Thinking globally, acting locally

Radisson SAS Hotel Dubai Deira Creek responsible business coordinator Middle East and Africa Fathuma Hamziya explains her role and the company's commitment to sustainable hotel operations.

What does your role of responsible business coordinator entail?

All of our hotels across the group and all the brands have implemented this programme, so all [properties] have a coordinator.

My duty is to assist these coordinators for each and every hotel to make sure that the programme is kept alive, and whenever they need assistance from the regional office - for instance to do a joint activity - I support them in that way.

Also we have reporting because we are a public company and our shareholders are very much into this as well, and we are connected to the UNESCO programme on environment, so there are certain annual and quarterly reports that we have to submit to the board.

As the regional coordinator I have to make sure that all hotels are keeping to the deadline.

What are the main goals of the responsible business programme?

We have three areas of the responsible business programme. The first is the wellbeing of employees - the health and safety of them - because employees and guests always go hand in hand and we cannot look after one without the other.

The second area is respecting the social and ethical issues of the company and the community. The third area is of course the most important - the environment. We do our business in an environmentally friendly manner.

When was the programme set up?

The Rezidor Group has always had an environmental programme in place since 1990, but it was in 2001 that we decided to combine all of these under one umbrella and call it the Responsible Business Programme.

I'm happy to say that within two years the group was able to institute a responsible business programme in each and every hotel across the world. It has grown since then and we continue to receive many awards.

What research and processes did you go through to set up the programme?

As I said, we've been doing this since 1990, and when the hotel group started to grow we realised that the demand from guests and employees and the community was such that we had to do something to be sustainable.

We realised that we cannot avoid this - we wanted to be seen as a group that takes responsibility for the community and environment, and gives something back after taking it.

By having such a programme, we not only got the respect of the community but also the employees and guests. Guests are asking now if you have a carbon-offset programme or if you have vegetarian or organic food - the guest demands are there.

What was the step-by-step process that you implemented?

Initially we thought more on the environment side like recycling and community development - these areas have always been our priorities. Then we decided in order to make the programme successful it is a must that each and every employee in the company feels [the values].

The best way to do it is to make it mandatory for all workers to have the programme.

In 2003 we started rolling it out across the group, and then we decided it should not be only Radisson, but it should be every brand, so in 2004 we rolled it out across [the other Rezidor] brands.

Originally health and safety and everything was under responsible business, but we quickly realised that safety cannot be under this department because it's a very large area.

So we slowly removed it from responsible business and made it a new department. Things like that have been evolving, and because we are a global company we have to have a programme that addresses the entire region.

How has the programme impacted the day-to-day operations of the hotel?

We give a lot of importance to the staff wellbeing. The more we try to include them, the more they want to be with us, so we became a company that staff want to be with.

If the staff are happy the guests are going to be happy. The guests are more environmentally aware and look into it more - we have good loyalty from guests and that really helps, as any hotel will tell you.

And of course we do a lot of environmentally friendly activities. When we talk about the environment we talk about our resources - water, energy, and how we dispose and manage waste.

There are obviously costs involved in setting up green initiatives, but there are also benefits. What have you found the cost/benefit ratio to be?

The benefit is massive. I think that's one reason that we think it is a strength of the company. The more staff are aware that we need to save, at the end of the day that is going to affect our bottom line.

For example, we have a towel re-use programme. Even if one guest uses that programme, the four towels that get kept in his room will not be washed for one day.

That is a saving of energy, the detergent, the water, and you wouldn't think that one towel can make anything happen but in the long run it does have an effect. We have seen general savings of 5%.

When we launched this programme it was just for marketing, but once you start taking the reports, that 5% does affect the bottom line. And we have guests who will stay with us because we are a green company.

What have you found to be the biggest challenges of the programme?

The biggest challenge is to change the mindset of each person. If you're not used to knowing that these are precious resources that you are wasting, it is very difficult to change that mindset to say ‘yes, you can afford to use these resources on this side of the world, but there are people who cannot afford them'.

So to make them understand that there is another side to it has been a bit of a challenge.

The first thing that goes through many minds is ‘what's in it for me?' or ‘what's the point of me planting a tree if I'm not going to be here to reap the fruits?'.

The challenge is to show them that there is something in it for you. The first thing is satisfaction; at the end of the day you are feeling that sense of satisfaction.

And secondly there is a benefit that you are not going to reap today. It is long term - you are going to reap the fruit in years to come, and even if you're not going to be around, think of your children.

The world is changing, and we are becoming more and more global. The things you do will have an effect, and you can start from home.

How are you making progress on changing these mindsets?

We have a fantastic training programme - we call it Living Responsible Business. We made it quite simple, and it is available in 15 languages. We made it in a way that it is more like a workshop and it is interactive.

The more hands-on staff are in this training, the more they understand it. We are changing that mindset to say saving the environment is not a dirty job, it is not tiring and you can do it in a fun way.

For example, the management took one day off, we got into our casual clothes, half of them did the bell desk and half did the valet parking. All the money we collected is going to our world children's charity.

The guests who are used to us were saying ‘aren't you the GM?' so we were talking to them and they took time to ask about the programme.

The people who did it did it in a fun way and so they weren't tired, and the guests found it interesting and amusing, so at the end it was a win-win situation.

How can other hotels do similar things? What advice would you give?

I would say ours is the best because we give such importance to our activities. I hear and see in the papers that every hotel has some charity programme. But do not do it just for the sake of doing it - put a bit of passion into it, take time to make it complete and perfect it.

Get people involved, make people want to give money, and make it fun so that you have an impact. It's not just about the people who are going to benefit from the money; it is also about the people who are giving the money.

They have to feel it. And go for a unique programme. The moment you make it unique you are giving it importance; you are bringing the programme up.

The most important thing I would say is make sure it is worthwhile and that it addresses the most important issues. Think of ways to make it happen. It needs to be practical and it needs to be something that people want to do.

Hotels have a big role in [environmental sustainability]. It is one of the biggest industries and hotels have been one of the largest culprits. It is time we take responsibility and it is not only about the environment.

Yes, environment plays a big role, but we also need to think about social responsibility.

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