In all, the company is addressing seven stakeholder groups, aiming to cover  the specific needs of each one. This includes showing responsibility for  the health and safety of employees and customers, demonstrating responsibility for social and ethical issues on a company, local and global community level and reducing the impact Radisson  SAS has on the natural environment.

Showing responsibility for Safety and Security issues has a long tradition  within the company.  With a strong focus on accident and incident prevention, Safety and Security procedures are built into every part of the operation and into every task that is carried out. Each year, all Radisson SAS hotels submit safety and security self-audits to check compliance. 

To help the General  Managers integrate the Responsible Business programme  into  the daily operations, individual  properties have appointed Responsible Business Co-ordinators. In addition, each hotel will  be  provided with the Responsible Business Handbook with corporate objectives and instructions on how to implement the programme. 

Pia Heidenmark, newly appointed Director Environmental & Social Affairs for  Radisson  SAS, explains: "Besides the corporate objectives, each hotel  is  encouraged  to establish its own targets and measurement indicators,  focusing on local areas. The programme may thus  vary between the properties, taking regional differences into account. This is important for a company operating in over 30 countries."            

Radisson SAS has achieved a great deal in environmental management since the  launch of its 24-point environmental manual in 1994. The Brussels property has won an international environmental award and other  group properties have been on the receiving end of  regional  and  national honours  and  recognitions.    On a corporate  level,  the  company  has partnered  with  several  international non-governmental  organisations, such as UNESCO.  Over the past three years, Radisson SAS has donated USD 115,000  for  various UNESCO conservation projects to restore cultural heritage  sites  in  the  "Memories of the Future"  initiative.  These include the Altar in Petra's Qasr El Byint Temple in Jordan,  the Bahla Fort in Oman,  Tyre in Lebanon and a project in the World Heritage City of Krakow.

"The most important environmental areas for a hotel to have control over are energy, water, waste and chemicals. Although hotels operate in the service  sector and do not produce traditional products,  they are  huge consumers  of  many different products and of valuable resources.  The provision  of guidelines on how and what to buy is therefore important," says Heidenmark. She continues:  "To be able to succeed with this very ambitious programme, continuous monitoring is essential, with the aim to demonstrate environmental and social performance improvements."

Radisson  SAS  Hotels  &  Resorts,  currently  includes  110  hotels  in operation  and 32 hotels under development in 38 countries  and  is  the sole franchisor in Europe, the Middle East and North Africa for Radisson Hotels & Resorts.