sustainability, as we reiterate our role as a change-maker enabling a real difference in the lives of our partners, colleagues and guests. Christiane A. Zeidan Corporate Director of Environment,