CSR : Hilton banks on a solid approach

The popular notion of sustainable development and its corollary responsible business receive special attention at Hilton. All the initiatives in this field are brought together by the Group under the initials CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility). Such initiatives received many awards over the last three years. The guideline? To go “beyond our legal obligations” as far as environmental protection and community involvement is concerned… Everything is being done to maintain a positive public image of Hilton, whose goal is both ethical and marketing oriented. It is not so much the actions themselves that are original (similar approaches are being taken at the vast majority of brands) but how Hilton constantly follows, evaluates and tries to improve its commitments in the area, as well as the Group’s will to implicate all its collaborators in the process. This is because Corporate Social Responsibility is as important internally as it is externally. The key idea to the concept is to find a balance between the shareholders’ interests and those of the collaborators at the corporation, as well as the latter’s human and natural environment. At Hilton, for example, there is a European Consultative Forum (ECF) consisting of a 48-member panel of the group’s employees from Hilton hotels in 21 countries in the European Union. These employees recently met in Paris, where they took advantage of the opportunity to renew the current agreement with the European Work Council until 2012. This agreement, which bears on working conditions within the group, is already seven years old. “ It is very important for our European management to promote CSR at our properties on a local level,” summarised Manfred Monje, secretary of the ECF during debates. Through its programmes, Hilton aims at introducing responsibility and citizenship at each level of the group’s operations.All these facets are laid out...