Rotana Corporate Sustainability Report 2012

63 Safeguarding Health & Safety Rotana is continuously working to improve the Emergency, Health, and Safety performance. In 2011, we deployed the Environment, Health & Safety management system across Abu Dhabi hotels in line with the Abu Dhabi EHS Management System and in conjunction with the Abu Dhabi EHS Center. The system was designed at Abu Dhabi area level, and hotels started implementing, monitoring and reporting quarterly on their performance to the tourism authority. A corporate EHSMS development was initiated in 2012, and is scheduled for implementation in 2013 in the remaining hotels. We are targeting to have our hotels gradually certified for OHSAS 18001 – Occupational Health and Safety Assessment Series. At the Hotel level, we have created an EHS committee headed by the General Manager and comprising key Heads’ of Department and EHS manager or officer for reviewing EHS issues on a monthly basis. All Abu Dhabi area hotels have been assessed for health and safety risks and set necessary control measures. The group EHS managers and officers were trained on occupational health and safety risk assessment to conduct their own hotel risk assessment as well. As part of its EHSMS programmes, Rotana requires its nominated contracted companies to have an Emergency, Health, and Safety Management System (EHSMS), the implementation and observation of which must then be approved and monitored by our hotels. An Emergency management plan was developed by a corporate Emergency planning committee The manuals describe processes to address emergency, natural disasters, health risks and other threats to business continuity, including data security and backup, guest and colleague’s safety and safeguarding of property and assets. The deployment of Health & Safety and Security Management systems and action plans has helped us to improve guest perception of safety practices at our hotels. Safeguarding Guests Security Across hotels we have invested in various security measures like luggage screening, metal detectors, x-rays machines, regular training of security personnel and organising awareness campaigns for guests. At the corporate level, we have constituted a security policies committee that reviewed and harmonised the company security policies, processes, implementation of security procedures and preparedness of hotels for security risks. Socio-political and ecological drivers: Political instability, conflict between nations, threat of terrorist activities, occurrence of infectious diseases, extreme weather conditions, natural calamities, etc. directly affect level of travel and business activity. While we have minimal control over these risks, we diligently observe the national and international conditions for taking any decisions or adapting our operations.