Corporate social responsibility essay sample

Corporate social responsibility (CSR, also called corporate conscience, corporate citizenship, social performance, or sustainable responsible business/ Responsible Business) is a form of corporate self- regulation integrated into a business model. CSR policy functions as a built-in, self-regulating mechanism whereby a business monitors and ensures its active compliance with the spirit of the law, ethical standards, and international norms. CSR is a process with the aim to embrace responsibility for the company’s actions and encourage a positive impact through its activities on the environment, consumers, employees, communities, stakeholders and all other members of the public sphere who may also be considered as stakeholders.

The term “ corporate social responsibility” came into common use in the late 1960s and early 1970s after many multinational corporations formed the term stakeholder, meaning those on whom an organization’s activities have an impact. Proponents argue that corporations make more long term profits by operating with a perspective, while critics argue that CSR distracts from the economic role of businesses. Others argue CSR is merely window-dressing or an attempt to pre-empt the role of governments as a watchdog over powerful multinational corporations.

ISO 26000 is the recognized international standard for CSR. Public sector organizations (the United Nations for example) adhere to the triple bottom line (TBL). It is widely accepted that CSR adheres to similar principles but with no formal act of legislation. The UN has developed the Principles for Responsible Investment as guidelines for investing entities. Hilton

Hilton Hotels & Resorts (formerly known as Hilton Hotels) is an international chain of full service hotels and resorts, it is the flagship brand of Hilton Worldwide. It was founded by Conrad Hilton and is now owned by Hilton Worldwide. Hilton hotels are either owned by, managed by, or franchised to independent operators by Hilton Worldwide. Hilton Hotels became the first coast-to-coast hotel chain of the United States in 1943. As of 2010, there are now over 530 Hilton branded hotels across the world in 78 countries across six continents.

The Hilton Hotels brand remains one of the company’s flagship brands and one of the hotel brands in the world. The company places marketing emphasis on both business travel and leisure travel with locations in major city centers, near airports, convention centers, and a number of vacation resorts and leisure-oriented hotels in popular vacation destinations around the world.

The company’s Hilton HHonors guest loyalty program is one of the largest of its kind and has numerous partnerships with airlines and car rental companies. Some Hilton Hotels feature an Executive Level lounge for HHonors Gold and Diamond members and those willing to pay for Executive Rooms. The Hilton HHonors membership can also be used at all other Hilton Worldwide brands

The U. S. branch of Hilton hotels was reunited with the international properties after more than 40 years in February 2006, when United States-based Hilton Hotels Corporation purchased the hotels division of United Kingdom-based Hilton Group plc, which had acquired Hilton’s International operations in 1987.

Global Giving Guidelines
The mission of Hilton’s strategic giving is to harness their passion and expertise to address the social, economic and sustainability issues that impact their business and are important to the communities where we live and work. Funding Priorities: Hilton Worldwide funds programs that align with our four corporate responsibility pillars:

• Opportunity: includes programs focusing on youth development, career mentoring and workforce development in hospitality training with a focus on disadvantaged populations; prevention of child trafficking and support services for victims; promotion of diversity in our workforce, owners, and suppliers;

• Communities: includes programs that support entrepreneurship training (esp. in developing economies); projects that support sustainable economic growth by increasing opportunities for emerging local businesses to succeed in the global value chain; disaster preparation and resiliency; critical services including housing and hunger/food insecurity;

• Culture: includes education programs that foster cultural heritage, preservation and restoration of historic or cultural monuments; projects that bridge diverse cultures and foster inclusiveness and diplomacy; support for local sourcing and goods;

• Sustainability: includes projects that assist in the protection, conservation and restoration of natural resources and habitats; projects that educate and inform the public about sustainability; support for sustainable sourcing and purchasing.

Unsolicited Requests for Funding: Given their focus areas, in general they do not accept unsolicited funding requests and prefer to invite requests for proposals that contribute to their strategic program areas. It will be the responsibility of the Corporate Responsibility team to invite such requests and these requests will be reviewed and evaluated by a Contributions Review Committee under the supervision of the Corporate Responsibility team.

Opportunities
At Hilton Worldwide, they believe the best investment is in their team members. They provide opportunities for education through various hospitality scholarships and hotel apprenticeships. Around the world, they are nurturing the future leaders of hospitality so they can continue to deliver the unmatched service and quality of Hilton Worldwide.

With more than 140, 000 team members, Hilton understands the importance of providing meaningful hospitality employment opportunities. They offer competitive salary and benefits packages as well as access to Hilton Worldwide University, their internal education program, which includes courses ranging from management skills and personal development to training in systems and processes.

They provide opportunities to the public, through
* Youth Apprenticeship Program
* Scholarships
* Miami Hospitality Institute
* Prince Sultan College of Tourism and Business
* Taylor University Step Program

YOUTH APPRENTICESHIP PROGRAMS
* Hilton Morumbi Youth Program: At the Hilton Morumbi in São Paulo, Brazil we developed a youth hotel apprentice program for both the children of team members and representatives from the community. The year-long program helps develop the next generation workforce by providing them with practical, hands-on experience to enter the hospitality industry.

* Galvin’s Chance: At our London Hilton on Park Lane, we participate in Galvin’s Chance, a hotel apprenticeship program that gives  disadvantaged youth a chance to work in the hospitality industry. The program includes two-week, pre-employment training and  front-of-the-house apprenticeship.

SCHOLARSHIPS

In 2011, we announced a $100, 000 gift to the American Hotel and Lodging

Educational Foundation. In the United States, we also support the Thurgood

Marshall Scholarship Fund, the United Negro College Fund, the American

Indian Scholarship Fund, the Hispanic Scholarship Fund, and the Asian and

Pacific Islander American Scholarship Fund.

MIAMI HOSPITALITIY INSTITUTE

In Miami, we helped create the Hospitality Institute – a workforce development initiative designed to provide inner city residents with job opportunities in the local hospitality industry. The institute’s mission is to train skilled workers and introduce them to a fulfilling career in hospitality.

PRINCE SULTAN COLLEGE OF TOURISM AND BUSINESS

We partnered with The Prince Sultan College for Tourism and Business to develop a hospitality curriculum to engage aspiring young Saudis to pursue a career in hospitality. We are also supporting the expansion of additional hotel schools to be set up by the Jabal Omar Development Company and the General Organisation for Technical Education and Vocational Training.

TAYLOR UNIVERSITY- STEP PROGRAM

This one-of-a-kind partnership offers top students at Taylor’s University School of Hospitality, Tourism and Culinary Arts (TCHT) the unique opportunity to be a part of one of the world’s leading hotel groups before they even graduate. Additionally, the students are given opportunities to attend four to six months of industrial training in various Hilton Worldwide properties and potentially secure a job offer.

Communities

In developing and emerging countries, the travel sector makes up nearly 10 percent of GDP, creating new jobs, new companies, and economic development. The success of their business is directly tied to the success of our communities, and Hilton Worldwide is committed to fostering economic growth and community involvement where they live and work around the world.

Every day, we volunteer our time, talent, and resources to address local community needs. From providing charitable contributions of food, shelter, and clothing to providing educational programs that help underserved populations, we bring a unique knowledge to helping organizations plan and prepare better for disaster.

SERVING LOCAL COMMUNITES
* DoubleTree by Hilton Teaching Kids to CARE:
In 2010, DoubleTree by Hilton team members, participating schoolchildren, and community members worked to collect non- perishable food items for local food banks and philanthropic charities. For every non-perishable food item a student or team member collected for their community, DoubleTree by Hilton made a donation to the World Fo Food Program USA to benefit School Meals.

* Hilton Worldwide Egypt: Team members from our hotels and resorts in Egypt provide technical support and training to Ana El-Masry, an Organization that serves Egyptian street children and works with low Income and marginalized communities to reduce the risk of homeless youth. By sharing their hospitality expertise, our team members are helping Ana El-Masry to better serve young people in need.

STRENGTHENING LOCAL ECONOMIC GROWTH
In 2011, Hilton Worldwide opened the Hilton Windhoek, Namibia’s first five-star hotel and the 50th Hilton Worldwide hotel in the Middle East and Africa. They have employed more than 200 people locally to work in the hotel and over the last few months these Team Members have undergone training in Hilton service standards. Every hotel Hilton Worldwide opens employs local people, sources locally, and strengthens the community, thus they open properties that expand opportunities in hospitality and enhance local tourism. Hilton Worldwide currently has 31 hotels across the continent of Africa with another nine in the development pipeline. This year, Hilton Worldwide has opened six hotels and signed 10 management agreements across the Middle East and Africa.

PREVENTING CHILD TRAFFICKING

Hilton Worldwide Inc., the leading global hospitality company, has become the latest hotel company to take a strong stand against the commercial sexual exploitation of children by signing the tourism Code of Conduct (The CODE).

The Code specifically focuses on the protection of children from sexual exploitation in the travel and tourism industries. While The Code has been signed by almost 1, 000 travel industry members worldwide, Hilton Worldwide is the fourth U. S. company to agree to work with ECPAT-USA, a nonprofit organization that advocates for policies to protect sexually exploited children. , Hilton Worldwide has implemented policies that condemn child trafficking and exploitation and provide training to help their employees identify and report illicit activities. Hilton Worldwide will also look for ways to raise awareness about ECPAT and the Code among customers and other stakeholders. Thus, Hilton Worldwide is committed to upholding internationally respected human rights principles and preventing child trafficking and exploitation from taking place in their hotels and destinations.

CULTURE

Conrad Hilton the founder of the chain of Hilton hotels, believed in the power of travel to bring people together and foster greater understanding between nations – a philosophy he referred to as “ World Peace through International Trade and Travel.” At Hilton Worldwide, they celebrate and preserve the unique cultural heritage of the communities where they operate.

PROMOTING CULTURAL EXCHANGE
Hilton believe each of their hotels should reflect the local heritage and culture, and they seek to create opportunities for their guests, team members, and the general public to learn about local history, traditions, and way of life. * Supporting emerging economies: They are the first global hospitality brand to enter many developing and emerging market economies – having opened the first international hotel in Namibia as well as their first hotels in Equatorial Guinea.

* Localized Food and Beverage Menu Design: Hilton follows the saying “ Think global. Cook local.” At the Hilton McLean Tysons Corner, Chef Thomas Elder developed a menu for their new restaurant that is based on locally sourced ingredients and community traditions.

* Heritage Tours at Hilton Hua Hin Resort & Spa, Bangkok, Thailand: At the Hilton Hua Hin Resort & Spa in Thailand their team members provide guests with local heritage tours that educate participants on the hotel’s rich history of once being the site of King Rama V’s palace.

HAMPTON- SAVE A LANDMARK PROGRAM
Hampton’s U. S. Save-A-Landmark program is dedicated to the preservation of local landmarks, such as President Abraham Lincoln’s Cottage in Washington, DC, and the National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis, Tennessee. In 2006, the Save-A-Landmark program was honored with the Preserve America Presidential Award and Hampton became the first hotel chain ever recognized by a U. S. president for its preservation efforts.

PRESERVING CULTURAL EXCHANGE
Hilton not only strives to preserve the unique history of their properties but also that of cultural and historic sites in their localities . Using archival photographs and records, their team restored the Waldorf Astoria Shanghai on the Bund, formerly the legendary Shanghai Club. Today it serves as an important bridge for their guests and the local community to learn about Shanghai’s historic past.

SUSTAINABILITY- Living Sustainably

Sustainability is simply good business ethic. Since Hilton Worldwide brands touch thousands of communities and millions of people every day, it’s important for them to lead their industry with sustainable practices that deliver great guest experiences and protect the world we live in. Thus positively influencing tomorrow.

HILTON- QUALITY AND ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT ISO
ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 are international standards that provide a set of standardized requirements for quality and environmental management systems, respectively. Companies gain certification by implementing policies, procedures and systems that follow and meet ISO standards, which are assessed by a third-party certification body.

Due to its advancements in quality assurance and sustainability standards, Hilton Worldwide and its portfolio of 10 hotel brands has earned ISO 9001 certification for Quality Management Systems and ISO 14001 certification for Environmental Management Systems. With these certifications, Hilton Worldwide becomes one of the first multi- national organizations to certify its entire system globally – more than 3, 750 properties in 85 countries – achieving one of the largest ever volume certifications of commercial buildings.

In addition to its quality control processes, Hilton Worldwide has made significant progress in sustainability measurement throughout the last several years leading up to its recent ISO 14001 certification.

A key factor behind these successes was LightStayTM, Hilton Worldwide’s sustainability measurement system. Introduced publicly in 2009, LightStayTM is a global brand standard for all Hilton Worldwide properties that helps participating hotels measure, monitor and continually improve overall economic performance.

LIGHT STAY- COMMITMENT TO ACTION
The LightStay™ system analyzes performance across 200 operational practices, such as housekeeping, paper product usage, food waste, chemical storage, air quality, and transportation. LightStay™ also provides a “ meeting impact calculator” feature that calculates the environmental impact of any meeting or conference held at a property.

* Learning
Hilton understands the impact of property level and corporate initiatives and share best practices across the global system.

* Continuous Improvement
Sustainability isn’t a program. Instead, sustainable actions are integrated into how Hitlon deliver hotel performance around the globe and a better experience for our guests.

* Measurement
LightStay™, our proprietary system, analyzes and reports sustainability performance at each property.

* Reporting & Verification
We use a third party to verify our system, processes, and results. Just like a financial statement, we can validate current performance while establishing benchmarks for continuous future improvement.

In 2010, Hilton Worldwide properties reduced*:
* 6. 6% Energy use
* 3. 8% Water use
* 7. 8% Carbon output
* 19% Waste output
*Savings normalized against 2008 baseline.

SUSTAINABILITY MISSION

To benefit this and future generations by actively managing Hilton’s business through the lens of sustainability. Sustainability in action helps them to, * Protect our world globally

* Advance building design

* Improve operational efficiency

* Serve our communities

* Engage our team members

* Enhance the guest experience

WHY SUSTAINABILITY?-
IMPORTANT TO BUSINESS. IMPORTANT TO PLANET
Hilton Worldwide is growing along with the world. Hence sustainability is critical to the short- and long-term success of their business. Here are ten trends driving Hilton’s approach.
1. Population Growth: Nearly seven billion people growing to eight billion by 2030, increasing the number of mouths to feed.
2. Industrialization: Industrialization has resulted in a rising middle class with greater expectations and demands.
3. Globalization: Hilton worldwide is interconnected like never before. Consider all the products in their hotels—from wood to carpet to soap to mattresses to food. Sustainability is essential considering what the products are made up off, and where they end up.
4. Resource Depletion: More growth, more people, more needs.
5. Legislation: Ever-changing laws governing how they build and operate.
6. Costs: Energy, water, and waste are among their largest operating expenses.
7. Supply Chain: Not just comfy beds and other products Hilton puts in their hotels, but products and services they supply to hotel guests around the world.
8. Innovation: New ideas by looking through the prism of sustainability.
9. Development: Opportunities to enrich lives in the communities where Hilton grows their brands.
10. Talent: Desirable work surroundings for their greatest asset—people—so they can deliver memorable guest experiences. Thus adding all the trends up and the ways they influence the working of Hilton Worldwide, Sustainability is essential for the short and long term success of the business.

CONCLUSION
Business is a creation of the society and uses the resources of the society. Therefore, it should fulfill its obligations to the society. Business should respond to the demands of society and utilize the social resources at their command for the benefit of the people. In the long run a successful business can be built on a happy community and a satisfied workforce. Hilton Worldwide the hospitality company has done a good job on assuming and fulfilling its corporate social responsibility. It has an employed workforce to effectively discharge and follow business ethics. These teams invite requests for funding, which are later evaluvated by Contributions Review team under the supervision of Corporate Responsibility committee. Hilton has narrowed down the horizons of charity to oppurtunites , culture , communities , sustainability and has thus contributed positively towards the community. They serve the community without any kind of discrimination.

They support financially only organizations that hold charitable status, fall under the priority funding areas and comply with applicable laws regarding registration and reporting. They however, don’t fund private individuals, religious organizations, political causes or any activity which is not related to the initiatives Hilton Worldwide is already supporting. Thus, we realize the achievements of Hilton in discharging social duties through its many awards and programs such as LightStay. It is right to say, that Hilton Worldwide is an ideal and role model company that contributed to betterment of the present and future generations by assuming corporate social responsibility.

Thus Hilton Worldwide has proved to the world that by assuming and correctly discharging social responsibilities results only in the short or long term success of the business.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

* hitlonhotels. com
* hiltonworldwide. com
* wikipedia. com
* keyword – Corporate Social Responsibility
* keyword – Hilton Worldwide

INDEX
* Corporate Social Responsibility
* Hilton Worldwide- Brief Introduction
* Global Giving Guidelines
* Opportunities
* Youth Apprenticeship Programs
* Scholarships
* Miami Hospitality Institute
* Prince Sultan College of Tourism and Business
* Taylor University- STEP Program
* Communities
* Serving Local Communities
* Preventing Child Trafficking
* Supporting Local Economic Growth
* Culture
* Preserving Cultural Exchange
* Preserving Cultural Heritage
* Hampton – Save a Landmark
* Sustainability
* Quality and Environmental Management ISO
* Light Stay
* Sustainability Mission
* Why Sustainability?
* Conclusion
* Bibliography