we care
The quick guide to ESG and growing our Legacy of Care
A commitment to the environment, our people and the way we do business around the world is central to everything we do at Dorchester Collection. In 2023, our Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) journey evolved into Environmental, Social, Governance (ESG). This is a global, standardised framework by which we can be judged in all our efforts to uphold our high standards as a sustainable, ethical and caring business. It’s this that we call our Legacy of Care.
One of the biggest misconceptions is that ESG is all about environmental impact. In fact, ESG consists of three equally important branches that all play a part in our improving story. The E does indeed stand for environmental impact, while S is our social impact – within the organisation, on our guests and supply chain and outside in local communities. The G is for governance and how the organisation is managed and run by its leaders.
Let’s take a closer look at the three branches, what progress we’ve made so far and our plans for the future.
Our local and global impact on the environment
“Most people think environmental sustainability is all about recycling, which is really important, but, in reality, it’s a very small component,” says Jane Grammer, Diversity, Belonging and Employee Wellbeing Manager and winner of Most Outstanding EDI Professional of The Year in HTL at the Inclusion In Awards powered by WiHTL & Diversity in Retail.
The ultimate goal is to achieve carbon net zero across Dorchester Collection by 2050, which means eliminating 90 per cent of the carbon emissions we produce from vehicle fleets, electricity and gas use, waste, water and more, while offsetting the remaining ten per cent.
“Most people think environmental sustainability is all about recycling, which is really important, but, in reality, it’s a very small component”
With the installation of the new Con-Serve system (an ESG data collection and reporting platform designed specifically for the hospitality sector), we will be able to measure daily emissions for each hotel. The next step is to set reduction targets for those while also working on a plan for what are called Scope 3 emissions, which make up roughly 60-80 per cent of any organisation’s carbon footprint.
“These are the most difficult emissions to calculate,” says Jane. “They encompass things such as business travel, water, waste, employee commuting, working from home and the goods and services we buy along our supply chain.”
Jane Grammer
Jane Grammer
Our social responsibility in and beyond our properties
Our We Care philosophy is at the heart of our social responsibility. This is the impact we have on people, our protection of human rights, our zero-tolerance approach to harassment and discrimination and our absolute commitment to diversity, inclusion, belonging and wellbeing.
“It doesn’t end there, though,” says Jane. “We also consider our impact on people outside our hotels, such as our volunteering efforts in local communities and charitable donations, and our supply chain, ensuring we are supporting our local economies and work with suppliers who share our commitment to diversity and inclusion.”
“Our We Care culture is rooted in not just our core values and beliefs but our day-to-day interactions with our colleagues, so we are responsible for nurturing inclusion and belonging”
This year, each hotel launched its own disability and neurodiversity action plans. These are designed not just to nurture inclusive and accessible workplaces, but also to increase our representation of disabled and neurodivergent colleagues at all levels of the organisation, with a particular focus on leadership positions.
New training has been launched across recruitment to mitigate bias against disabled and neurodivergent applicants, and we are developing mandatory Inclusive Leadership training.
“Our We Care culture is rooted in not just our core values and beliefs but our day-to-day interactions with our colleagues, so we are responsible for nurturing inclusion and belonging,” says Jane. “This is especially true for leaders who are responsible for reinforcing this culture in their teams.”
Appreciating the housekeeping team at the annual end of summer picnic at The Beverly Hills Hotel
UNHCR Italia recognises Hotel Principe di Savoia’s commitment to promoting the integration of refugees into the labour market
How our business is governed for good
Governance encompasses organisational decision-making, such as strategy design, the creation of policies and delegating ESG responsibilities to our leaders.
“This relates to the very heart of the organisation,” says Jane. “It’s about how our leaders run and manage our organisation aligned to ESG principles of sustainable business practices, while also leading with honesty, transparency and integrity.”
All Dorchester Collection properties now have a formalised ESG committee to develop hotel-specific action plans. These will monitor initiatives to reduce water consumption and waste, measuring the use of natural resources and tracking spending on local suppliers to ensure we are supporting our local economies.
The next phase will be evolving to align with the 12 standards and 82 reporting requirements that together lead to about 500 key performance indicators (KPIs) in the EU, Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD).
“Because we have properties in the EU, Dorchester Collection as a group and our EU properties must comply with the CSRD,” says Jane. “This will require us to collect, process, assess and ultimately report on a wide array of topics, including climate, environmental and social data.”