Local Sourcing & SMEs
2 | Advancing
Corporate Office
Minimise negative impacts and initiate positive impacts
Outcomes
By the end of this stage you will have achieved the following outcomes from the Pathway Framework:
Preferred local sourcing, supporting local SMEs (small and medium enterprises).
- Majority of food is sourced from property’s local region.
- Local SMEs in current supply chain are supported in achieving and reporting on ESG outcomes.
- Partnerships have been scoped for supporting local SMEs not in supply chain.
Setting up for success
Take ownership
Identify owners across all key organisational teams
Implement a Sustainability Monitoring System (SMS) if not done already
Include senior leadership to make sure there is ownership and buy-in from the top-level
Engage stakeholders
Review and engage stakeholders previously mapped, and identify any additional key external stakeholders in the value chain to engage with on Human Rights, Labour practices and EDI
Find other brands and management companies you can learn from
Establish a feedback mechanism for key stakeholders to comment on sustainability initiatives
Check whether there are any local, regional or national plans that could be aligned to support wider efforts
Understand impact & dependencies
1. Gather data to gain a deeper understanding of SMEs and locally owned businesses providing food produce
2. Work with large suppliers who are part of the centralised procurement systems to see if they have any data on working with local food producers and suppliers
3. Review initiatives where the focus has been working with local farmers, distributors, and SMEs to provide F&B
4. Understand what the barriers have been to working with SMEs, from SME and hotel procurement perspective
Set targets
5. Share analysis with senior management and agree on priority area to focus on
6. Review targets for increasing food and beverage procurement from SMEs and local suppliers
Take action
7. Review available guidance to identify additional relevant actions which increase local sourcing and working with SMEs
8. Determine financial and non-financial resources needed, create a business case and gather required resources
9. Take action on priority areas with Tier 1 suppliers
10. Raise employee awareness of commitments, and their role in achieving them
11. Engage with guests to enable them to make more sustainable choices
Reviewing & Reporting Progress
Monitor & Report
Conduct an external audit on key environmental and social data
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
Create a revolving fund to reinvest savings from efficiency measures into new sustainability initiatives, if not done already
Inform corporate customers and investors of performance and activities by including information in communications and meetings
Publicly report progress against company targets on an annual basis
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 onto the next stage?
Once you have completed Local Sourcing & SMEs 2 | Advancing, you are ready to move on to 3 | Accelerating.