Gurugram, India – September 2024: SAMHI Hotels Limited, one of the country’s leading hospitality companies, has released its Business Responsibility and Sustainability Report (BRSR) for the financial year 2023-24. In accordance with the LODR guidelines of SEBI, it reports on the continuance of business activities along with the aspects of sustainable operations, inclusion, environmental and social impacts.
Overview of Company and Market Presence
SAMHI Hotels was incorporated in 2010 and is engaged in the hospitality industry, offering services related to accommodation, food, and beverages in its 31 hotels spread across India. The company operates 31 hotels and two offices across India, accounting for 100% of the turnover from hotel operations. The stakeholders include leisure guests, long-stay guests, conference guests, and dining and banqueting customers.
Diversity and Inclusion at Workforce
On a consolidated basis, the company has 3,238 employees: 2,607 permanent employees and 631 on other contracts. The workforce is predominantly male at 85.3%, while women constitute 14.7%. The Company has made its workforce inclusive for differently-abled persons with a total share of 0.62% of the total workforce. Further, SAMHI board of directors consists of 12.5% females, while 25% of its Key Management Personnel are female.
In addition to this, numerous corporate activities have been directed toward encouraging employee health and welfare; this includes comprehensive health and accident insurance, fully paid for all permanent and contract employees. SAMHI is committed to diversity by guaranteeing policies of equal opportunity, fair compensation, and a safe workplace.
Sustainability and Social Accountability
SAMHI Hotels is keenly aware of its footprint on the environment and has identified the key focus areas in its BRSR. It has identified energy consumption, emission, water management, and waste reduction as the critical area of environmental impact and hence a potential business risk.
Energy Efficiency and Emissions Reduction
Critical activities in SAMHI to reduce its ecological footprint include increasing the energy efficiency of buildings and transition towards renewable sources. The strategies being used by the company include installing photovoltaic solar panels, energy-efficient lighting, and SAMConnect-an energy monitoring system. This shall reduce the consumption of non-renewable energy, in return reducing the emission of greenhouse gasses.
Water and Waste Management
Similarly, SAMHI duly follows water conservation and waste management practices. Installation of biodegradable waste composition units, abolition of single-use plastics, and establishment of processes for water recycling towards HVAC, flushing, and landscaping purposes have been ensured. This helps reduce the ecological footprint of the company and helps reinforce the long-term objectives of sustainability.
Social Impact and Sustainable Procurement
The chain of social responsibility for SAMHI goes further to the supply chain, where the highest priority is given to the purchase of goods and services within the local community to stimulate economic development in the company’s area of operation. This company embraces diversity among suppliers and seeks to involve more local entrepreneurs in business deals, enacting procurement practices that are in line with the sustainable development policy.
Commitment to Human Rights and Ethical Conduct
Ethical values are considered in the governance framework of SAMHI through various policies on human rights, anti-corruption, and anti-bribery. Internal Complaint Committees have been formed at different levels to deal with the grievance related to harassment and discrimination. SAMHI also complies with all labor laws and regulations, including those related to labor rights, workplace safety, and nondiscrimination against employees.
Challenges and Future Outlook
While SAMHI has made much progress during its journey of sustainable performance, the company does realize that there are certain challenges that still persist in the hospitality industry, including high employee turnover and improvement in data privacy and cybersecurity. In light of this, SAMHI is committed to investment in training employees, building better infrastructure, and deploying advanced technologies which will protect customer and employee data.
In the future, SAMHI is committed to achieving its ESG objectives by 2030: single-use plastics to be nil, transition of vehicles to non-emission-based, and expansion of EV charging infrastructure to all possible locations. For the company, sustainability is more than mere regulatory compliance; it constitutes one of the strategic priorities in keeping with the long-range vision of emerging as a responsible and sustainable hospitality player.
Conclusion
The 2023-24 BRSR of SAMHI Hotels Limited underlines its whole-of-the-piecemeal integration of sustainability into the core of the operations of the company. At SAMHI, working with environmental, social, and governance factors actually empowers business resilience and contributes to societal goals. Its commitment towards responsible business practices places it well to meet the evolving expectations of stakeholders and drive long-term value creation.