Sustainable development

Plant for the Planet is a program of cooperation with our guests in the service of the natural environment through planting of fruit trees. The initiative started with our customers and their informed use of towels and bed linen during their stay in our hotels. The program permits to significantly reduce water consumption, waste water, cleaning agents used and electric energy needed for everyday laundry. In the scale of a hotel, and particularly the entire hotel network, this translates into considerable environmental savings. Every re-used towel is also a measurable financial saving, of which 50% we allocate for the program. Thanks to these savings, we have planted more than 15 000 fruit trees of traditional varieties, such as kosztela, in Poland.

The environmental benefits are in this case also accompanied by social gains. Planting of trees is a tangible support for small farmers, who are then able to make their living from organic food production. The partner of the project in Poland is AgriNatura Foundation (Fundacja AgriNatura) which dedicates its efforts to sustainable development of rural areas by, amongst others, protecting and increasing agricultural biodiversity and promoting ecological methods of agricultural production. The Plant for the Planet Program - a Tree for Every School implemented in Romania is based on similar foundations and financial principles as its Polish counterpart. The initiative is aimed at counteracting climate change and improving landscape quality by preserving and expanding woodlands, planting trees in degraded areas and raising environmental awareness of the public. So far more than 2 million trees have been planted together with the local people of Transylvania. The Program is run by Mihai Eminescu Trust Foundation in cooperation with schools, municipal authorities, non-governmental organizations and forest inspectorates.

As the leader in our industry, we engage with activities that influence the perceptions
and behaviours of the society as a whole. We also tackle demanding topics, sometimes
ones that are not spoken about, in the hope that by voicing social and ecological
concerns we will raise awareness and change the attitudes of many people.

FOOD LOSS PREVENTION AND WASTE REDUCTION

Year by year a staggering 1/3 of the food produced worldwide is wasted: 1.3 billion tons; in the hotel & restaurant sector some 25% of the food that is bought ends up in the bin. This means economic and social costs, but also ecological costs, because farming and food processing have an enormous impact on the environment. It takes no less than 16,000 litres of water to produce 1 kg of beef, 100 litres to make a baguette. Food produced and not eaten is responsible for over 7% of the global CO₂  emissions.

Being a socially responsible leader of the Polish hotel market, as part of its preventive and educational measures to protect minors, the Orbis Hotel Group has signed, in the presence of the Police Commander in Chief and the Nobody's Children Foundation [Fundacja Dzieci Niczyje], a groundbreaking document for the hospitality industry in Poland, namely the Code of Conduct aimed at protecting children against sexual abuse.

As a result of this excellent interdisciplinary collaboration, trilateral commitment and a common vision of promoting good practices to counteract child abuse, Orbis S.A. has signed the Code of Conduct under the honorary patronage and in the presence of the Police Commander in Chief. The Code of Conduct is our response to the global problem of sexual exploitation of minors, both in the world and in Poland, and it is targeted at raising social awareness as well as initiating and implementing measures to prevent this form of child abuse.

Code of Conduct:

By signing the Code of Conduct, Orbis S.A. joins one of Accor key commitments in its sustainable development program named Planet 21.  Through this signature, it has committed to implement the following six criteria:

1. To put in place an internal policy aimed at preventing sexual exploitation of children.
2. To train hotel staff in respect of the policy put in place by our company. Such training will involve both staff working in countries of origin and in sex tourism destinations.
3. To introduce a clause in contracts with suppliers, informing about actions taken against sex tourism in agreements with service suppliers.
4. Informowanie turystów za pomocą katalogów, broszur, ulotek, spotów czy strony internetowej o problemie wykorzystywania seksualnego dzieci i społecznym zaangażowaniu biznesu w działania mające na celu przeciwdziałanie problemowi.
5. Informowanie kluczowych osób w otoczeniu lokalnym o prowadzonej przez firmę polityce oraz współpraca z: Policją, taksówkarzami, właścicielami barów czy restauracji etc.
6. Coroczne raportowanie.

„Ochrona dzieci stanowi jedno z naszych 21 zobowiązań programu Planet 21 na rzecz zrównoważonego rozwoju.  Podpisany dokument to ważny krok w naszych działaniach na rzecz odpowiedzialnej turystyki w Polsce. Jako największa sieć hotelowa w kraju, dajemy przykład w tworzeniu dobrych praktyk w hotelarstwie, które pomagają w zwalczaniu negatywnych zjawisk społecznych. Wspólnie z naszymi partnerami będziemy edukować i informować, aby zwiększać świadomość społeczeństwa i działać prewencyjnie na rzecz ochrony nieletnich.” – skomentował Laurent Picheral,  Prezes Zarządu i Dyrektor Generalny Grupy Orbis.

Kodeks Postępowania powstał w 1998 roku z inicjatywy organizacji ECPAT (End Child Prostitution Child Pornography & Trafficking of Children for Sexual Purposes), która jest siecią organizacji pozarządowych podejmujących działania w celu wyeliminowania problemu dziecięcej prostytucji, dziecięcej pornografii i handlu dziećmi do celów komercyjnego wykorzystywania. Fundacja Dzieci Niczyje pełni w Polsce rolę lokalnego reprezentanta Kodeksu Postępowania (ang. Local Code Representative) oraz przedstawiciela organizacji ECPAT.

„To Orbis był inicjatorem podpisania Kodeksu Postępowania, co jest krokiem milowym w podnoszeniu świadomości społeczeństwa i branży turystycznej na temat przeciwdziałania wykorzystywaniu seksualnemu dzieci ” – dodaje Monika Sajkowska, Dyrektor Fundacji Dzieci Niczyje.

W Polsce, co roku Policja identyfikuje ponad 5 000 dzieci poniżej 15 roku życia, pokrzywdzonych przestępstwem wykorzystywania seksualnego (art. 200 Kodeksu Karnego) i kilkadziesiąt do kilkuset przypadków małoletnich wykorzystywanych w prostytucji.  Wiele przypadków pozostaje niezidentyfikowanych gdyż jak to podkreśla nadinsp. Marek Działoszyński, Komendant Główny Policji: „Każdego roku docieramy do setek, a nawet tysięcy krzywdzonych dzieci i pomagamy im. Ile jest jeszcze takich przypadków, o których nikt nie wie – trudno oszacować. Informacje świadczące o tym, że dziecku dzieje się krzywda, Policja pozyskuje z różnych źródeł.  Z pewnością przypadków wykorzystywania seksualnego dzieci będzie znacznie mniej, a skuteczność walki z tego rodzaju przestępczością większa, jeżeli do działań zaangażujemy wiele podmiotów. Kodeks Postępowania to jeden ze sposobów podnoszenia świadomości społeczeństwa na temat problemu wykorzystywania seksualnego dzieci w turystyce.  Ważne jest inicjowanie i wdrażanie działań, które przeciwdziałają tej formie krzywdzenia małoletnich. Takie działania Policja będzie zawsze chętnie popierała i podejmowała z pełnym zaangażowaniem.”

Orbis hotels have green building BREEAM certification. We implement equipment, intallations and monitoring that reduce energy, water and CO₂ emission. 

On June 2015 Gilles Clavie, President and CEO of Orbis S.A., signed an agreement concerning participation of the Orbis Hotel Group in the national ‘Big Family Card’ program under the patronage of the Ministry of Labour and Social Policy. Thus, Orbis S.A. is the first hotel group in Poland to have joined the government program of discounts for families with many children.

“Being a leader of the hospitality industry in Poland is a satisfaction, but also a responsibility, which we pursue through our engagement in CSR. We are glad to have joined the project of the Ministry of Labour and Social Policy. Thanks to the system of discounts which we offer via our accorhotels.com reservation platform, we would like to contribute towards reducing the cost of travel and leisure of Big Family Card holders” - says Gilles Clavie, President and CEO of Orbis S.A.

Beginning from June 1, 2015, when making a reservation through the www.accorhotels.com website, Big Family Card holders will be able to benefit from a special offer and receive 20% discount on stays in Sofitel, Mercure, Novotel, ibis, ibis Styles and ibis Budget hotels in Poland and in addition receive free breakfast for children under 16 years of age.

The “Big Family Card” is the government program of discounts for families with many children. All families with three and more children, regardless of their income, can benefit from this program. The discounts apply to, among others, railway, museum and national park entrance tickets. Companies joining the program offer their services and products at lower prices and/or in attractive packages, so that cardholders can benefit from a wide range of cultural, leisure or transportation offers.