Hotels play an important role in the tourism and travel industry, which contributes to the economic development of local communities around the world. We realise that we cannot thrive without the help of the community and the surrounding environment. Every year, we host more than 11 million guests in our 236 hotels in 42 countries across Europe, the Middle East and Africa. We take our role seriously; facilitating the preservation of local traditions as well as supporting the protection of cultural heritage sites and the natural environment.

Our Responsible Business programme was introduced in 2001 in response to increasing demands from guests, corporate clients, employees and owners. An environmental programme has however been in place since the mid 1990s. Within the Responsible Business programme, we are dedicated to three main areas of responsibility. First, taking responsibility for the health and safety of employees and customers. Second, respecting social and ethical issues in the company, as well as in the community. Third, reducing our negative impact on the environment.

Our stakeholders have different expectations of us, and when taking a stakeholder approach, we need to balance these. First of all, we have an economic responsibility to our customers, associates, partners and shareholders. Our logic is that when we operate in a way that is respectful of human rights, socially equitable and environmentally sustainable, we can better meet our economic responsibilities.

Moreover, employee well-being is vital, as we are a service industry and depend on our employees' professional and hospitable interaction with guests. Guest health and safety is also important, taking into account issues such as safety, non-smoking environments, healthy and ethical eating, and accessibility. Ethical behaviour and legal compliance with international standards are essential as we operate in a variety of countries and political systems. Finally, climate change is a compelling issue for us as we are a contributor to global warming due to our energy consumption, and can potentially be seriously impacted by the effects of climate change.

Our ambition is to be a good company to work for, stay with and invest in. This means that we take our commitment to being a responsible business seriously and aim to be among the leaders within our industry.