Sustainability management

Management of sustainability work

The Board of Directors has overall responsibility for the strategic focus of sustainability and climate work. The Board of Directors also makes decisions on significant investments, such as green investment programmes and certification of properties. Feedback is provided to the Board through a six-monthly board report and an annual oral presentation by the SVP, Director of Sustainable Business.

The CEO and the executive management team are responsible for day-to-day operation of the Company and report to the Board of Directors. They are responsible for delivering on targets and strategies and taking decisions on general operational matters, including sustainability. They are also to ensure that systems and processes are in place to monitor and control the Company’s operations and risks, including climate-related risks and opportunities. The SVP, Director of Sustainable Business is a member of the executive management team.

The Sustainability Committee, consisting of representatives from the executive management team and experts, addresses ongoing issues and decisions relating to sustainability work. In 2021, for example, the Committee discussed supplementary agreements with green provisions that make it possible to work in a structured way on sustainability in Property Management as well. The Sustainability Committee is also active in the green investment programmes and the BREEAM certification process for all properties in Operator Activities. The SVP, Director of Sustainable Business convenes committee meetings.

The SVP, Director of Sustainable Business is responsible for ensuring that sustainability is integrated into Pandox’s day-to-day operations in consultation with individuals responsible for the relevant areas, who are often the heads of the business areas. The Director’s participation in executive management meetings ensures that sustainability is always high up on the agenda and
integrated into the Company’s business.

The SVP, Director of Sustainable Business also leads the Sustainability Forum attended by experts, property development managers and administrators who run the green investment programmes and BREEAM certification of properties in Operator Activities. In 2021 there was a focus on following up on the progress of the next green investment programme’s launch.

The SVP, Director of Sustainable Business reports sustainability performance to executive management on a continual basis and reports to the hotel managers in the Operator Activities segment through, among other things, the quarterly Green Update reports. Sustainability is also a permanent element of the strategic kick-off meetings held twice a year for the executive management team, board representatives, head office employees, Property Management representatives, and key decision-makers within Operator Activities.

Governing documents 

In 2019 Pandox joined the UN Global Compact and the Company will report externally on its efforts to comply with the Ten Principles on an annual basis. The Code of Conduct for employees and the Business Partner Code of Conduct are therefore based on the Ten Principles of the UN Global Compact. Pandox’s Environmental Policy establishes the values and guidelines for Pandox’s environmental work. Areas covered are energy and water consumption, emissions and waste. The precautionary principle is part of the Environmental Policy and it involves the Company proactively avoiding environmental risk.

Monitoring results

In order to perform an accurate status analysis and prioritise the right activities and investments, Pandox continued to collect sustainability data on a monthly basis in 2021 in areas such as water
and energy use as well as waste. This data is validated every quarter. At the end of the year 2021 all of the Company’s hotels in Operator Activities, as well as the majority of the hotels in Property Management, were included in the system. The goal is for all hotels to report into the system.

The sustainability data collection system enables analysis to be performed to assess and prioritise among various environmental investments. Analysis of the data resulted, among other things, in
the creation of the second green investment programme in Operator Activities. The system has also identified the need to review waste procedures on site in Pandox’s own operations to gain control, set goals and reduce waste, and the need to put in place supplementary agreements containing green provisions in Property Management to meet the requirements in both the EU taxonomy and the Paris Agreement.

To ensure compliance with the Codes, Pandox has internal control procedures, such as the “four eyes” principle which requires two signatures on contracts to minimise the risk of errors or corruption. In recruiting contexts the “grandfather” principle is applied, whereby the CEO is always involved in the recruitment of key management roles.

Whistleblower system

Pandox values an open culture and works to ensure that employees are not afraid to report irregularities and problems in the workplace so that they can be addressed. Pandox therefore has an independent, external whistleblower system available to employees and other stakeholders. Any suspected irregularities or deviations from Pandox’s policies can be reported anonymously into the system. Matters reported are handled by Pandox’s General Counsel in consultation with the SVP, Director of Sustainable Business. See also Pandox Whistleblowing Guidelines.