Rotana Corporate Sustainability Report 2014

7 At Rotana, we have long believed in continuously improving on our services and offerings, making it worthwhile for guests, colleagues, partners and stakeholders. After all, the long-term success of any initiative lies in the health and prosperity of the communities in which we do business. In this, our second annual sustainability report, we have briefly outlined some of the initiatives that the company has undertaken to advance environmental sustainability and strengthen our bond with our communities. It also highlights the meaningful progress that we have achieved with our sustainable priorities. Last year, our theme focussed on ‘ Respect and Protect ’, with an emphasis on people and how we can do our bit to make a positive impact to our planet. But we also understand that sustainability demands both a systematic perspective and a cultural approach. Which is why, for this year, our theme is based on ‘ Educate and Engage ’. It is a theme that encourages us to integrate sustainable practices and principles across our business. To that end, more than 125 initiatives have been implemented across all of our hotels to better educate guests on the various sustainable practices that we have introduced. And key to the success of this campaign have been our colleagues who were active partners in developing these programmes. While our business has continued to grow and expand, I am encouraged by the results that have come in this past year. Our water usage has dropped by 9%, while we have consumed 4.3% less of energy. We also generated 10.4% less of waste in 2014 than we did in 2013. Responsible sourcing also became standard practice whereby 23 products are now environment friendly, while 83 imported products were substituted with those locally produced. We have also raised more than AED 2 million through 273 community engagement activities that were implemented across our properties. Looking ahead, and in keeping with the fundamental values embedded in Rotana Earth, we have lined up two major sustainability programmes for the coming year. The first of these involves building on Rotana’s commitment to ‘Responsible Procurement’, whereby we develop a procurement code that is in line with our vision. The second is to implement a ‘Stakeholder Engagement Plan’ through surveys and targetted interaction, to actively engage with our stakeholders, listen to them and respond to their concerns in a mutually beneficial way. At Rotana, we are continuously evolving to meet the challenges and opportunities around us. At the same time, we are also working hard to ensure that our fundamental values do not change. We know that we don’t have all the answers. On the contrary, we believe that, in today’s world filled with great challenges and even greater opportunities, we must work side by side with our partners, non-governmental and government agencies and others. Sustainability is at the heart of the hospitality industry. As a business, we understand that sustainability efforts are themselves only sustainable when they help our company grow and prosper. Which is why it is important that we continuously inspire, create value and make a lasting difference. Omer Kaddouri President and Chief Executive Officer 02