Glh hotels recognises that we have an impact on the natural resources and communities in which we operate and we want to ensure that where possible, this impact is positive. We have a Corporate Social Responsibility agenda which outlines the areas we have prioritised for our effort and investment including activities taking place at a corporate level as well as more local initiatives at the individual hotels.
glh hotels is a wholly owned subsidiary of GL Group, which is listed on the Singapore Stock Exchange. The GL Group takes its commitment to a Corporate Social Responsibility agenda very seriously and as such we at glh hotels have some firm commitments to sustainability that we report on annually and which are outlined in more detail in the GL Annual Report outlined as follows:
glh requests regular reporting from the energy companies in order to measure the energy used per £ of revenue as well as per room in the hotels. We will aim to decrease our usage by 5% in 2018. The plan is to use items such as LED lighting, reduced flow taps in guest rooms, investment into more energy efficient equipment.
We will be carrying out a glh wide Carbon Footprint assessment and this will allow us to identify short, medium and long term areas for improvement in reducing the impact we have on our environment.
We accord the highest importance towards the safety and security of our guests and anyone who visits our properties. For some time standard safety and security practices have been incorporated into all our hotel operations and activities, and these are regularly reviewed to ensure they are sufficient. In our hotel kitchens, we strictly adhere to regulated food safety standards to ensure the highest levels of food safety. To ensure customers & employee safety we undertake quarterly audits from an external company (NSF) to ensure health & safety, hygiene & fire compliance which are shared and regularly reviewed with the General Managers of the hotels.
GL takes its data protection and privacy obligations very seriously. We have established internal policies and processes to comply with applicable data protection laws, including the UK's Data Protection Act 1998 and The European General Data Protection Regulation, which comes into force in May 2018.
The hospitality industry is based on relationships and at GL we work hard to ensure that we have the right people in the organisation who share in our values and can provide exceptional guest experiences. We want to create a place where people want to work, where they have the right tools and environment to do great work, and where they can develop skills to enable them to progress their careers here.
Across our hotels, we employ 1682 employees. While we employ most of our workers directly, we employ a number of casual workers and our housekeeping services are outsourced.
Our Employee Handbook outlines our employee code of conduct and provides guidelines to our employees on our values and operations. We are also currently developing an Employer Brand for glh Hotels, which includes an internal and external programme to support deployment such as establishing employee communications and engagement.
We have a positive impact on communities through creating jobs, stimulating local economic development and helping to ensure community resilience through skill building opportunities.
We know that our success and the well-being of those who work in our hotels are closely linked. That is why we invest in the communities around us. Our hotels contribute to their local communities and our contributions focus on supporting underprivileged youth and the homeless.
Partnerships have been formed with House of St.Barnabus and Working Chance, two London based charities who support ex-offenders and ex-homeless back into meaningful employment.
At glh hotels we want to ensure that we do more than simply meet our legal requirements and therefore, in addition to the Corporate Social Responsibility activities we also spend time looking locally at the impact we have on the communities in which we operate.
Individuals who give the most and make the largest contribution to society are often those who seek the least reward for their efforts. These are the hidden heroes who are all around us, helping those in need, and inspiring others to follow their example.
This is why we have chosen to support Room to Reward, a unique charity which was created to say thank you to some of the most inspirational staff and volunteers who make a personal sacrifice and have a positive effect on people's lives every day. At glh Hotels we are showing what great London hospitality really is, by donating rooms across our 17 hotels to these heroes.
Each of our hotels also works closely with charities which mean something to them, whether its close to the location in which they operate, or its a cause that they’re particularly passionate about.
Some examples include:
Charing Cross hotel has partnered with the Adopt a School programme and currently works with St. Joseph’s Primary School in Covent Garden.
The Adopt a School programme teaches children about food in a holistic sense - where it comes from, how to cook it and its impact on health and the environment. Professional Chefs and hospitality professionals deliver sessions in the classroom (and sometimes in restaurants or on farms) which range in content from a taste and sensory session to advanced practical cookery and front of house.
This statement is made on behalf of glh hotels pursuant to the section 54(1) of the Modern Slavery Action 2015 and comprises our slavery and human trafficking statement.
glh is owned by gl; an investment holding company based in Singapore with principal investments in hotel management & operations, gaming, oil & gas, property development and other areas in the leisure industry.
We are the largest hotel owner-operator in London with 5,000+ bedrooms and 130+ meeting and event spaces across the capital.
Our supply chain include outsource of housekeeping services, some IT service provision, food and beverage contracts and other operational contracts. We ensure that employment practises are considered as part of the procurement process and include appropriate questions on ethical employment in tenders and assess the responses provided. We ensure that the way in which we work with our suppliers does not contribute to the use of illegal or unethical employment practices within the supply chain.
All glh suppliers are expected to sign up to our supplier code of conduct which outlines our expectations in respect of modern slavery, human rights and ethical employment practises. We monitor the employment practices of our high risk suppliers, making this a standard agenda item for all contract management meetings/reviews.
We are committed to ensuring that there is no slavery or human trafficking in any part of our business or supply chain, including the use of our hotels as locations to facilitate or support human trafficking or modern slavery.
Our Modern Slavery policy reflects our commitment to implementing and enforcing effective processes and controls to ensure slavery and human trafficking is not taking place in our business.
We have clear procedures in place to identify and assess potential risk areas which include inappropriate employment practices and use of our hotels to facilitate slavery or human trafficking. We regularly review risks through our Risk Committee and have a robust process in place to protect whistleblowers.
To ensure a high level of understanding of the risks of modern slavery and human trafficking in our business and supply chains we provide relevant training to our staff.
glh is proud to be part of the Stop Slavery Hotel Industry Network, which seeks to works collectively to realise a vision of a slavery-free industry
The Network is committed to meeting regularly to share experiences, current good practice, learn from individual situations, and facilitate action to ensure that our industry is not seen as a soft target for modern slavery.