Caribbean News
SANDALS® RESORTS, AN INFLUENTIAL VOICE ON ESG ACROSS THE REGION
May 5, 2023 – Sandals Resorts’ stance on Environmental Social and Governance (ESG) programmes continues to be a big ethos for the leading hotel brand. Also fundamental on the organization’s agenda is being the voice championing regional partnerships between governments and the private sector and the benchmark for a corporate ESG framework.
Recently, Sandals Resort’s Chief Experience Officer Jessica Shannon along with a panel of change makers spoke impressively on the topic, Transforming from the inside for the outside: The future of ESG reporting and governance at the Island Innovation hosted, and Price Waterhouse Coopers (PwC) sponsored, Island Finance Forum 2023: Investment for Sustainable Development.
Joining Shannon in the vital and timely conversation were fellow panellists Cheryl Senhouse, Finance Innovation Director at Caribbean Climate-Smart Accelerator, Tisha Marajh, Senior Manager and Group Sustainability Officer, Republic Bank and Gillian Charles-Gollop, Executive Director, Corporate Banking and Sustainable Finance at CIBC First Caribbean. The panel was ably moderated by Ronaele Dathorne-Bayrd, Partner Regional Tax and Legal Services Leader, PwC East Caribbean and Lisa Kadirulla, Corporate Services Senior Manager, PwC, East Caribbean.
The discussion, according to Dathorne-Bayrd is a very important topic for private organizations and plays a major part in being the driving force of their impact in the business community.
Shannon in her delivery shared that Sandals has been non-traditional in its approach, “our founder Gordon ‘Butch’ Stewart was a visionary who recognized that any sustainable model required ESG. This has been key for the organization and we have the benefit of tremendous support from our leaders. We know that any risk to the framework is a major issue for our (business) and any business overall.”
Since inception, Sandals has displayed care and concern for the sustainability of the region. In the early 90’s, Sandals received its first certification from EarthCheck, the world’s leading science-based environmental certification and benchmarking program for the travel and tourism industry. To date, all Sandals and Beaches resorts are EarthCheck certified with some already attaining Platinum and even Master Status, the highest accolade awarded by EarthCheck. Furthering the focus on ESG, was the successful implementation of key entities such as the Sandals Foundation, the resort chain’s philanthropic arm which continues to make a significant difference in the Caribbean by funding impactful and meaningful initiatives in education, community and the environment.
Capacity building of the company’s team members is also vital, shared Shannon, and this has seen huge business advantages, “in 2012 the company launched the Sandals Corporate University giving team members ongoing access to learning with some 34000 certifications issued in the last 11 years,” she voiced.
Sandals has positioned itself as the centre of excellence by leading on the global stage on the significance of ESG. “We recognize the importance of partnerships and we are looking forward to more collaboration.” Shannon further elaborated on this, “our Executive Chairman (EC), Adam Stewart is the chair of the Tourism Linkages Council in Jamaica. The Council is comprised of key public and private sector partners who oversee the coordination and implementation of effective and sustainable strategies which strengthen and facilitate linkages across productive sectors of the economy.”
In providing some key advice to organizations starting their ESG journey, Shannon had this to say “make sure you have all your stakeholders on board. This will be a culture shift and you need to pick the things that are important and align with company strategies.” She continued to share that reporting is also paramount “being able to measure performance and properly report it is important. Make sure it is seen as a business imperative and not something ‘nice-to-have’. Committing to the ESG framework makes good business sense.”
Photo caption: Sandals Resort’s Chief Experience Officer Jessica Shannon
KINGSTON, April 29 (JIS):
Minister without Portfolio in the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation, Senator the Hon. Matthew Samuda, says the outcome of discussions arising from the Jamaica National Stakeholder Consultation on Climate Services and the 1st National Climate Forum (NCF-1) will assist in guiding the Government’s planning for climate change.
This, he points out, is important for climate mitigation as well as building Jamaica’s resilience.
“We look forward to the discussions that will, no doubt, take place. We look forward to the basis of planning for the Government to streamline its investments to ensure you have the tools that you need to better advise us, that the WRA (Water Resources Authority) has the tools to digitise its monitoring network, and that all of the agencies that touch our planning mechanisms have the tools. But we need to know what we are facing, and we’re guided by your expertise,” Minister Samuda said.
He was addressing the opening ceremony for the Jamaica National Stakeholder Consultation on Climate Services and the 1st National Climate Forum (NCF-1) at the Courtyard by Marriott Hotel in New Kingston on Monday (April 29).
Senator Samuda said given the fact that the climate has changed and continues to do so, investments in and collaborations on building Jamaica’s predictive and scientific capacity must be prioritised.
“Ultimately, we need to be able to assess our current climatic realities if we are to better plan, if we’re to insist and ensure that our infrastructure meets the needs that we need it to. I’m very happy that this event is happening… because this is a critical issue.
“Jamaica, last year, faced its worst and most severe drought… and this year, we’re already seeing the impacts of not quite as severe a drought but, certainly, a drought with severe impacts, especially in the western part of the country,” he said.
Principal Director, Meteorological Service of Jamaica, Evan Thompson, explained that the forum aims to, among other things, establish a collaboration platform for climate services providers and users to understand risks and opportunities of past, present and future climate developments, as well as improve inter-agency coordination of policies, plans and programmes.
Among the other presenters were Ambassador, European Union to Jamaica, Her Excellency Marianne Van Steen; Chief Scientist/Climatologist, Caribbean Institute for Meteorology and Hydrology, Adrian Trotman; and Head, Regional Climate Prediction Services, World Meteorological Organization, Wilfran Moufouma-Okia.
The Meteorological Service of Jamaica hosted the Jamaica National Stakeholder Consultation on Climate Services and the 1st National Climate Forum (NCF-1) in partnership with the Caribbean Institute for Meteorology and Hydrology and the World Meteorological Organization.
The National Stakeholder Consultation is a governance mechanism that guides how different sectors or actors work together to create products that contribute to adaptation and resilience-building. It seeks to create a road map for the development and implementation of climate services to inform decision-making.
NCF-1 aims to bridge the gap between climate providers and users. It increases the use of science-based information in decision-making and operations with the aim of generating and delivering co-produced and co-designed products and services.
CONTACT: CHRIS PATTERSON
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