HUMAN RESOURCE RISKS
The Company recognises human resource as an important contributing factor towards the stable growth of the Company, and accordingly efforts are taken to enhance the processes for recruitment, compensation, training and development of employees. Identification of core competencies is critical in the employee selection and development processes, and the implementation of performance assessment and management programmes, coupled with career development and training programmes, are part of the Company’s human resource strategy to improve work performance, maximise competencies, increase staff commitment and retention, and develop further an effective succession planning programmes within the organisation.The management also supports work-life harmony programmes and family-friendly policies as part of our efforts to help employees achieve a balanced life between work and family and at the same time create a quality workplace.
CRISIS RISKS
Operating in an environment with potential threats of terrorism, epidemic outbreaks and information systems failure, the management has put in place a company-wide Business Continuity Plan (“BCP”) to mitigate the risks of interruption and catastrophic loss to our operations and information database arising from such potential threats.The RM Committee is responsible for overseeing the maintenance of the BCP. Procedures and processes of the BCP include identification of alternate recovery centers, operational procedures to enable communication, continuity of critical business functions and recovery of database in the event of a crisis incident. Periodic incident management drills are conducted to familiarise employees with the emergency response and crisis management plans of the Company. The plans to carry out periodic tests on BCP, results of the tests, as well as recommendations and corrective actions are reviewed by the RM Committee annually and reported to the Audit Committee. Further enhancement during the year included the alignment of corporate BCP to various operating departments’ environmental emergency procedures.
EHS RISKS
As a developer with extensive operations, strategic and concerted efforts have been put in to mitigate the impact of our operations on the environment. The Company’s EHS Policy (established in 2003) sets the strategic direction for all departments, employees and stakeholders to take practical effort to ensure effective EHS management in our operations.To manage our EHS risks, since 2003, the Company has integrated an EHS Management System within our operations, certified against the international ISO 14001 Environmental Management System and OHSAS 18001 Occupational Health and Safety Management System on an annual basis.
Through this system, the Company evaluates our key EHS risks, determining the risk level based on a risk assessment technique consisting of the likelihood of the occurrence and severity of the impact. Control measures are promptly applied to mitigate all significant EHS risks. This is done through setting objectives and targets, establishing programmes and/or putting in place work procedures and work instructions. The guiding principle of the mitigating measures is to follow the hierarchy of control, starting with elimination, and then moving to substitution, isolation, use of engineering control, use of administrative control and last of all, use of personal protective equipment.
The Company addresses climate change in our business operations and has set a target to reduce our carbon intensity emissions by 22% by 2020 from baseline year 2007 and 25% by 2030.
The Company’s EHS targets and performance are measured and regularly tracked by internal and external auditors. Gaps and possible risks are identified for prompt rectification and continual improvement.
MILLENNIUM & COPTHORNE HOTELS PLC (“M&C”)
The risk management activity of M&C, the Group’s hotel arm, is directed by its Executive Management Committee led by its Chief Executive Officer, who undertake regular reviews of (i) the risk registers, compiled and updated to map the nature of the risks relative to their likelihood of occurrence and severity and associated trends, and (ii) the progress of the risk treatment plans devised to eliminate, minimise or transfer risks. Overall responsibility for the risk management process of the M&C group lies with the board of M&C, and the audit committee of M&C reviews, on behalf of the board, the effectiveness of the group’s risk management processes and other internal controls. Information on M&C’s principal risks can be found in its annual report for 2011.On the EHS front, in 2011, M&C’s European region received formal accreditation to the OHSAS 18001 standard for its health and safety system and achieved formal accreditation to the ISO 14001 standard for its environmental management system. M&C intends to implement these systems progressively in its other operating regions.
Whilst M&C continually assesses its environment impact and actively seeks ways to reduce it through improvements in its hotel’s operating infrastructure and by modifying work practices, the hotel management also works with its suppliers to minimise the environment impact of their activities. Environmental performance is also being integrated into the operational objectives of the hotel staff. The M&C group monitors the carbon footprint for all of its owned and managed properties, and the board of M&C has set a target for the group’s energy consumption.(1)
| (1) | Please refer to M&C's Annual Report 2011, which is available online at www.millenniumhotels.com, pages 39 to 41 for details of their CSR performance. |