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Responsible Supplies
We work with a diverse
range of suppliers to source
raw materials and products
to support our operations
around the world. We seek to
buy at competitive rates but
not at the expense of labour
standards or the environment.
We do not have a sustainable
procurement policy yet;
however we are continuously
working to improve our
sustainable purchasing by
buying more sustainable
materials for our hotels. We
have partially integrated
sustainable criteria into our
purchasing procedures,
mainly for signing corporate
agreements such as choosing
certified energy efficient
equipment, organic food
produce, paints free of volatile
organic compounds (VOCs)
and biodegradable cleaning
products, papers made from
recycled materials.
Across hotels, we have developed a
purchasing management programme,
with the aim to give guidance to each
department on sourcing products which
are more sustainable in their manufacture,
use and disposal. We constantly review
certain products and services and identify
availability of sustainable alternatives.
• Using L’Occitane amenities like
shampoo and lotion in bottles made of
100% recycled plastic in 30% of our
rooms.
• Providing guests with reusable cloth
laundry bags.
• Switching /replacing to zero-VOC
paints.
• Installing CFC and LED light bulbs in
hotels.
• Cleaning with EcoLab cleaning products
and detergents. Cleaning and laundry
products delivered in concentrated form
which reduce waste, water and energy.
• Selecting Energy Star®-rated office
equipments.
• Installing low-flow toilets, sinks and
showers.
• Serving Illy coffee, as declared by the
company, “the world’s first company
to earn the Responsible Supply Chain
Process certification from DNV (Det
Norske Vertias)”. The certification
attests to the sustainable practices of
illy’s supply chain, and in particular, to
the quality of Illy’s relationships with
its suppliers: the world’s highest-caliber
coffee growers.
Offering sustainably and responsibly
sourced menu options:
Replacing
sustainable sea food selections. The
Hammour is the most commercial fish in
the UAE, touted as the ‘national fish’ and
a firm favourite amongst UAE residents.
It is dangerously over-fished, causing it
to decline beyond its sustainable level of
more than 80% since 1978 according to
Emirates Wildlife Society. These species are
particularly vulnerable to over-fishing due
to their slow reproductive rate and mainly
because they are caught before they can
reproduce. 7x Factor by which Hammour is
overfished.
Khalidya Palace Rayhaan by Rotana Abu
Dhabi has stopped serving Hammour in all
its outlets and distributes flyers together
with the menu to educate guests to think
twice before ordering this endangered fish
in any other outlets outside the hotel.
We are currently coordinating with EWS-
WWF to adopt and implement the “choose
wisely” campaign sea food programme that
is designed to help the company’s hotels
to source, prepare and serve sustainable
seafood and the guests to divert their
choices to more sustainable fishes. The
campaign requests customers to support
sustainable fishes with the choices they
make at the restaurant by selecting more
sustainable seafood options offered in the
menu and labelled according to species:
• Red: Think again, for stock heavily
overfished
• Orange: Good choice, stock exploited
within sustainable level
• Green: Go for it, stock not heavily fished
Plastic water bottles:
Rotana signed a
corporate agreement with the bottled water
company Masafi in the UAE. The company
has new light weight 0.5 liter plastic bottles
with 23% reduced plastic and less harmful
to the environment, by ensuring less carbon
dioxide emission. The new bottles weigh
just 13 grammes instead of the original 16
grammes. The new bottles will produce
0.023 kilograms less carbon dioxide (CO2)
emissions per bottle. For HDPE closures
used in water bottles, the weight is
reduced by 30% from 2.5 grammes to 1.75
grammes. The water bottles’ shrink-wrap
packaging in made of oxo-biodegradable
films, a significant step that reinforces the
company’s commitment to environment.
Going forward, we plan to develop a
procurement sustainability policy, add
responsible purchasing criteria to our
suppliers’ selection programme and to
conduct sustainability audits for our
individual suppliers and longer-term
contracts suppliers.
In 2012, we consumed
3.5 Million Masafi
0.5 liter water bottles
and saved 3.3 Tonnes
and 9.6 Tonnes of
plastic from the
reduced weight of
plastic lids and bottles
respectively.
