PM Network - December 2015

10 PM NETWORK DECEMBER 2015 WWW.PMI.ORG theEdge

IRAN’S
HOTEL BOOM

With economic sanctions set to lift in 2016, Iran wants to become an international tourist destination. And hoteliers are stepping up with projects to meet a growing number of visitors to the long-isolated country.

Iran cracked open its doors to international tourists in 2013, but sanctions still made it difficult for tourists to use credit cards. This year’s international agreement between Iran and Western nations to limit the country’s nuclear program and end the sanctions will make life easier for travelers.

Some hotel companies have responded quickly. France’s Accor became the first Western company to manage a hotel in Iran in decades when it opened two hotels near Tehran’s airport in mid-October.

Rotana Hotel Management Corp., based in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, plans four hotels in Iran by 2018.

“Iran hasn’t built proper hotels for the
last four decades,” Ramin Rabii, group CEO
of investment firm Turquoise Partners, told

The Independent in September. “But tourism
is a huge opportunity, and almost all the big
hotel brands have made a visit recently.”
Efforts to expand tourism in Iran began
even before the deal was signed in July.

President Hassan Rouhani has eased visa requirements for tourists, and his government’s tourism department began working with groups at home and abroad to increase accommodations and access to tourist attractions and promote Iran as a world-class destination.

The government is ambitious: It wants to attract 20 million visitors a year by

2025. With just 5 million foreign tour-
ists arriving in 2014, hotel companies will
need to move into high gear to meet the
national goal. —Ben Schaefer
goods such as Kleenex, set a goal to procure 100 percent of its wood fiber from certified
sources. Achieved in 2014, the initiative involved creating an action plan with specific proj-
ects and key performance indicators to measure results, she says.

Projects included establishing an audit process to track where raw materials come from and visiting all suppliers to educate them on the sustainability goals and how that would impact sourcing requirements. “Setting clear targets and working with your supply chain is the most important part,” Ms. Cesareo says.

Getting Everyone on Board

Global construction firm Carillion has been another leader in projects to prevent supply chain deforestation.

“From a project management perspective, there are three things we do to meet our sustainable timber sourcing goals,” says David Picton, chief sustainability officer, Carillion, Oakley, England. First, the company established a sourcing policy for all projects that mandates all timber meets standards set by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), a not-for-profit that promotes responsible management of the world’s forests. Then Carillion partnered with its key suppliers to educate them about sustainable forestry and how to demonstrate FSC compliance. Mr. Picton notes that it is not enough to communicate the policy to suppliers. “They need to know why sustainable timber sourcing is important to our long-term success,” he says.

Finally, the organization added a review step to ensure every project is in compliance. “We audit a number of things on every project, including safety, quality and now sourcing,” Mr. Picton says. This process begins with the project specifications, which lay out the sustainable sourcing requirements, and it includes regular checks of documentation for chain of custody and FSC compliance. “This audit process is how we can be sure our expectations are being met,” he says.

Beyond the Trees

While most of the corporate projects related to sustainable sourcing focus on supply chain education and sourcing mandates, a few companies are investing in projects that actively promote reforestation. Gourmet kitchen goods retailer Williams-Sonoma Inc., for example, is partnering with suppliers in Indonesia to build a nursery to grow plantation wood for one of its furniture lines. And technology giant Apple is supporting World Wildlife Fund’s work with forest plantation companies on responsible practices.

“These are examples of how some companies are being innovative in their efforts to save forests, in addition to changing internal practices,” Ms. Cesareo says.

For companies just beginning this journey, experts encourage them to reach out to groups with technical expertise and their own peers for lessons learned on setting realistic commitments and implementing changes that can be measured and sustained. “A lot of organizations have already had a lot of success, and they have valuable lessons to share,” says Lael Goodman, an analyst with the Union of Concerned Scientists in Washington, D.C. As this trend matures, it will become easier to find sustainable resources and to measure and report the impact these changes have on the organization and the environment. “Even three years ago, a lot of these goals seemed out of reach,” she says. “Now I think this movement has the potential to be successful if organizations and companies follow through on their commitments.” —Sarah Fister Gale