There's nothing better
than an idea than a shared idea!Have a look at what your fellow Team Members are doing all over the world as part of the we care! programme.
Hilton Malta removes over 330 000 plastic cups from landfills
The Hilton Malta we care! team have
embarked on another in-house environmental initiative. After a number of we care
meetings the Green Team made a proposal to the General
Manager to do away with the polystyrene
cups that Team Members use at the BOH. The GM
thrilled with this idea and supported it from the very
start and encouraged us all the way to be implemented.
Over the past years we have seen a huge increase per
year of the number of polystyrene throw away cups) being disposed every year. In
2007 that number has gone up to 330,000 cups, 9000 more than the previous
year. This also amount to thousands of euros.
The Green Team decided to launch this campaign with a
bang. We introduced a ceramic mug with the we care! logo and
offered it to our TMs for 1 euro. In return this money will be doubled by the
hotel’s commitment to CSR, will go for the 3 4 U (tree for you)
campaign.
France & Mediterranean Region recognise those with Green Spirit
The France and Mediterranean
region have recognised two winners for their first Green Sprit Awards.
France Winner
IMAD MATAR - Hilton Paris La Defense
Imad
shows enormous dedication to the we care! programme from the launch. His
constant hardwork/creativity with the programme have led to great actions
including the creation of the Film for the Regional Challenge. Imad has also
played a major part in implementing the Newsletter into the cluster - creating
the last edition alone.
Eastern Mediterranean Winner
Mario Morano - Hilton Malta
Mario
has been indispensable in the re-launch of the 2008 campaign and organising of
all activities in the 2008 action plan. Mario has proven to be a great team
motivator, not only in leading by example but in consistently coming up with new
projects to keep the team's interest and commitment alive.
Hilton Cyprus plants trees following destructive forest fires
During the summer of 2007, 75 forest fires burst out and 1.397 hectares (13,97 sq. Km.) were burned in Cyprus. The forests and bushes cover 42,44% of the total area of the island. For Cyprus, a small island, 9.250 sq. Km, in the Mediterranean sea, the destruction occurred by the fires, had a huge outcome in the environment of the whole island. For this reason, the Hilton Cyprus team, on 26 February 2008, under the supervision of the Cyprus Forest Department, voluntarily planted new trees (pines, olive trees, carob trees and mastic trees) in one of the areas destroyed by the fires.
Hilton celebrates Global Earth Day
Earth Day, April 22, is the annual
celebration of the environment and a time to assess the work needed to protect
the natural gifts of our planet.
Earth Day has no central organizing
force behind it. However there are several non governmental organizations
working to keep track of the thousands of local events in schools, parks and
work places to mark the day.
Small environmental actions can
make a big difference!
Here's what some of our hotels got
up to this year to celebrate our Earth...
Hilton Budapest
Hilton Budapest organised a big spring-clean in the old
Castle District, where the hotel is located. This area is frequented and loved
by tourists and families with children.
The Hilton Budapest made a donation the Budapest Zoo,
adopting Cloé the seal. We have chosen a seal, because these animals are very
endangered due to global warming and harmful human treatment of the environment.
Our 50 team members together with representatives from the
Local Government and the Foundation of Hungarian Culture spent Earth Day
collecting waste, sweeping the pedestrian areas, removing weeds and planting
flowers, etc.
As a symbol of our environmental commitment we planted a lime
tree behind the hotel. This tree has been named our “we care! tree”
Hilton Valencia
All Team Members wore a leaf to explain
to Hilton guests about Earth Day.
Hilton Malta wins
environmental award
Hilton Malta
have recently been awarded First Prize in “Category A” in the “Environment Award
for Industry 2007” by the Centre for Cleaner Technology under the patronage of
the University of Malta. The award is designed to recognise and promote
organisations that have made a significant contribution to environmental
protection throughout 2007.
Category A
is Management Awards for Sustainable Development which recognises the important
role of management systems approach in delivering continuous improvements in
environmental performance. The aim is to highlight policies, practices and
processes from all sectors of the industry which are helping to achieve economic
and social development while minimising the environmental impact of their
operations.
As an awardee, Hilton Malta has applied for
the European Business Award for the Environment (EBAE)
we care! mountain bikes raises £240 (350€) for Hilton in the Community Foundation
As part of the Hilton Initiative, Miles for Fun, the we care! team donated two we care! mountain bikes for a fundraiding event for the Hilton in the Community Foundation. The photo shows Hugh Taylor and Rob Watts (Ops manager Hilton Watford) with Michaela Bishop, winner of one of the bikes..
Kids on Campus - Hilton Malta encourages school kids to go green!
Last September Hilton Malta was the main sponsor for the “Kids On Campus” environment project. Kids on Campus is a University based summer programme that caters for 400 kids from the age of 3 to 11, based on the learning through play philosophy. Hilton Malta we care! Team champion Mario Morana in collaboration with two other state entities in the environment outlined the criteria for the mini projects and judged them to name two winners. First prize was a weekend break at Hilton Malta. Second prize was a Quantum bike kindly donated by our own DO Steve Phillips. The presentation venue was also held at the Hilton Malta with a presentation of a cheque of 500 euros donated by the KOC participants the Minister of Environment for the 3 4 U campaign. The even was a great success. Two olive trees were planted at the Hilton by the two winners..
Hilton Valencia takes care to water we care!
As a newly opened hotel, Hilton Valencia have proved that you can be new and care at the same time! Thanks to the motivation of Begona Campoy (HR Manager) and Amparo Cambronero (Executive Secretary), both pictured next to the we care! board and their Green Team, the hotel has achieved the following in just 2 months!..
- 40% we care! training undertaken
- Toilet flush reminders to press the smaller button to save water
- Fair Trade Coffee Machine for TMs
- Fair Trade Products in vending machine
- Fairtrade sugar sachets in guest restaurants
On Friday 13 July, Alexander Kluit - GM of the Hilton Royal Parc Soestduinen donated a We Care Mountain Bike for Braille Without Borders. The team of the Hilton Royal Parc Soestduinen has won the We Care incentive 2006 and all team members received a fantastic mountain bike during a great event. To do something good for the community we decided to give one bike to www.rondjetibet.nlThis bike will be sold to the highest bidder and with the money raised we support this great initiative to help blind children in Tibet. A group of 8 well-known people in Soest will cycle over 1000km in Tibet starting in Lhasa. We helped them a little by donating a real Hilton We Care Mountain Bike!!
Hilton Budapest Westend Zoo--M into we care! action!
On 21 May 2007 the team of Hilton Budapest WestEnd joined the mutual effort of some Hungarian touristical organisation to deepclean a part of Budapest that belongs or links to the sights of our capital. This year we participated in the cleaning of the Zoo which is one of our most popular touristical attraction among families with children.
The Hilton Budapest WestEnd group of 40 people from all hotel departments have been sweeping the pedestrians, raking leafs, painting wooden columns, cleaning windows etc. so with being one of the biggest groups (if not the biggest) we highly contributed to the success of this day!
Hilton Lyon recognised on TV for environmental actions
On 1st February, Hilton Lyon participated in the national French action "5 minutes rest for the planet", initiated by Friends of the Earth.Mr Gilbert Gouverneur, President of the Rhône Alpes branch, as well as other members of the association, were present at the Hotel during the 5 minutes, where all hotel lights were switched off!
This action was captured on video and appeared on main TV channel, M6 during a feature "6 minutes from Lyon"
To see the video, please visit: http://www.m6info.fr/html/m6_infos/lesix.php?cp=69000
Hilton Lyon plants ahead for next Christmas!
Pictured are Bechir, Didier, Mahjouba, Karine & Sophie from Hilton Lyon, who would like to thank all the we care! volunteers who helped to plant tress near the Rhone under the Churchill bridge, in collaboration with the Town Hall, represented by the assistant Mayor, Madame Moulins. Special thanks to Dominique the gardener!
Hilton Antwerp rewards we care! "department of the month"
Well done to the HR department at Hilton Antwerp (pictured right). By paying careful attention to switching off lights, computers and printers when leaving the office, the HR Team have managed to win the first "we care! department of the month". This monthly award is handed out to the department which has welcomed a new way of acting in line with the we care! programme and is judged by the Green Team, led by Erwin Demaeyer, from their regular "energy walks" around the hotel.
Guests care too.... at Hilton Paris Orly Aiport
After a whole year training our team members, turning off the lights and investing in energy saving initiatives, we have assured our Team Members commitment in the "We Care" project. It was time to share our green initiatives with our guests. This is why we invited 60 of our top business clients to a themed cocktail on the topic of « We Care ». During this cocktail two of our Green Team Members discussed with our guests to present them the project, our results & initiatives, and how we managed to achieve them. This was also a great opportunity to show the trophy we have been awarded for all French hotels by ADEME (Agency for the Environment and Energy Control) for our involvement in preserving the environment. As this is only our start, we are facing new challenges, new targets to achieve, and still lots of efforts to go ahead with this ambitious program. It becomes crucial to involve our guests in the project and make them « think green », as much as possible. Customers and guests have shown a great interest and enthusiasm with these initiatives and confirmed their commitment.
We Care Week in Strasbourg
During the whole month of November, Strasbourg Hilton “We Care Committee” organized an exhibition to draw the attention of all clients attending Hilton hotels in order to make them think a little bit about a major problem which concerns all humans: nature and environment.
The exhibition shows two scenes: a living scene from nature and a dead side of nature. The living side symbolises nature as left by our ancestors: a green scene with fresh herbs, plants, vegetables and fruits, and running water. The dead side shows the actual impact of mankind on nature, a dried fountain, used car oil, rusted cans and plastic bags that is the result of our eagerness to increase our comfort without any respect for the environment in which our future generations will have to live in.
The exhibition has generated a lot of questions and many clients agreed with us by saying that the future of humanity could be compromised if we do not respect others’ lives, and if we do not act now to protect the common inheritance of humanity and leave our future generations a clean and healthy planet. To act now, means we should care on a daily basis by moderating our consumption of energies.
Hubert Reeves, the famous astrophysicist, who was in our hotel during the first week of November, highly appreciated our exhibition and is more than convinced that the hotel industry should make more effort than ever to support all actions towards protecting our nature.