Shanghai, China, May 23, 2016 /Xinwengao.com/ - Sébastien Bazin, the Group’s Chairman and CEO, stated, “The commitment and energy demonstrated by our teams in deploying Planet 21 worldwide, are both valuable levers for our sustainable performance. After five years, the results of the first phase of the plan are very encouraging. Today, we want to scale up our ambitions by banking on innovation and accountability. Planet 21 Season 2 must enable us to create wealth sustainably and curb our negative impacts through the mobilization of our employees, guests, partners and local communities. Our vision is to drive the change towards positive, more responsible and inventive hospitality, wherever we are.”

Planet 21 Season 1 [2011-2015]: results for Greater China
– 97% of hotels use eco-labelled products
– 97% of hotels promote balanced dishes
– 96% of hotels organise disease prevention training for employees
– 91% of hotels recycle their waste
– 48% of hotels have at least three eco-friendly designed room components
– 93% of hotels purchase and promote locally-sourced products
– 99% of hotels ban endangered seafood from restaurant menus

Planet 21 Season 1 [2011-2015]: a solid track record

The Group achieved solid results regarding the actions taken over the 2011-2015 period. In five years, it has delivered two-thirds of the programme’s 21 objectives and over 90% of its hotels have embarked on a continuous-improvement drive. Planet 21 allowed the Group to unite its teams and engage its guests and partners in a structured approach which is recognized by several ethical stock market indices.

It has made significant progress, in particular with regards to well-being in the workplace, child protection, biodiversity, and water and energy consumption management. In five years, water consumption has been cut by nearly 9%, energy consumption by 5.3% and carbon emissions by 6.2%. At the end of 2015, all its hotels were committed to protecting children from abuse (in-house awareness programme, WATCH) and more than 4.5 million trees had been planted worldwide since 2009.

A green campaign was led by Sofitel Shenyang Lido that involved the team to help plant Chinese roses and advocate the community to keep the environment clean.

Planet 21¬ [2016-2020] is structured into four areas of action enlisting its employees, customers, partners and local communities, and two priorities, namely food & beverage, and buildings.

Charter 21, the in-house sustainable development management system for hoteliers, has evolved and been renamed Planet 21 in Action. The new system aims higher and is more accommodating as regards local specifics and operational realities. It is more flexible and is based on a participative approach allowing each hotel to set its own objectives and map out its own action plan. A common baseline comprising 16 mandatory actions sets a demanding first level of commitment (bronze status). To upgrade their status (to silver, gold and platinum), hotels then select the actions they wish to implement from a wider range of initiatives. This system encourages ownership of the issues at stake as well as employee and guest accountability regarding social and environmental responsibility.

AccorHotels has been actively pursuing sustainable hotel management practices for over 20 years in order to protect people and the environment.

As part of a policy of progress and transparency, the Group asked its customers for their views on these issues, updated its environmental footprint and assessed its socio-economic footprint to construct its new 5-year programme. The programme for 2020 reinforces some of the Group’s fundamental commitments, such as curbing its environmental footprint, and identifies new objectives which dovetail with both the changes to the business model and its strategic priorities, such as Food & Beverage and the sustainable management of its property portfolio through HotelInvest.

In the same vein, AccorHotels first published its large-scale international barometer study, “Sustainable Hotels: Ready To Check In?” in June 2011. This year, AccorHotels published the results of a new survey, carried out at the end of 2015. This survey aimed at measuring changes in guests’ behaviours and current awareness of sustainable development.

For example, just as they do not change their towels and sheets every day when they are at home, it has become normal for guests to reuse them for two to three days when staying at a hotel. More than half of guests are in favour of reusing their towels, especially if some of the money saved in doing so is reinvested in planting trees for the benefit of the local community.

The key lessons from this survey are:
1) Globally, eight out of ten hotel guests declare they are sensitive to sustainable development.
2) Guests want hotels to show commitment to concrete, daily aspects of sustainable development: water, energy, waste and child protection.
3) One out of three guests considers that citizens are first and foremost responsible in terms of sustainable development. Hotel guests seem aware of their impact in terms of social, corporate and environmental responsibility. Governments and companies are also considered to have a critical responsibility.
4) Hotel guests declare they are ready to act and change their behaviour. Virtually unknown 20 years ago, sustainable development is now often taken into consideration by one in two guests when choosing a hotel. This criterion still has a significant growth rate but should progress considerably due to guests’ evolving expectations and the sector’s increasingly numerous initiatives.

The press release Guests looking for sustainable hotels says AccorHotels as it unveils bold new CSR commitments comes from Xinwengao.com press release distribution and journalist media database service in China.

Hong Kong, November 29, 2015 /Xinwengao.com/ - Asia Society’s Asia 21 Young Leaders Initiative, the Asia-Pacific’s preeminent network of next-generation leaders, will mark its tenth anniversary on December 2-4, when it holds a special summit at the Asia Society Hong Kong Center.

Asia 21 is a robust network of more than 800 young leaders from 30 countries, focused on shaping a brighter future for the Asia-Pacific, and confronting the most vexing challenges facing the region today. Asia 21 Young Leaders are selected through a highly competitive process based on outstanding achievement, commitment to public service, and a proven ability to make the world a better place.

“Next-generation leaders hold the keys to our future, and Asia has a treasure trove of leadership talent,” said Josette Sheeran, President and CEO of Asia Society. “Asia 21 includes the most brilliant pacesetters, young leaders who are already helping tackle poverty, hunger and creating new governance and business opportunities. We are proud to give them a global platform and a network of like-minded talent from throughout Asia.”

In addition to welcoming the Class of 2015, more than 100 of the initiative’s change-makers from previous classes will gather in Hong Kong to celebrate the achievements of the first decade, explore innovative ways to leverage the Asia 21 network for greater impact, and address critical issues facing the region.

“Asia 21 was born in Hong Kong a decade ago, and so we are proud to welcome this remarkable group to our Hong Kong Center for the 10th anniversary,” said Asia Society Co-Chair Ronnie C. Chan, who also serves as Chair of the Society’s Hong Kong Center. “These people represent great examples of what we are all about: building crucial bridges between the peoples and cultures of Asia.”

Among highlights of the Asia 21 10th Anniversary summit:

– Dinner hosted by Asia Society Co-Chair Ronnie C. Chan, featuring a short film about Asia 21 and testimonials from a half dozen distinguished alumni;

– Keynote conversation with retired U.S. Army General and chairman of KKR Global Institute, David Petraeus;

– Special sessions highlighting the impactful work of Asia 21 alumni including Tudor Clee, founder of New Zealand’s Touchable Earth; Scarlett Li, founder and CEO of Zebra Media, China’s most innovative entertainment platform; Myanmar’s Yin Myo Su, founder of Inle Heritage Foundation; Natharoun Ngo, Head of Program at United Nations, Cambodia; Penny Low, Founder, Social Innovation Park, Ltd. from Singapore; Malaysia’s Mun Ching Yap, Executive Director, Air Asia Foundation; Nepal’s Rabi Karmacharya, Founder & Executive Director, Open Learning Exchange Network; Itochu Corporation Executive Officer and General Counsel Mitsuru Claire Chino from Japan; Goldman Sachs Head of Corporate Engagement in Asia Wenchi Yu from the U.S.; Australia’s Ewa Wojkowska, Co-Founder and COO of Kopernik; International Security Fellow at New America Faiysal AliKhan from Pakistan; and Afghanistan’s Saad Mohseni, Chairman and CEO of Moby Group;

– Screening of Rosewater, followed by a discussion with Asia 21 young leader, author, and former political prisoner Maziar Bahari, whose life inspired the film;

– Screening of the recent HBO documentary, “The Diplomat”, followed by a conversation with filmmaker David Holbrooke, who will discuss leadership as embodied in the legacy of his late father, the film’s subject, and former Asia Society Chairman, Ambassador Richard Holbrooke;

“Asia 21 Task Forces” will leverage the collective experience and expertise of the Asia 21 network to generate a core set of recommendations on four topics—public health, good governance practices, innovation, and the environment.

These Task Forces will be respectively coordinated and led by four Asia 21 alumni: Dr. Akash Goel, who spearheaded the launch of India’s national Second Line ARV drug program that currently provides lifesaving medication to tens of thousands of individuals living with HIV/AIDS; Aaron Maniam, Director of the Industry Division at Singapore’s Ministry of Trade and Industry; Armen Orujyan, the founder and CEO of Athgo International, one of the world’s leading entrepreneurial platforms in consultative status; and Dorjee Sun, Director of Carbon Conversation and one of Time’s “Heroes of the Environment” in 2009
Participating Asia 21 alumni at the summit will also include President & CEO of Philippines’ Bases Conversion and Development Authority Arnel Casanova (Philippines); CEO & founder of Yayasan Cinta Anak Bangsa (YCAB) Veronica Colondam (Indonesia); Vice President for global ICT Programs and Policy, Internews Kathleen Reen (Australia); Executive Director, the Institute for Societal Leadership (ISL), Singapore Management University Martin Tan (Singapore); National Award-Winning Documentary and Producer Aarti Shrivastava (India); Founder and President of the Bangladesh Youth Leadership Center Ejaj Ahmad (Bangladesh); and Partner Chief Engineer at NASA Adam Gilmore (U.S.).

For more information about Asia 21 Please contact Kathryn Cardenas at KCardenas@AsiaSociety.org.

The press release Asia Society Celebrates Tenth Anniversary of Asia 21 comes from Xinwengao.com press release distribution and journalist media database service in China.

Hong Kong, July 4, 2014 /Xinwengao.com/ - On December 11-12, 2014, leading law firms, senior management and representatives of relevant law enforcement bodies will meet in Hong Kong to discuss the future of anti-corruption and compliance in and across the Asia Pacific region at the 2nd Anti-Corruption Compliance Asia Pacific Summit 2014.

This comes after 2013, a significant year for anti-corruption in which we saw two of the largest settlements in the history of the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) and the highly publicized allegations of corruption surrounding GlaxoSmithKline in China.

Speakers are set to discuss how to encourage cooperation between companies and government bodies across the region in order to fight corruption, citing case studies of successful joint law enforcement from last year.

Experts will also advise businesses on how best to operate their companies with particular attention to practices involving human resources and will illuminate and explain potential problems and sources of confusion in some Asian countries.

This summit is sure to be a great opportunity to hear about new methods of training staff in how to comply with anti-corruption laws, especially when giving or receiving gifts or entertainment and how to establish a ‘culture of compliance’.

Not only this, but emerging companies will be able to receive the invaluable advice of seasoned professionals who will offer their invaluable advice on how to deal with third parties and protect oneself against corrupt practices as well as how to react if faced with allegations of corruption.

For more information, please visit the 2nd Anti-Corruption Compliance Asia Pacific Summit 2014 website at www.duxes-events.com/acap2 or contact Ms. Rainie Shi at + 86 21 5258 8005 * 8107 or by email rainie.shi@duxes.cn.

The press release Anti-Corruption Leaders Reflect on a Historic Year In Asia During Upcoming Hong Kong Conference comes from Xinwengao.com press release distribution and journalist media database service in China.

Mumbai, India, June 17, 2014 /Xinwengao.com/ - Corruption in India has become a major problem and may discourage investors, therefore derailing and destabilizing the country’s economic growth. Corruption was a central issue in the recent elections with the outgoing Congress party being marred by persistent corruption scandals and a sharp economic slowdown that accompanied them.

The Anti-Corruption Compliance in India Summit 2014 will offer recent and up to date information by drawing upon the support of institutions who lead against the fight corruption. These include governmental organizations such the Anti Corruption Bureau and the Central Bureau of Investigation as well as private bodies such as Transparency International India and the legal and business community. Over the course of the summit, much attention will be paid to encouraging collective action between stakeholders on all levels, optimizing compliance programs to facilitate cost control and achieving higher business value and methods of protecting one’s business in India by mitigating exposure to corruption.

With at least three members of the Indian Parliament in prison following the 2010 ‘Telecom Scandal’, the Indian people and business community are both becoming increasingly disillusioned and frustrated with the current situation. There is a general consensus for change and with a new government, there is a renewed hope. However, in order for there to be any profound improvement, the business community must play its part and share good practices in order to create transparency and security.

The Anti-Corruption Compliance in India Summit, presented by Duxes (Shanghai) Business Consulting, has grown over the past six years to become the premier platform for bringing together experts from all sides of corporate law to mold the global conversation on anti-corruption policy for the year to come.

For more information, please visit the website at http://www.duxes-events.com/ACI/ or contact Ms. Rainie Shi at rainie.shi@duxes.cn.

The press release Anti-Corruption Compliance in India Summit 2014 To Address Pressing Compliance Issues comes from Xinwengao.com press release distribution and journalist media database service in China.