Responsible Business - Let's take responsibility

Taking responsibility for the environment and local community is important for The Rezidor Hotel Group, so as a result there is a program called Responsible Business.
Each hotel has a unique RB Action Plan covering areas such as community outreach, environmental improvement, employee well-being and health and safety.

Our hotels are engaged with both, local and international charity organization like the World Childhood Foundation whose mission is to defend the rights of the child and to promote better living conditions for vulnerable and exploited children at risk all over the world.

For more information: www.rezidor.com

Some of the Responsible Business activities of the Radisson Blu Royal Hotel:

Environmental impact

ISO 9001:
Since January 2009 the Radisson Blu Royal Hotel has been ISO 9001 certified which is a quality management system label. We are the first hotel in Brussels to achieve this certification and we are now working towards the environmental management system, ISO 14001.

Ecodynamic Enterprise:
In the year 2007, The Radisson Blu Royal Hotel has been awarded for its environmental efforts with its first star as Entreprise Eco Dynamique by the Brussels' Government. Since then we continuously improved our actions and truly integrated environmental sustainability into our daily operations and as a result we now achieved the maximum third star in this environmental certification being the only hotel in Brussels to attain this!

What do we do?

• Over 70 % of the hotel's staff use public transportation to help reducing urban air pollution
• Once a year we plant trees to offset CO²          
• Responsible business is included in all job descriptions
• Monthly reporting of copies and prints

Waste generation

We follow 3 simple rules to help cut our waste generation:

1.REDUCE:

• Our suppliers are asked to decrease the amount of packaging in their deliveries.

2. RE-USE:

• Curks for 'bouchon de liege' are recycled in both restaurants
• They recuperate the corks and re-use it for isolation in houses
• Papers are printed recto-verso
• Staff is trained in an effective use of copy machines
• Donating used furniture/ bedding/equipment to charity groups

3. RECYCLE:

• Recycling: paper, cardboard, plastic bottles, metal cans, oil, printer cartridges, fluorescent bulbs, used CD ROMs and magnetic cards, batteries, metal hangers…

Energy efficiency

• We use energy friendly light bulbs
• Our elevators work with counterweight to reduce energy  consumption
• General switch off/on for lightening in the room

Security

Safety and Security within the Rezidor Hotel Group rely on the simple formula TRIC: Threat Assessment, Risk Evaluation, Incident Response, Crisis Management & Communication

• Our staff has been trained to perform first aid in case of a medical emergency and to use the Heart Start defibrillator
• Our staff has been trained to be part of a fire team
• Security Manager, Managers on Duty and regular Security trainings

Community involvements/charities

Responsible Business is not just about the environment, we also take into account social and economic issues, concerning the local community

• A full team is yearly running 20km for Childhood
• Donations to the local charity NASCI
• We organize events like concerts in benefit for Childhood or distribute meals at the Gare Centrale
• Donations are made to orphanages
• We recuperate old cartridges in cooperation with RECYCA Belgium.
  The money then goes to 'beyond the moon'.
• Braille menu at Seagrill restaurant

How you can help?

• Use Public Transport; our hotel is so easy to be reached
• Put used batteries in one of our Battery boxes
• Bring your corks to one of our restaurants and let them be recycled
• Re-use your towels (simply hang them on the rail then housekeeping will not replace them)
• Save energy by switching off any appliances when they are not in use and do not overfill kettles
• Donate unwanted items like toiletries (soap, shampoo etc), towels, and clothes (hats, scarves, gloves, jackets etc); simply leave them at the side for the housekeeping staff or drop them off at the reception
• Offset your stay as GoldPoint member and help environmental projects in cooperation with carbon free company

Less and less people recognize species and plants in nature, but more and more company logos.
Half of the world's population is poor living on less than 2 USD per day and by 2025, it is expected that food production will have to double to be able to feed the growing population. That's the reason why we care.
We think it is important to work with responsible business programs due to the fact that companies hold a large part of the economic wealth. This means that we have the resources to make a change...Yes we can!

Barbara Buyssens
Regional Responsible Business Coordinator,

Links for more information:

www.responsiblebusiness.rezidor.com
www.childhood.org
www.beyondthemoon.be
www.nascivzw.be
www.goldpointsplus.com
www.bruxellesenvironnement.be