Serving stakeholders and embracing purpose is central to the way Banyan Tree functions in society. Partnership is essential to achieve the SDGs, built on trust that is developed through regular stakeholder engagement. Without stakeholders, a company cannot recover and thrive once more in a post-pandemic world.
We encourage regular, personal, two-way communication with stakeholders, including our associates, customers, investors, partners, suppliers and communities where we operate. This is achieved through informal and town-hall style meetings, trainings and workshops, presentations, discussions and feedback forums with guests, and evangelisation of our sustainability philosophy through round table discussions within both the travel and tourism, and wider business communities. A cross-sector collaborative approach engages individuals, businesses, NGOs, and academic institutions worldwide to benefit environmental conservation and society.
In 2020, face-to-face meetings were difficult or impractical. A quarterly e-newsletter was implemented to summarise key efforts towards our broader sustainability goals and objectives carried out at our properties around the globe. Earth Day was marked with the launch of Banyan Tree’s 25th anniversary commemorative book “Rooted in Sustainability”, which we hope provides a sustainability roadmap and inspiration for others. In the wake of COVID-19, we also joined EarthCheck’s Global Hygiene Taskforce to help the travel and tourism industry meet the needed health and hygiene challenges necessary for recovery.
Through partnership, business and communities create shared value that is more than the sum of their individual parts. Our future objectives centre on the concept that no single element of society can bring about long-term sustainable prosperity, but all must work together in cohesion to bring positive change. Now more than ever, it is important to move beyond communication to collaboration.