The Sustainable Development Plan consists of two projects which aim to achieve our vision and the dual mission. These in turn consist of specific actions (subprojects).

Project1, named “Integrate the values and principles of Sustainable Development in the business”, is designed to internalise the commitment, create the institutional framework and make sustainable development a basic and cohesive element of Sol Meliá. These are the main actions and advances:

Sol Meliá personality: groups together all of the actions related to corporate identity and includes social, cultural and environmental criteria in the building of a personality for Sol Meliá and its brands. The main advances are:

• Approval of the Global Sustainability Policy, a document that presents all the criteria and action areas in which we aim to involve the entire organisation.
• Review of the Brand Manuals by the Sustainability Department.
• Incorporation of social and environmental indicators in the Hotel Directory.
• Environmental certification of hotels (see chapter 9).

Dialogue with stakeholders: from the start, the Plan was designed as an instrument to strengthen relations with stakeholders, based on a belief that stakeholders have to be involved in actions designed for them. In 2008 actions involving employees were prioritised, and the advances were:

• Multi disciplinary group for the creation of a prioritised stakeholders map (see case study).
• Dialogue group with kitchen personnel.
• Dialogue group with front desk personnel.
• Dialogue group with MSM (Meeting Sol Meliá, congresses conventions and incentives) personnel.

Leading the debate: Sol Meliá takes an active part in forums and meetings in the tourism and sustainability sector. The company aims to share its projects and strategies, learn from others and find potential partners with which to work.

The following are the main cooperative projects and actions carried out in 2008:

• ENTORNO FOUNDATION:member of the Entorno Foundation since 2008, collaborating in the work group on Climate Change and Energy. The collaboration has been reflected in 3 publications (AcciónCO2, Cambio Climático en la Comunidad Valenciana and Adaptación)
• COMPANY AND SOCIETY FOUNDATION:foundation sponsors since 1998, having formed part of the Company and Disability Group and the Company and Volunteerism Group.
• WORLD TOURISM ORGANISATION:affiliate member since 2008, year in which a cooperation agreement was signed with the organisation.
• WORLD TRAVEL & TOURISM COUNCIL (WTTC):members of the council and of the Fight Against Climate Change group.
• EXCELTUR: Sol Meliá holds the chairmanship of the organisation. Took part in the work group on Sustainability and Tourism.
• COMPANY AND GROWTH FOUNDATION: Sol Meliá has taken part in several projects in Mexico with this organisation whose objective is to channel funds into projects involving SMEs in depressed areas.
• UNITED NATIONS WORLD PACT: following Pact principles since October 2008.

Sol Meliá is also an active member of several organisations and associations in the hotel industry, such as the Spanish Federation of Hotels and Tourist Accommodation and the Hotel Chain Group, etc.

Other social responsibility and sustainable development initiatives worth highlighting include:

• Inclusion of Sol Meliá in the Strategy Committee of the International Organisation against Sexual Exploitation.
• Inclusion of Sol Meliá in the CSR Commission of the CEOE.
• Nomination of a representative in the RSE State Council (substitute member)

Training and information: this line of work was one of the main priorities in 2008. The aim was that all Sol Meliá employees should be aware of the project and its contents and objectives in general, and also of the specific actions which would guarantee the most important aspects of our social and environment commitments were assumed and understood by everyone. The main advances have been:

• Two sustainability courses: Canary Islands hotels and corporate offices. 57 people trained.
• Training about Celiac disease: definition and pilot test. 15 people trained.
• Training in the Fight against Sexual Exploitation: 25,000 people trained.
• Launching of the Sustainable Development Portal: 3,000 visits in 3 months.
• 340 employees trained about the Sustainable Development Plan.
• Definición junto con el área de Comunicación, del nuevo modelo de reporte en sostenibilidad.

With regard to projects related to information management, highlights include:

• Definition, together with the Communication Department, of a new format for the sustainability report.
• Creation of the Sustainable Development internal portal.

Project 2, named “Implement the values and principles of Sustainable Development in the business, involving our stakeholders”, includes specific actions aimed more directly at our stakeholders: guests, employees, suppliers and investors, from the social and environmental perspectives.

The projects and main advances are reported in the following chapters, in reference to each stakeholder.