UAE-based hospitality company, Time Hotels, has added to its growing list of accolades with the Dubai Chamber of Commerce & Industry (Dubai Chamber) CSR Label Award for the third year in succession.

Launched in 2010 to reward corporate commitment to Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives, the CSR Label is awarded based on performance scores across seven different criteria including human resources (training, development, welfare, Emiratisation), client relations, business development, procurement, environment, health and safety, innovation, community; with Dubai Chamber also measuring the resulting impact in four key areas, namely workplace, marketplace, community and environmental.

“We are very much a community-focused company and this award recognises our role as a socially responsible corporate citizen,” said Mohamed Awadalla, CEO, Time Hotels.

“Receiving the official ‘label’ for the third year in a row highlights our consistency and our commitment. It also allows us to benchmark our own initiatives against those of other forward-thinking companies in Dubai, for whom CSR is an integral part of their overall business strategy,” he added.

According to the report from Dubai Chamber, Time Hotels scored 72.5 per cent across the board, representing outstanding performance against an average Label Award score of 70.5 per cent.

Time Hotels’ particular strengths included the leadership and training opportunities for all 561 members of staff, steps to employ more Emiratis, having an active Employee Welfare Committee, and supporting local suppliers by purchasing around 60 per cent from local sources.

Awadalla said: “Our community outreach programme has seen Time Hotels initiate and take the lead on a number of projects in Dubai, and internationally, with a corporate mandate to focus on adding value to people’s lives and the community in general through a combination of cash or in-kind donations, education and employee engagement activities.”

Already this year the company has executed a range of CSR initiatives, including a visit by team members to the Al Fahidi Heritage Site; they organised a sporting competition between departments; encouraged staff to bring their national dish to the hotel to share with team members; presented long service awards to staff who had been with the company longer than five years; held a staff Iftar during Ramadan; and completed a job exchange programme between departments.

Further plans include a walk to support breast cancer awareness and diabetes, blood donation and community clean-up in Q4; and a Time Hotels has talent day, annual waiter race and car free day.

Time Hotels has achieved Green Key status for all of its hotels and hotel apartments across the hospitality groups’ entire portfolio and was also the first hotel company in the region to launch a highly successful carbon offset accommodation programme.

Majid Saif Al Ghurair, chairman of Dubai Chamber, said: "We are very encouraged by the growing number of honourees that we meet each time we host this ceremony, as it demonstrates the label’s ability to encourage others in the business community to adopt responsible practices." - TradeArabia News Service