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Local Sourcing & SMEs
1 | Starting
Corporate Office
Measure and mitigate negative impacts
Outcomes
By the end of this stage you will have achieved the following outcomes from the Pathway Framework:
Local sourcing due diligence.
- Local sourcing has been benchmarked.
- Scoping has been conducted for local sourcing potential.
- Strategy and plan have been developed for improving local sourcing.
- Priority is given to local and fair trade suppliers whenever these are available and of sufficient quality.
- The proportion of goods and services purchased from locally owned and operated businesses is measured and managed.
- The proportion of non-locally owned or operated suppliers that are fair trade is measured and managed.
Setting up for success
Take ownership
Designate a lead person or team for each activity and ensure other relevant employees are aware of their roles
Review legislation related to the portfolio
Include senior leadership to make sure there is ownership and buy-in from the top-level
Raise awareness among internal stakeholders by introducing environmental and social sustainability training
Review the possibility for a monitoring system to track all environmental and social data in one location and monitor progress
Review and update governance procedures
Engage stakeholders
Conduct a stakeholder mapping to identify relevant stakeholders, and engage key stakeholders to understand their priorities
Find other brands and management companies you can learn from
Set up a process to regularly engage with hotels, to understand challenges, identify priorities, inform them of central programmes and share solutions
Understand impact & dependencies
1. Define what local sourcing means to you
2. Draw up a list of key products / goods and services that you purchase or mandate that hotels procure
3. Engage with large suppliers who are already part of your centralised procurement systems to see if they have any data on working with local suppliers
4. Review what products / goods and services are available locally to your hotels or as fair trade options
5. Review your current suppliers
6. Collect data related to local sourcing to create a baseline
7. Analyse data to identify opportunities
8. Review dependencies relating to local sourcing & SMEs
Set targets
9. Set company targets, property-level targets for managed hotels, and suggested targets for franchised hotels for improving local sourcing
10. Share targets with internal stakeholders, including hotel GMs and procurement teams
11. Share targets with internal stakeholders, including hotel GMs and procurement teams
Resource: Net Positive Action Planner
Take action
12. Review available guidance to identify relevant actions which increase local sourcing or sourcing from SMEs. This should consist of activities to be executed in the short-term (1 year), a medium-term (3 year) plan and a headline plan for longer-term initiatives (5-year plan)
13. Review what support local suppliers and SMEs may need
14. Support properties to partner with local organisations to help build awareness and promote local sourcing
15. Develop or review policies and procedures for local supply chain sourcing to ensure consistency in all levels of sourcing and communicate this to properties
16. Determine financial and non-financial resources needed, create a business case and gather required resources
17. Engage CEO and senior leadership to share the business case to improve local sourcing and get their buy-in
18. Implement at least one initiative at hotel level to recruit local suppliers within property regions
19. Liaise with regional managers to agree what the percentage of goods and services could be purchased from locally owned and operated businesses
20. Inform employees about your local sourcing objectives and their role in achieving your targets
Reviewing & Reporting Progress
Monitor & Report
Review progress by comparing against previous performance and industry benchmarks where available (such as CHSB). Repeat on a regular basis (e.g. monthly/quarterly)
Review benefits seen through actions
Review challenges encountered along the way and plan solutions to implement
Update leadership on progress
Inform corporate customers and investors of performance and activities by including information in communications and meetings
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.
Local Sourcing & SMEs - PDF Checklist
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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.
2 | Advancing - Minimise negative impacts and initiate positive impacts
Ready to move onto the next stage?
Once you have completed Local Sourcing & SMEs – 1 | Starting, you are ready to move on to 2 | Advancing.
