Dialogue with stakeholders
NH Hotel Group holds a constant and fluid dialogue with its stakeholders, through multiple channels and formats, with the aim of keeping the Company up-to-date about new demands and needs, and also of responding better to stakeholders’ concerns and opinions.
In recent years, social media have become an essential channel for relations with customers and society. Furthermore, for NH Hotel Group other channels are also very important in ensuring stable relations with its stakeholders, such as customer and employee satisfaction surveys or regular meetings with other stakeholders, such as shareholders, suppliers, employee representatives and third-sector agents.
Protection of
Human Rights
NH Hotel Group is committed to upholding human rights and works to prevent and manage the risks associated to the breach of such rights. This is set out in the Corporate Responsibility Policy and in the Company’s Code of Conduct, which states its goal of leading the sector’s commitment to ethics, the protection of Human Rights and the fight against abuse and human trafficking.
Furthermore, as a member of the United Nations Global Compact, NH Hotel Group supports and contributes to the Sustainable Development Goals–SDG–.
Another global framework of reference for NH Hotel Group is the Global Code of Ethics for Tourism, approved in 1999 by the Assembly of the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO). The Code sets out a set of 10 principles designed to guide key players in tourism development, and aims to help maximize the sector’s benefits while minimizing its impact on the environment, cultural heritage and local communities.
Accordingly, in September 2012, the Company signed up to ECPAT (End Child Prostitution, Child Pornography and Trafficking of Children for Sexual Purposes) for the protection of children against sexual exploitation in tourism, also promoted by the UNWTO and UNICEF.
Possible breaches of Human Rights are managed by the Internal Audit Department, which is responsible for handling the Group’s Whistleblowing Channel, included in the NH Hotel Group Code of Conduct (codeofconduct@nh-hotels.com). In 2018 no complaints were received related to a possible breach of human rights.
Initiatives for the Protection of Human Rights
The Group is part of the International Tourism Partnership (ITP), a global platform for leading companies in the hotel sector that share a common commitment to social responsibility and sustainability. This organization establishes four main goals which include the protection and promotion of human rights, a goal which NH Hotel Group subscribes to and supports.
In 2018, the 16 NH Hotel Group hotels located in Mexico started a voluntary process to sign up to the National Code of Conduct for the protection of children and young people in the travel and tourism sector, which aims to prevent and combat human trafficking with special emphasis on child exploitation, promoted by the Tourism Secretariat of the Government of the Republic (SECTUR). Training will also be offered to employees in the prevention of human trafficking and child exploitation.
Responsible alliances
Global Compact
Since 2006, NH Hotel Group has been a member of the United Nations Global Compact and regards its 10 principles and the Sustainable Development Goals -SDG- as the framework of reference to design the strategy and management of the Company’s Corporate Responsibility.
World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC)
This prestigious international forum for the travel industry brings together the leading companies in the sector at global level and works with governments to create awareness of the travel and tourism industry.
International Tourism Partnership (ITP)
World platform that brings together leading international players from the hotel sector in Corporate Responsibility. In 2018, ITP and its members have continued to work on their most ambitious plans to establish four common goals concerning carbon emissions, water shortage, human rights and youth unemployment. The agreement in these areas aims to complement the companies’ individual goals, believing that the most significant impact in these matters of responsibility, which are the most urgent issues facing the industry at present, can only be achieved by working together.
Presence in Sustainability Indexes
FTSE4GOOD
FTSE4GOOD is an index created by the London Stock Exchange to help investors include environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) factors in making investment decisions. NH Hotel Group became part of this index in 2013 and renewed its presence in 2018 thanks to the responsible management of the business and the improvements made.
ETHIBEL EXCELLENCE INVESTMENT REGISTER
This is an index that brings together companies from different sectors that are leaders in Corporate Social Responsibility. The presence of NH Hotel Group shows the Company’s good performance, above the average for the sector, and acts as an incentive to Socially Responsible Investment (SRI) among investors and funds.
CARBON DISCLOSURE PROJECT (CDP)
The CDP Climate Change Program recognizes the efforts made by leading global companies in the battle against climate change.
In the last report for 2018, the Company obtained a rating of A- in the Climate Index, which places NH Hotel Group among the leading companies in taking measures to reduce emissions effectively, showcasing an advanced environmental management. This result places the Company above the average for its sector of activity and its region
Responsible Value Chain
NH Hotel Group’s relations with its suppliers are based on communication and transparency, in order to promote the development of innovative and sustainable solutions.
NH Hotel Group uses its Electronic Negotiation Platform in most bidding processes. This tool makes it possible, through the RFI (Request for Information) phase, to assess and analyze the legal, financial, environmental, operational and social and labor situation of suppliers who submit bids for contracts. This reduces the possible risks that suppliers could generate in future operations with the Company. For this initial assessment, specific documentation has to be submitted providing evidence of the veracity of the information provided.
This preliminary assessment is complemented with a subsequent screening that is intrinsic to the contract award process, based on compliance with the technical requests shown in the RFP (Request for Proposal). In this part of the process, suppliers have to accept both the Group’s Code of Conduct and the Code of Conduct of Coperama – NH Hotel Group’s central procurement service for hotels – which includes environmental and labor commitments.
Subsequently, as part of the Approval Contract, the SLA (Service Level Agreement) is applied which penalizes any deviation in the service offered by the supplier.
During 2018, electronic tenders worth € 52,744,669 were carried out, 5% less than the previous year.
Procurement Policy
NH Hotel Group establishes a Procurement Policy that ensures that all contract bidding processes are carried out under the same criteria of transparency, rigor and equality of opportunity.
In 2018, the Award Committee participated in a total of 16 processes, mostly for hotel refurbishments. The Company has implemented a strict and detailed procedure for assessing and selecting new suppliers, based on social, ethical and environmental criteria.
The aim is to gain in-depth knowledge of the behavior and practices of NH Hotel Group’s suppliers, selecting only those that, in addition to offering the best negotiating conditions, share the Company’s principles and commitments as described in the Code of Conduct.
Ethical and social approval of suppliers
Human Rights in the Supplier chain
In 2018, a total of 253 new suppliers worldwide signed up to the NH Hotel Group Code of Conduct. Thus, in 2018 the number of Ethical Codes signed with active suppliers totaled 1,646.
Furthermore, in 2018 the NH Hotel Group Compliance Committee approved the Code of Conduct which defines the values, principles and rules that are to govern the ethical and responsible behavior and actions of all suppliers.
This Code will apply to all suppliers that have signed an Approved Supplier Agreement with the Coperama Group – NH Hotel Group’s central procurement service for hotels – and that are involved in the sale, manufacture, marketing, distribution and delivery of products and services for the establishments and hotels that contract directly with the supplier.
This framework for conduct promotes compliance with the principles related to respect for human rights, employee rights, ruling labor law, the prohibition of child labor and forced or coerced labor, the elimination of discriminatory practices, compliance with labor, health and safety and occupational risk prevention conditions and the fight against fraud, bribery and corruption, among others.
Furthermore, a specific communication channel will be set up to report, process and manage complaints
(codeofconduct@coperama.com). The procedure for reporting and handling complaints and possible breaches of the Code of Conduct will be administered by the Group’s Senior Vice President of Auditing.
Environmental commitment
Since 2015, NH Hotel Group has assessed its suppliers according to a series of parameters associated with environmental management, the protection of the environment, carbon footprint reporting, or alignment with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), through a Supplier Qualification module in the Electronic Negotiation Platform.