InterContinental Hotels

InterContinental Hotels
 
Leading hospitality group builds customer loyalty and strengthens
employee commitment through a programme of charitable engagement
with the multiple local communities in which they operate.

The company InterContinental Hotels Group PLC (IHG) is a leading global hospitality group, with over 3,300 hotels across nearly 100 countries and territories.  The company was established in April 2003 following the separation of Six Continents’ hotels and soft drinks businesses from the retail business. 
The second largest hotel group in the world (calculated on the number of rooms), the group owns a portfolio of global brands, including InterContinental, Crowne Plaza, Staybridge Suites, Holiday Inn and Express by Holiday Inn.
 In the area of corporate social responsibility (CSR) IHG is involved in many initiatives aimed at reducing its impact on society, for example energy and water conservation. The focus of this briefing is on its engagement with charities and how it has helped their business. In 2002 IHG donated over £2.1 million in cash and kind to charities who were active in their core interests of Community, Employees, Arts, Youth & Education, Environment and Human Rights. Those supported included UNICEF, the September 11 Fund, Victim Support, Children In Need, the Red Cross, Water Aid, WWF, UNEP and Give Kids the World. With the help of customers, guests and employees on average an additional £8 million is raised per year for good causes. 
 The drivers IHG undertakes CSR activities because successful local engagement is essential to the company’s operations. IHG has supported charitable organisations since 1977. Historically, the group took an old fashioned philanthropic approach, responding to multiplerequests from a variety of organisations as long as the request matched their core areas of interest. However, that approach was somewhat unfocussed and there was no way of quantifying what these donations achieved so the company found it difficult to get employee buy-in.  
   The group developed a new approach that reflected a desire to be more transparent and promote greater engagement. Its partnership with the United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF) 100% campaign has helped them do this.
 Taking action The company formally adopted UNICEF as one of its main global charitable partners in 2001.  The group has pledged to donate £100,000 each year during the three-year partnership, as well as inviting employees to raise money via local fundraising events.  
  UNICEF have helped IHG quantify what its’ donations can actually buy, right down to the level of 6 pence for a pencil. This level of detaallows both employees and customers to easily identify what their fundraising efforts achieve and so encourage greater engagement.
  The money raised in 2002 has funded a project promoting education in rural areas in the Philippines, which is helping children gain access to education in a number of ways. Local teachers need training in multi-grade teaching, as well as new curriculum materials but as multi-grade schools are generally in rural and isolated areas, facilities can be inadequate. IHG is helping to upgrade these schools with sanitation facilities as well as library and science equipment, workbooks and classroom materials. #p#分页标题#e#
   IHG has linked its CSR activities in with their overall business strategy as it makes what the groups’ supports in the community have real relevance to operational employees. The General Manager of each hotel has the freedom to identify the local charitable cause that the employees and guests will raise money for  - it does not always have to be UNICEF.
 The group’s employee Community Awards programme also encourages employee engagement. By promoting greater engagement the group is encouraging employees to understand and respect the community within which they operate. This fits with IHG’s fundamental philosophy as James Wilson, former Vice President, Head of Public Affairs informed, “If the CEO and board do genuinely believe that vision and CSR values differentiate the company, then this can make a real difference. Paying lip service is no good, your strategy and action must have real substance”.  
What are the business benefits?
 There are four main benefits that have been gained from IHG’s community activities:
1.  Strategic brand differentiation
 2.  Building culture, reputation and customer loyalty
 3. Strengthening employee commitment to the company
4.  Positioning the company favourably in respect to competitors when bidding for client accounts. Whilst it is extremely difficult to quantify the business benefits of CSR activities there is anecdotal evidence. For example The Princess Royal was so impressed by the charitable auction organised by the InterContinental in Madrid to raise money for UNICEF that she decided to hold her annual charitable ball there.
  IHG also recognises investor relations as being a key driver for CSR activities. “With increasing focus by investment advisors and agencies with rating indices its important that we are seen as a business to invest in”. External observers have noted IHG’s performance in corporate governance, brand management, employee development, particularly organisational learning, to be of high standard.
  Why is it CSR? www.ukthesis.org
 IHG share the same view as the CBI in believing that CSR requires the voluntary commitment by business to manage its activities in a responsible way. The groups CSR strategy also includes risk management – an approach recommended by the CBI. For IHG is it important for the company to be adaptable, managing the needs of corporate social, environmental and ethical behaviour in many varying circumstances. Through CSR they are identifying and managing risk as well as seizing the opportunities.  
  What next?
 For 2003 - the second year of its UNICEF partnership - IHG is focussing on education. The group is helping UNICEF to develop a school for ethnic minority Romany children in Romania. IHG plan to continue the education theme in year three – with a project to be identified in consultation with their hotels in the Americas or the Caribbean.                #p#分页标题#e#
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