Mediaroom

For us, sustainable development can be defined as the right way of doing things, whether at individual or business level, with consideration for the environment, economy and society. It is a long-term approach that we have integrated in our way of doing business and decision-making processes.
Society cannot exist without an environment in which there is no possibility to get clean water, air, food, etc. Though the economy provides the people in this society with a standard of living, allowing to meet their basic needs, it too depends on how we use the environment’s renewable and non-renewable resources.

“In the past few years, we have witnessed the gradual degradation of nature. Being a responsible organisation, we feel it is our duty to take the necessary steps to have a positive impact on the environment.

Being dependent on natural resources and local communities, Rogers Hospitality has embarked on a sustainable development journey. This has been demonstrated by a change in operating practices, whereby environmental and social factors are considered at all points.

Sustainability has been forming part of Rogers Hospitality’s DNA since its creation, it is engraved in our approach across all our resorts and business units.”

Sustainable Development is one of the pillars of our business development strategy. We have a Sustainable Development department in place, who:

1. overlooks the implementation of sustainability initiatives,
2. development of innovative practices,
3. monitoring of performance levels and
4. devising nature or science-based solutions to identified sustainability areas of concern.

Yes, Sustainable Development is at the heart of all our businesses and their associated operations. It ranges from the hospitality sector, through the leisure industry to the fast service restaurants of the group.

Our biggest challenges have been to introduce sustainability concept in the traditional way of doing business and part of our operations. These include:

1. Adoption of a new concept of circular economy in the procurement aspect and hotel operations: waste management, elimination of single use plastics, local procurement initiatives
2. Change management principle of people: implementation of operating procedures which involve sustainability aspects in addition to quality and health and safety matters
3. Alignment of all stakeholders on sustainability engagement and commitments

We have put our efforts in turning our challenges into opportunities through development of a sustainable procurement approach, sustainability training strategy and stakeholder engagement practices.

We have set our focus, based on the community initiative – Pact Signe Natir, to which we are adherent and aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Our key sustainability impact zones are:

1. Energy Transition – In simple terms, energy transition means that we are moving from non-renewable energy sources to renewable energy options, which are associated with zero/ low greenhouse gas emissions (carbon emissions). By adopting the energy transition concept, we are also finding ways to mitigate climate change impacts and adapt to climatic changes.
2. Circular Economy – Circular economy starts from production till consumption and eliminates the end-of-life concept. It is based on a no waste and pollution design, where products and materials are reused in a regeneration system. In other words, no waste is produced, and all materials are re-injected into the production stream.
3. Biodiversity – Biodiversity refers to the variety of living organisms (animals & plants) present in ecosystems on Earth. An ecosystem is a community (area) within which a group of living organisms interact with each other in a specific environment (on land or in water).
4. Inclusive Development – Inclusive development ensures that development progress is sufficiently widespread for the benefit of most of a population. One important aspect of inclusive development is social inclusion, where individuals and groups, take part in society. Inclusive development covers support in different ways to vulnerable communities and NGOs for a better life.
5. Vibrant Communities – Vibrant communities relate to communities which have the potential to ensure a good quality of life of its citizens, through preservation of culture and services offered to its citizens. We can contribute towards vibrant communities by integrating society’s interests in infrastructural development and promoting its culture and arts.

Our sustainable development measures are recognized by international standards such as Green Key for our hotels. The Green Key award is a leading standard of excellence in the field of environmental responsibility and sustainable operation within the tourism industry. Establishments awarded with the Green Key certification meet a set of high standard environmental and social requirements, covering 13 criteria.

We are also following the environmental and social criteria of GEO for our golf courses. Golf Environmental Organization (GEO) Certification is a sustainability program to support the golfing industry, to make a positive ecological and environmental impact on both players and nature. Its vision is to place social and environmental issues at the roots of the game; to prove that golf is good for nature and communities.

Furthermore, we are in process of having a Food Waste Prevention Program, certified by THE PLEDGE. The PLEDGE™ on Food Waste is a practical and scalable answer to a widely underestimated issue with dire consequences: Food Waste. In line with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals 2, 12, and 13 and designed on first-hand knowledge from F&B sustainability experts and academics, it helps restaurants to drastically reduce Food Waste, cut on cost, boost their image, and foster collaboration with complimentary food waste solution providers.

In each of our business units, we have a dedicated team member who ensures that the implementation of sustainability strategy by following up on actions in place. They are supported by the management in their roles and responsibilities as sustainability ambassadors.

Monthly sustainability committees are in place to ensure a consistent effort in meeting the objectives and targets of the group as well as follow-up on actions and projects. Monthly sustainability performance reports are also prepared and analyzed by a Sustainability Compliance Executive prior to be shared with each team.

We have devised a set of procedures and policies to further assist the operational teams in identifying, implementing and improving sustainable development actions. Regular trainings are also provided by internal and external personnel on sustainability matters relevant to each business unit.

There is a sustainability reporting mechanism made available to all business units; whereby key performance indicators (KPIs) relevant to each operation is defined and recorded by responsible persons. The KPIs are categorized into the 5 sustainability pillars to track, monitor and analyze our sustainability performances.

At the end of each month, a sustainability dashboard highlighting consumption trends, recycling ratios and achievements against set targets and objectives, are prepared and communicated to each team. Subsequently, corrective actions are taken, and improvement areas are identified to ensure a high level of sustainable performance of our businesses.

We believe that it is the effort of each one, that will help restore our planet’s environment for a better tomorrow for future generations. Simple actions that can be taken by each one includes:

1. Adopting a lifestyle with minimum waste generation, for example doing plastic free shopping
2. Participating in recycling initiatives
3. Volunteering at an NGO to assist vulnerable and needy communities
4. Engaging in environmental actions such as clean-ups and biodiversity protection
5. Supporting local economy by purchasing from small businesses
6. Using renewable energy sources (natural lighting and ventilation) as much as possible
7. Spreading the word on how sustainability is important for our survivalperformance of our businesses.