Rotana Corporate Sustainability Report 2017

23 Good Practice, refusing gifts and donations : In our positions, we fairly often come across people whether guests, owners or suppliers wanting to thank us by offering gifts for a job well done and successful achievements. Since its inception, our company has always maintained a very high level of integrity and ethics especially in this regard and in order for Rotana to maintain this reputation, things continue to shine brightly for as a strong ethical company. We have had several occurrences recently that have demonstrated our commitment to ethical behavior. The following highlights some very positive examples of this commitment: the Corporate Vice President – Projects and the General Manager of The Boulevard Arjaan by Rotana, were offered very expensive gifts which they brought to head office’s attention and these gifts were turned down politely and professionally by our colleagues explaining that the services they have performed were their duty. Across our group’s workforce of over 11,163 colleagues, all complaints or reports of discrimination, corruption, anti- competitive behaviour, anti-trust or monopoly practices shall be logged and duly investigated and dealt with in accordance with the company’s policy. There were no reported breaches and/ or legal cases with regards to anti-corruption practices or anti- competitive behaviour. Annual Confidential Code of Business Conduct and Ethics disclosure acknowledgements are issued on a yearly basis and signed by Corporate Officers, General Managers, Resident Managers and Executive Assistant Managers, Head of Finance, Head of Materials and Director of Sales and Marketing to disclose compliance with code content and any unethical incidents. SPEAKING UP We want our colleagues, contractors and suppliers to feel comfortable to speak up whenever they have issues related to our code, or see something that they feel is potentially unsafe, unethical or harmful. Colleagues are encouraged to discuss their questions or concerns with their managers or with their hotel Ethics Committee. To complement that, we have implemented an online system CHAT (Candid Honest Actual Talk) where Rotana colleagues can engage in a live chat with the Chief Executive Officer and Chief Operating Officer. In addition to communicating Rotana’s strategic direction and updates, Rotana CHAT offers the opportunity to establish a productive and transparent dialogue with the company’s executives: updating colleagues on priority business issues and encouraging them to express their concerns and expectations. With the company’s ambitious growth, expanding geographical presence and the increased communication expectations of the digital age, the CHAT is indeed an essential tool to ensure that our brand’s culture and stories are aligned across the company with emphasised dialogue and engagement. The CHATs that were held in previous years, have resulted in more than 50 various questions or enquiries. The most common concerns related to the people section included: colleagues career development, equal opportunity, benefits, and adoption of technology in our operations. RISK MANAGEMENT AND COMPLIANCE We proactively identify, mitigate and manage principal business risks through an effective risk management framework which includes key policies. We look at strategic, operational and compliance risks across the group. For example, external market conditions can impact our financial performance. We actively manage this risk through Rotana’s diversified portfolio, our financial framework, and regular reviews of market conditions, cost efficiency, and our planning and investment processes. The diverse locations of our operations around the world exposes us to an ever changing political climate which has a direct impact on our operating environment. We seek to manage this risk through maintaining positive relationships with governments and stakeholders. In addition, we closely monitor events and implement mitigation plans where appropriate. Changes in laws and public policies relating to climate change, such as oil pricing, could impact our costs and revenue generation. We are working to help make sure our business is sustainable – commercially, environmentally and in a lower carbon future. Identifying and managing risks: For 2016 and 2017, the main risks identified included financial resilience, geopolitical risk, security, terrorism, ethical misconduct, legal and regulatory non-compliance, cybercrime attacks (guests and hotels network) and major safety, health, privacy and confidentiality incidents associated with our guests/colleagues. A Rotana Risk Register is currently under development. It assesses the most principal strategic and operational risks affecting the company and its business continuity. We are working on increasing the incorporation of sustainability risks in the company’s Risk Register. As part of the group environmental health and safety management system, all hotels have to conduct an Environmental Impact Assessment of their operation and activities and address necessary control measures and these are considered before deciding whether to proceed with an activity, amend it or stop it. Food poisoning Regulations & compliance Length of audit cycles Lack of security awareness (physical) Credit card fraud Complacency & inefficient business continuity & security planning to protect the investment Internal theft Public violence Identity theft Black outs Language barrier Terrorism & shootings Armed robbery General theft & other crime Loss of competitive advantages after a security incident Cyber crime attacks (guest network) Cyber crime attacks (hotel network) Lack of cyber crime awareness Technology Stakeholder confidence Global impacts Political & economical impacts