The Oberoi Group operates in five countries including India, Egypt, Mauritius, Indonesia and Saudi Arabia with 30 properties including the luxury ‘Oberoi Hotels & Resorts’ and the five star ‘Trident Hotels’. The Group is also engaged in flight catering, airport restaurants, travel and tour services, car rentals, project management and corporate air charters.
The Oberoi Group has assumed a lead role in involving itself with initiatives for the betterment of the community, at the corporate, as well as, the unit level and in adopting environment conservation practices at its properties. The Group believes in contributing to endeavours that are sustainable in the long term.
Amongst these initiatives and integral to The Group’s strategy, both in the management of existing properties as well as in planning new developments, is its commitment towards the environment.
Following are some measures that The Group has implemented in its commitment to the environment.
ECOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENT
Each of the Oberoi hotels and resorts has a Green Team that comprises of the Heads of Departments. This team continually conceptualises and implements new and innovative ideas to conserve energy and preserve the environment. Environmental awareness is a regular part of The Group’s training for the hotel employees and their families. The Group also works to educate the traders it has an association with about better environmental practices. The Founder Chairman, Rai Bahadur M.S. Oberoi’s birth anniversary is celebrated each year with all employees in each one of the hotels planting a sapling and thereafter taking responsibility for its well being.
SERVICE TO WILDLIFE
The Group’s hotels assist authorities in afforestation drives. About 2,000 trees were planted in the past year. One of The Group’s hotels has taken the responsibility to maintain a sanctuary within its premises protecting wild boars, spotted deer, peacocks and a variety of flora and fauna.
USE OF ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY PRODUCTS
The products used in the hotels of The Oberoi Group are environment friendly. The Group’s properties use cloth in place of plastic bags for newspaper and laundry. Plastic covers for room tumblers have also been taken out of service. Business kits and greeting cards are made of recycled paper. Soaps are recycled and given to charity. All cleaning agents and washing detergents used are bio-degradable. Bathroom amenities provided to guests are made of natural, botanical extracts and Indian herbs.
LAND-USE PLANNING AND MANAGEMENT
Gardening and horticulture is an essential feature of every Oberoi hotel. The use of natural fertilisers and treated waste from Sewage Treatment Plants and bio-pesticides is being adopted across all hotels and resorts of The Group. All natural features in the landscape are incorporated in the architectural design of the properties. This eliminates the need to cut trees or fill up rain-fed ponds, etc. Apart from environmental reasons, hotels and resorts of The Group ascribe significant attention to landscape and horticulture for aesthetic considerations, guests enjoy the experience of looking at and spending time in gardens that are alive, well maintained and beautiful.
MANAGEMENT OF WATER RESOURCES
The Group’s hotels have sophisticated and efficient systems for the management of water resources. Several of the hotels have installed rain water harvesting systems. Water for potable use is filtered and sanitised. Most hotels have a sophisticated Sewage Treatment Plant (STP). The quality of the treated effluent from these plants exceeds the stringent standards set by the Pollution Control Board. The extensive gardens and lawns are irrigated using the treated effluent from the STP through automatic sprinklers and drip methods. This water is also used as make-up for cooling towers.
Many Oberoi properties have infra-red sensors on taps and urinals and low water consumption cisterns to help conserve water. Area wise metering of water consumption is done to determine areas of high usage and initiate further conservation methods. State-of-the-art machines have been installed in laundries and kitchens to reduce the consumption of water.
PRESERVATION OF AIR QUALITY
Preservation of air quality is a prime concern of The Oberoi Group. Wet scrubbers have been installed in the generator and boiler exhaust systems to reduce the emission levels of sulphur dioxide, nitrogen oxide and particulate matter. Hotels also use Halon-free fire extinguishers. Chimneytstack heights are kept according to Pollution Control norms. At The Oberoi Amarvilas, Agra power is generated by the use of a gas turbine fired by Propane, the cleanest fuel available worldwide. Thereby ensuring that the resort's close proximity to the Taj Mahal does not in anyway contribute to the existing levels of pollution in the environment surrounding the monument.
The Group’s hotels use HCFC (Hydro chloro fluoro carbon) instead of CFC, refrigerant gases for air-conditioning. HCFCs have a lower ozone depleting and global warming potential. The Group prefers the use of Vapour Absorption Chillers instead of Vapour Compression Chillers as the refrigerant used in Vapour Absorption Chillers does not cause ozone depletion.
The Group sources products and implements processes that are inherently clean and considers expenditure on Pollution Control and Environmental Management as a long-term investment in the better management of resources. The indoor air quality in the hotels is regularly monitored and maintained at an optimum level.
NOISE POLLUTION CONTROL
Guestrooms are designed to prevent external noise infiltration by the use of double or triple glazed windows. The noise from boilers, generators, etc. is contained and significantly reduced by acoustically lining the plant rooms.
ENERGY EFFICIENCY, CONSERVATION AND MANAGEMENT
Energy efficiency and conservation is an important feature of The Oberoi Group’s hotels and begins from the conception of the hotels. The orientation of the building, maximising the use of natural light, insulation of the roof, use of cavity walls on the exteriors of the building, double glazing of external windows are some of the features of the design of a standard Oberoi and Trident hotel. The air-conditioning systems use heat recovery wheels, thermal storage vessels and heat pumps where possible thereby reducing the energy consumption and the peak load requirement. Some of the hotels also use solar heating systems for heating of the swimming pool during winters.
Co-generation systems for power generation have been installed at The Oberoi, Bangalore; The Oberoi Vanyavilas, Ranthambhore and The Oberoi Amarvilas, Agra. This system recovers the heat from the exhaust gases of the generators and uses it to generate steam which in turn provides for hot water and air-conditioning. The condensate from the washing machines and dish washers is also used to pre-heat the hot water.
Most of the recently opened hotels of The Group are equipped with a computerised Building Management System for the automated remote control of equipment, thus minimising idle running. Variable speed/frequency drives are also used to optimise the energy consumption of equipment.
BUILDING DESIGN AND MATERIAL
The initial brief provided to architects includes maximising the use of locally available material, like stone, rubber wood, roof tiles, lime plaster, etc. The building is designed and constructed so that the skills of the local craftsmen of the region are utilised and encouraged.
WASTE MINIMISATION, REUSE AND RECYCLING
The Oberoi Group has undertaken waste management programs that save material, resources, energy and money. Different kinds of waste are separated and disposed of suitably. Wet garbage is refrigerated to delay spoilage and sent to piggeries and dry garbage like Aluminum, paper and plastic is segregated and sold for re-cycling. Garbage incinerators are also used when needed to reduce garbage by 98%. Fresh left-overs are given to charity. Old bed sheets are recycled and made into kitchen napkins. All printed stationery after being screened and processed is re-used for note pads, photocopying, fax printouts and posters for internal use.
Other initiates that The Oberoi Group is involved in:
RESTORATION AND PRESERVATION
The Oberoi Group is involved in the protection and restoration of monuments in India. The Group pledged funds and support towards the restoration and aesthetic illumination of the Humayun's tomb in New Delhi.
The Group has also been involved with the preservation of heritage buildings in India and aboard. Some of these have been restored and converted into magnificent hotels such as the Mena House Oberoi, Cairo, The Oberoi Grand, Kolkata and The Oberoi Cecil, Shimla.
SYSTEMATIC TRAINING AND EDUCATION PROGRAMME (STEP)
Among the projects that The Oberoi Group has initiated is the Systematic Training and Education Programme (STEP). An unique and the only one of its kind in India, this programme besides being distinct in conception and execution, is singular in the opportunities it offers young people.
The three-year programme offering undergraduates the opportunity of acquiring specific and specialised training and knowledge either in Kitchen Operations or other Hotel Operations, at the same time as pursuing a Bachelors Degree. During the course of this comprehensive training with Oberoi Hotels & Resorts and Trident Hotels, coupled with the opportunity of becoming a graduate, The Oberoi Group bears most expenses on behalf of the trainee like accommodation, meals on duty, fee for the Bachelors Degree, training material, basic medical benefits and even a telephone call home every week, in addition to giving them a monthly stipend – Incurring a significant expense on each trainee through the three-year programme.
At the completion of the STEP programme, the trainees earn not only a Certificate of Proficiency from The Oberoi Group in recognition of having completed the programme, but also a Bachelors Degree in Tourism Studies. The programme equips trainees to work in deluxe and first class hotels and resorts. While The Oberoi Group hopes that the trainees would pursue their careers within the Group, they are free to join any other organisation. Alternately, as graduates, the trainees are also eligible to compete for admission to the Oberoi Centre of Learning and Development (OCLD).
The Oberoi Group also established the Oberoi Centre of Learning and Development (OCLD), considered one of the best in Asia. OCLD offers a two-year post-graduate diploma, providing high quality, professional training in hospitality management. Associates at OCLD receive a generous stipend, subsidised accommodation, meals on duty and medical benefits. The Group spends approximately USD 27,000 on each Associate that graduates from OCLD and approximately 100 Associates graduate annually.
