ROTANA’S CSR initiatives were worth a good half a million dollars last year with the UAE hospitality brand also saving a more than three-quarters of a million dollars through astute green recycling and waste management.
The statistics were revealed in Rotana’s sustainability report for the year 2014. Rotana measures the performance of its corporate social responsibility (CSR) and sustainability initiatives through its global platform Rotana Earth, and the report provides a definitive record of the progress made by Rotana in achieving envisioned goals. Over 2014, Rotana undertook a total of 273 CSR activities across its 50 properties in the region, raising the equivalent of Dh2 million ($540,000) through cash and in-kind contributions as well as employee volunteering and fundraising. The initiatives covered a diverse range of areas including society, economy, health, education, environment and more.Rotana also achieved a combined saving of Dh3 million ($820,000) last year from waste management and recycling programmes executed across group properties – over 1,100 tonnes of recyclable waste was diverted from landfill and 74,064 litres of used oil were recycled.President and chief executive of Rotana, Omer Kaddouri says: “Rotana is focused on developing innovative solutions to reduce its environmental impact and operating costs. We believe protecting the environment is everybody’s responsibility, and our commitment to sustainability extends beyond our own green initiatives to engaging and educating various stakeholders – including guests at our properties –on sustainability topics in order to bring about awareness and inspire action.”He adds, “In linking sustainability to strategy, ‘Rotana Earth’ provides a practical guide to achieving our business goals without sacrificing the environment and the ability of future generations to meet their own needs, and it gives us immense satisfaction that we were able to exceed targets and expectations in the very first year of the programme’s implementation. ‘Rotana Earth’ will continue to set the guiding principles for the group as we press ahead with our efforts to reduce our carbon footprint and integrate green practices into our operations across the value chain to build a more sustainable future for everyone.”Rotana has now lined up two major sustainability initiatives for the coming two years. The first of these involves building on a commitment to responsible procurement by developing a responsible procurement code. This would require Rotana properties to continue meeting their needs for goods, services, and utilities in a way that optimises product life-cycle value by cutting long-term procurement costs, averting sustainability risks, and reducing operating costs.Rotana says it will also implement a stakeholder engagement plan, through surveys and targeted interactions – to actively engage with its stakeholders by listening to them and responding to their concerns in a mutually beneficial way, thus building better relationships with the societies in which the group operates, ultimately resulting in “improved business planning and performance and reduced impact on the earth’s resources”. Link to Saving the Earth in 2014: