RIU Hotels & Resorts has just signed a new and important step forward in its Proudly Committed sustainability strategy through the implementation of two key policies: the Sustainability Policy and the Purchasing and Supplier Policy. These two documents mark the path that will guide the operation of the hotels and the supply chain towards a more responsible, ethical and sustainable model. The policies have been approved by the RIU Sustainability Committee before being submitted to its Board of Directors, which signed off on their approval and entry into force at the last meeting.
The new Sustainability Policy aims to establish the general principles of action and commitments in this area, as well as to define the bases that must govern RIU's sustainability strategy. Through this new policy, RIU voluntarily assumes certain ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) commitments, which go beyond legal obligations, and which will affect its operations and hotel activity.
This new policy encompasses and updates the approaches and commitments assumed in previous RIU policies. These policies, approved at the time by the Board of Directors, were: the Environmental Policy, from November 2011; the Local Community Policy, from April 2012; the Quality Policy, from April 2014 and the Food Waste Reduction Policy, from January 2024.
On the other hand, the new Purchasing and Supplier Policy focuses on the criteria that should guide the purchasing policy and its strategy and on the working model that the company has with its suppliers from their selection, contracting and development of the subsequent commercial relationship. All of this, while maintaining quality standards and considering the availability of the offer in each destination.
To ensure and facilitate the achievement of these objectives, RIU has created a new Sustainable Purchasing Department that will be responsible, among other functions, for coordinating, assessing and measuring the purchase of products that come from sustainable sources and under controlled conditions; as well as monitoring suppliers in terms of ESG.
The hotel chain believes that it is essential that its own supply chain shares the desire to comply with the same commitments in terms of sustainability and responsible management. A commitment that RIU is already working on thanks to the signing of an agreement with Achilles, recognized worldwide as an expert in supply chain risk management and a specialist in ESG criteria.
Both policies, defined by the Corporate Social Responsibility department and the Purchasing department, respectively, have been approved by the Board of Directors, responsible for determining and approving the company's general policies and strategies. Likewise, their content will be subject to annual review, in order to adapt them to changes that may arise in the business model or in the context in which the hotel chain operates.
A policy is a statement of commitments that must then be translated into work plans to implement them throughout the company. The different legislations and sensitivities of the communities where RIU operates, present in 21 countries, will affect the speed of its deployment. In any case, RIU approves these policies with the conviction that they are achievable and with the commitment to work towards achieving the intentions defined in its policies.
In addition, the hotel chain, in compliance with its commitment to transparency, will report annually on the progress made in the goals of both policies and, if applicable, identify the barriers that hinder their achievement.