Community Partnerships
3 | Accelerating
Corporate Office
Neutralise negative impacts and build robust positive impacts
Outcomes
By the end of this stage you will have achieved the following outcomes from the Pathway Framework:
Destination based, community led innovation.
- Further value chain members are involved into community projects.
- There is documentary evidence of communication, consultation and engagement with local and indigenous communities.
- The level and nature of contributions made to schemes in the local community is recorded.
- Training is offered to local residents to enhance their employment opportunities.
- Any reduction in availability of basic services to local communities, identified as the result of the organisation’s activities, is addressed.
- Guidelines are effectively used and communicated.
- Hotels contribute to community / destination impact projects on regular basis.
- The organisation provides in-kind or other support for cultural heritage.
Setting up for success
Take ownership
Enable owners across all organisational teams to be innovative
Review and update governance procedures
Engage stakeholders
Collaborate with key stakeholders to develop and test an innovation project
Find other brands and management companies you can learn from
Understand impact & dependencies
1. Review community sustainability claims and assess level of evidence to support these
2. Review current opportunities for community engagement in social and environmental sustainability initiatives
3. Review guidelines for community engagement
Set targets
4. Review, strengthen and extend community engagement and destination-based sustainability targets
Take action
5. Review community engagement guidance to identify relevant actions
6. Document all destination-based projects, business contributions, community consultations, feedback, and impacts
Reviewing & Reporting Progress
Monitor & Report
Conduct an independent assessment for environmental and social impact
Review progress by comparing against previous performance and industry benchmarks where available (such as CHSB). Repeat on a regular basis (e.g. monthly/quarterly)
Document learnings and any recommendations for follow-on actions to share with internal and external stakeholders
Review benefits seen through actions
Review challenges encountered along the way and plan solutions to implement
Update leadership and staff on progress
Seek certification by a globally recognised certification programme (e.g. GSTC recognised or an ISO standard)
Inform corporate customers and investors of performance and activities
Report your progress publicly on an annual basis. Publish disaggregated data and align reporting with established frameworks, e.g. CDP, GRI, TCFD, Integrated Reporting
Share your case studies with us!
As hospitality companies progress towards Net Positive Hospitality, the Sustainable Hospitality Alliance is keen to share good news and best practice from across the industry. Our Net Positive case studies are shared across our website and LinkedIn, acting as a positive space to celebrate these actions, achievements, and commitments.
We invite hotels to get involved by sending case studies to press@sustainablehospitalityalliance.org and / or tagging @Net Positive Hospitality and @Sustainable Hospitality Alliance within LinkedIn posts relating to environmental sustainability or social responsibility.
Download checklist
Click the link below to access a PDF checklist to use offline.
View our accompanying factsheets
Test the outcomes of ESG solutions
The Net Positive Hospitality Simulation brings the Pathway to life, helping users understand the impacts of their decisions, test sustainability actions and create a tailored sustainability action plan.
Ready to move on to the next stage?
Once you have completed Community Partnerships – 3 | Accelerating, you are ready to move on to 4 | Leading.
