Case study: How Radisson promotes business integrity and compliance

What are the material issues the company has identified?

In its 2018 Responsible Business Report Radisson identified a range of material issues, such as human rights, talent management, energy efficiency, employment and employability, water stewardship. Among these, promoting business integrity and compliance stands out as a key material issue for Radisson.

Stakeholder engagement in accordance with the GRI Standards              

The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) defines the Principle of Stakeholder Inclusiveness when identifying material issues (or a company’s most important impacts) as follows:

“The reporting organization shall identify its stakeholders, and explain how it has responded to their reasonable expectations and interests.”

Stakeholders must be consulted in the process of identifying a company’s most important impacts and their reasonable expectations and interests must be taken into account. This is an important cornerstone for CSR / sustainability reporting done responsibly.

Key stakeholder groups Radisson engages with:

How stakeholder engagement was made to identify material issues

To identify and prioritise material topics Radisson engaged with its stakeholders through a stakeholder questionnaire and in-depth interviews, in addition to continuous interaction with various stakeholder groups (such as guests, suppliers, employees, local communities, investors, shareholders, owners, and franchisees) through daily operations and dedicated exchanges and a deeper engagement with individuals, NGO partnerships, and academics.

What actions were taken by Radisson to promote business integrity and compliance?

In its 2018 Responsible Business Report Radisson reports that it took the following actions for promoting business integrity and compliance:

• Implementing a Code of Business Conduct and Ethics
• Radisson’s Code of Business Conduct and Ethics governs how Radisson does business and applies to every person who works for Radisson, and every one of its companies. The Code is distributed to all employees through the Employee Handbook and is also available in summary and detailed forms on radissonhospitalityab.com. It is also included in Radisson’s internal Procedures Manual. All employees are trained in the Code of Business Conduct and Ethics, its implications, and reporting processes. Training occurs in the classroom-based Living Responsible Business course, which is mandatory for all employees. The Code of Business Conduct and Ethics enables Radisson to take positions on key issues of business ethics with a single voice and includes the following ten principles which guide Radisson whenever a business decision needs to be made:
  • We respect the law
  • We show respect for all persons in all situations
  • We think ethically
  • We act fairly
  • We do not discriminate against anyone for any reason
  • We are honest and transparent
  • We are loyal to our employer
  • We do not exploit the company’s resources
  • We think of safety at all times
  • We take care of the planet
• During 2018, Radisson’s Code of Business Conduct and Ethics was updated in response to the EU’s new General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

• Setting up an ethics hotline
• A key pillar of ethics at Radisson is ethics.radissonhotels.com. The website is run by an independent third-party organisation, Ethicspoint, and employees can use it to find information on Radisson’s Code of Business Conduct and Ethics and report concerns anonymously. Any employee with concerns or questions about the Code is also encouraged to raise these directly with their supervisor or person of trust in the hotel or regional organisation. If this is not possible, the employee can report the matter of concern online. Investigations are carried out in a timely and sensitive manner. The site and hotline are available in 11 languages.

• Promoting anti-bribery compliance
• Radisson promotes compliance with the UK Bribery Act and the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) by:
  • Making anti-bribery part of its Code of Business Conduct and Ethics
  • Training employees
  • Inserting a reference to the legislation in all partner contracts
  • Confirming compliance by all employees in management positions once every year

• Providing anti-bribery training
• Radisson’s anti-bribery e-learning training provides participants with an opportunity to understand Radisson’s policies and procedures, enabling them to correctly respond to any bribery related issues. The training is in line with the UK Bribery Act and the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA). The aim of the course is to educate individuals about anti-bribery regulations and the consequences if they are not applied correctly. At the end of the training, participants know how to recognise bribery, which actions are considered to be bribery, and how to react when confronted with bribery.

Which GRI Standards and corresponding Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) have been addressed?

The GRI Standards addressed in this case are:

1) Disclosure 205-1 Operations assessed for risks related to corruption

2) Disclosure 205-2 Communication and training about anti-corruption policies and procedures

3) Disclosure 205-3 Confirmed incidents of corruption and actions taken

Disclosure 205-1 Operations assessed for risks related to corruption corresponds to:

• Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 16: Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels
• Business theme: Anti-corruption

Disclosure 205-2 Communication and training about anti-corruption policies and procedures corresponds to:

• Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 16: Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels
• Business theme: Anti-corruption

 Disclosure 205-3 Confirmed incidents of corruption and actions taken corresponds to:

• Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 16: Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels
• Business theme: Anti-corruption

78% of the world’s 250 largest companies report in accordance with the GRI Standards

SustainCase was primarily created to demonstrate, through case studies, the importance of dealing with a company’s most important impacts in a structured way, with use of the GRI Standards. To show how today’s best-run companies are achieving economic, social and environmental success – and how you can too.

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References:

1) This case study is based on published information by Radisson, located at the link below. For the sake of readability, we did not use brackets or ellipses. However, we made sure that the extra or missing words did not change the report’s meaning. If you would like to quote these written sources from the original, please revert to the original on the Global Reporting Initiative’s Sustainability Disclosure Database at the link:

http://database.globalreporting.org/

2) https://www.globalreporting.org/standards/gri-standards-download-center/

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