15 March 2012

IHG achieves Silver in Business in the Community's 10th Corporate Responsibility Index

 

IHG today announces that it has achieved Silver in Business in the Community’s (BITC) 2012 Corporate Responsibility Index (CRI), the UK’s leading voluntary benchmark of corporate responsibility.

The CRI helps companies to integrate and improve corporate responsibility throughout their business operations.

Achieving Silver means that IHG conducts effective stakeholder engagement and has the right processes in place in order to identify and manage risks and opportunities. IHG also has reliable baseline data, which enables us to demonstrate both management and performance improvement.

In only the second year that IHG has taken part in the CRI, we have improved our score from 82% in 2011 to 89% in this year’s Index.

The increase in IHG’s performance in the CRI demonstrates our ongoing commitment to making Corporate Responsibility integral to the way we operate, a commitment which is driven from the top by IHG’s Chief Executive Richard Solomons. "In business today you have to find a way to drive shareholder returns and at the same time make a positive difference in the local community and
minimise the impact of your operations on the planet's scarce resources. You have to embed responsible business practices into all of your company's actions: to make it part of your DNA," says Solomons.

IHG scored 100% across all areas in the corporate strategy section of the CRI for the second year running and 100% for community and environmental management. This reflects the active stance we take on environmental and community issues in order to create value for IHG, our owners and our guests.

In 2011, IHG invested heavily in its community strategy, expanding the IHG Academy skills training programme globally and formalising the Group’s approach to disaster relief through the IHG Shelter in a Storm programme and Shelter Fund. Reducing environmental impacts also remains a priority and IHG increased the number of hotels participating in its environmental programme, Green Engage, to over 1700 hotels.

Stephen Howard, Chief Executive, Business in the Community said: “I congratulate IHG on achieving Silver in the 2012 BITC Corporate Responsibility Index. The CRI has helped to highlight clearly those best practice examples that bring to life in a powerful way what integrated responsible practice really looks like. As we celebrate 10 years of our CRI, it has given me great pleasure to witness each company’s responsible business journey and the transformations they are making both within their businesses and the impact they have in our communities.”

 

Media contacts:

Joanna James, IHG, +44 (0) 1895 512 112 / [email protected]

Linda Considine, BITC, +44 (0) 207 566 8794 / [email protected] or
Ochuko Adekoya, +44 (0) 207 566 8758 / [email protected]


Notes to Editors:

IHG (InterContinental Hotels Group) [LON:IHG, NYSE:IHG (ADRs)] is a global organisation operating seven hotel brands including InterContinental® Hotels & Resorts, Hotel Indigo®, Crowne Plaza® Hotels & Resorts, Holiday Inn® Hotels and Resorts, Holiday Inn Express®, Staybridge Suites® and Candlewood Suites®. IHG also manages Priority Club® Rewards, the world’s first and largest hotel loyalty programme with over 63 million members worldwide.

IHG franchises, leases, manages or owns over 4,400 hotels and more than 658,000 guest rooms in nearly 100 countries and territories, and has more than 1,100 hotels in its development pipeline.

IHG expects to recruit around 90,000 new people worldwide across its estate over the next few years and is committed to gender balance throughout its business. We aspire to continue retaining a minimum of 25% female representation on the Board.

InterContinental Hotels Group PLC is the Group’s holding company and is incorporated in Great Britain and registered in England and Wales.

Visit www.ihg.com for hotel information and reservations and www.priorityclub.com for more on Priority Club Rewards. For our latest news, visit www.ihg.com/media, www.twitter.com/ihgplc or www.youtube.com/ihgplc.
 

 

About the Corporate Responsibility Index
Business in the Community's Corporate Responsibility (CR) Index is the UK’s leading voluntary benchmark of CR. It helps companies to integrate and improve CR throughout their operations by providing a systematic approach to managing, measuring and reporting on business impacts in society and on the environment. For the past 10 years the CR Index has inspired and challenged over 350 companies to continuously improve their impact on society and the environment.

About Business in the Community
Business in the Community (BITC) is a business-led charity with a growing membership of over 850 companies. BITC works in the UK through 11 regional teams and internationally with 115 global partners. With a further 10,700 engaged in our campaigns and an employee reach of 16.8 million – it is one of the largest and most influential leadership networks focused on driving responsible business practice. Members are offered a range of practical information, tools, training and resources to help them transform their businesses and integrate responsible practices into their operations. 
www.bitc.org.uk

The Index bandings explained:

Platinum 2011
These are companies who attained Platinum Status in the CR Index 2011. They have been able to retain Platinum band for the next cycle, subject to the company holding same business structure.

Platinum
Companies achieving the Platinum performance band tend to have corporate responsibility (CR) integrated into their business model and clear CR responsibilities and incentive structures at both board and operational levels. These companies have a structured approach to data collection and social and environmental impact assessment.  They can demonstrate 3-4 years of performance improvement across their keys impacts. They act and report with a high level of transparency and stakeholder engagement, and the materiality, completeness and responsiveness of their CR reporting and published data is often third party assured.

Gold
Companies that have achieved the Gold performance band tend to be able to demonstrate openness and transparency through effective public reporting of their material environmental and social issues, CR programmes and performance. They also expand and adapt their risk management processes by incorporating relevant aspects of corporate responsibility risk and opportunity, and their CR strategy is articulated in an effective manner, including clear and measurable targets.

Silver
Companies that have achieved the Silver performance band tend to conduct effective stakeholder engagement, having the right processes in place in order to identify and manage social and environmental risks and opportunities. They also tend to have reliable baseline data which enables them to demonstrate both management and performance improvement.

Bronze
Companies achieving the Bronze performance band tend to be at the early stages of environmental and social data collation as well as public reporting. A clear outline of their mission, values and corporate responsibility principles tends to be manifest, with clear roles and responsibilities being allocated across the business.

Ends