Climate change and resource scarcity are among society’s most significant challenges. As a responsible business, we are fully committed to minimising our operational impact on the environment and taking an active approach to sustainable practices when and wherever possible. Incorporating sustainability is a core business strategy to ensure we do business correctly.
As a diversified property business with hotels, property and construction functions, Arora Group has an integral role to play in the transition to a sustainable, low-carbon economy. We recognise the complex challenges of achieving sustainable development in our locations and the indirect environmental impacts through our construction, hotel operations, property management and facilities management activities, and procurement practices.
The social and economic consequences of a changing climate will increasingly impact our customers and all our stakeholders, and managing these risks can help us capture new market opportunities by recognising and understanding these issues.
We understand we also have a direct environmental impact on natural resources in our operations across our businesses. Our environmental management activities focus on several key areas, the most crucial being how we construct and use our buildings. While carbon management is a key priority, we have expanded the scope of our environmental management programme to include water, waste and paper.
Enhance employee attraction, engagement, education and productivity. Furthermore, it can make a real difference in helping to build and retain trust among many stakeholders.
Improvement in operational efficiency will allow for saving on utility bills. Additionally, we can showcase corporate values and develop new marketing opportunities.
Reduce negative environmental impacts by lowering energy use and greenhouse gas emissions and eliminating single-use plastics. We can also support biodiversity and enhance working environments.
Increase employee engagement and a sense of purpose. Furthermore, it contributes to the local area and community.
Heating and air conditioning hours are scheduled according to business needs to limit energy consumption and temperatures are regularly reviewed to support comfort and reduce energy use. Also, all employees are encouraged to switch off computers, monitors, lights, and printers at the end of the day.
Regular maintenance (e.g. ventilation filter cleaning/replacement, cleaning of heat exchange units, replacing piping and duct insulation) – in addition to improving energy efficiency, this will also enhance the quality of air and building user comfort.
Lights throughout all the properties are replaced with LED lights which are energy efficient. Properties also feature passive infrared sensors - PIR, which detect motion and switch lights on/off accordingly.
Signages and educational materials are shared with staff and building users on good practices, their benefits and tips for energy-saving practices (e.g. switching off monitors, lights, and printers).
Arora Group is committed to sourcing materials to support reductions in the company’s overall environmental footprint and reduce our supply chain’s negative social impacts.
During our tendering process, we emphasise that all suppliers demonstrate their approach to sustainability and what management systems they have in place to show how they operate.Therefore, we favour the use of suppliers who use materials which have high recycled content, are certified and contain non-toxic goods. Labels are also reviewed to understand the quality of the products.
Our head offices feature indoor plants to enhance staff mental health and views of greenery to decrease stress. The office also features spaces that staff can use for therapeutic purposes.
Using stairs, exercising regularly, and walking/cycling are promoted amongst our staff to encourage active lifestyles and social engagement.
Our facilities offer healthy food options and provide water bottle refilling to encourage regular water drinking and support the reduction of plastic waste. We also use educational material to highlight the benefits of healthy nutrition, exercise and drinking water.
Signage/posters are utilised to encourage handwashing in all bathrooms and kitchens to support good hygiene and virus prevention. Our engineers conduct regular (annual) water testing to monitor composition and pollutant levels.
Arora Group engages employees and contributes to the local area supporting an employee’s sense of purpose. The company provides volunteering opportunities to employees by partnering with local groups (e.g. schools, charities, food banks) and community groups (e.g. youth clubs, sports teams, and police force).
Fundraising opportunities are organised for employees to donate money (e.g. MacMillan Coffee Mornings, Sports Relief, Cancer Research Week). Furthermore, sustainability-related volunteering opportunities are also available for employees to participate in (e.g. earth day, litter picking and tree planting).
The Arora Group has supported various charities by donating ballroom space to support their fundraising events. To date, these events have raised £4.5 million.
Where possible, we source goods and services from local suppliers (e.g. furniture, poultry, alcohol, bakery etc.) We also utilise the local workforce and work with local job centre agencies to advertise jobs.
All hotels within the group have appropriate waste separation facilities (e.g. dry recycling (paper, glass), food waste, printer ink cartridges, batteries, and electronic equipment) and are set with a recycling target to monitor progress. All e-wastes (e.g. computers, monitors, printers, mobile phones) are donated or recycled.
Measures have been developed to inspire employees and building users to recycle and understand the importance of waste separation and recycling. All bins are labelled accurately and clearly to improve clarity and understanding of waste streams.
As part of the company’s goals to reduce single plastic use, properties are shifting towards using reusable or recyclable alternatives (e.g. cups, straws, packaging, amenities). Also, water bottle refilling stations are provided to reduce purchasing of water in single-use plastic bottles.
We understand the responsible role we must play in all we create and operate. And we see the measures we take as being essential to doing business in the right way.
Climate change and resource scarcity are among society’s greatest challenges. And we are fully committed to minimising our operational impact on the environment when and wherever we can.
As part of the nationwide transition to a sustainable, low-carbon economy, we make significant indirect environmental impacts. We do this through our construction, hotel operations, property management, facilities management activities, and procurement practices. And we recognise the complex challenges of achieving sustainable development in the locations in which we operate. The changing climate's social and economic consequences will increasingly affect our customers and stakeholders. So, we will manage risk and capture new market opportunities by acknowledging and understanding these issues.
We also have a direct environmental impact on natural resources in our operations across our businesses. Our environmental management activities focus on several areas, the most crucial being how we construct and use our buildings. And while carbon management remains a priority, we have expanded the scope of our environmental management programme to include water, waste and paper.
At a minimum, our policy requires compliance with all relevant UK legislation. But we go further.
Arora Group minimises its impact on the environment by:
Integrating environmental considerations into business decisions that support our environmental sustainability initiatives.
Using sustainable practices in property design, property construction, and property management.
Setting targets on critical aspects of our environmental performance and reviewing them periodically.
Reducing carbon emissions from our operations by investing in energy-efficient buildings and technology, improving our energy management, managing our business travel, and influencing colleagues’ behaviour.
Managing indirect impacts in the supply chain by collaborating with key suppliers to secure an improvement in our environmental performance and their own.
Raising our employees’ awareness of environmental issues, encouraging environmentally responsible behaviour, and providing appropriate training. This enables every team member to play a meaningful role in implementing our environmental policy.
Engaging with industry groups and non-governmental organisations to contribute positively and proactively to environmental sustainability in business.
