Governance
Explanation of Whether & How Precautionary Approach/Principle is Addressed
Or other initiatives to which the organization subscribes or endorses
SBR has put into place stringent codes of conduct when it comes to adopting a precautionary approach at all levels of its operations. The SBR sustainability committee plays a crucial role in the company applying the precautionary principle at all levels of operations and systematically.
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The diagram below highlights the procedure:
The precautionary approach is part of our corporate DNA. It is also a systematic and integral part of our management. Every action that SBR takes has elements of risks involved. Without a precautionary approach, some decisions made could have serious impacts on aspects as diverse as our surrounding environment or even the safety of our guests and staff. It is a kind of safety net to ensure a good and ethical decision making process.
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Recently, SBR has undergone a risk management training and application in which external auditors have conducted a risk assessment audit. Following recommendations from the auditors, numerous changes have been made to manage risks in a most effective and ethical way.
Externally Developed Economic, Environmental & Social Charters, Principles
SBR adheres to a range of externally developed charters and principles. While some of them are government regulations, many are voluntary initiatives by SBR to follow these standards and often even exceed them.
While SBR implements many of its own regulations and principles, it is important to base these principles and adhere to a range of internationally agreed standards.
Adopting a range of externally developed standards also reinforces SBR’s management policies and insures that the company has a strong backbone and set of standard operation procedures (SOPs) in place.
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Below are some of the guidelines:
Memberships in Associations
SBR is associated with a range of stakeholder organizations. While some are related to the hotel business many have been established through the sustainability programs and CSR outreach.
SBR believes that being a member of these associations extends its sphere of influence and in many instances allows it to play its corporate citizen role.
The list above is not exhaustive.
In the past 3 years alone, SBR has established numerous partnerships with various stakeholders in very different fields from environmental and social NGO’s to government organization and the private sector. So far for SBR, joining an organization through membership has usually resulted in other means of collaboration going beyond the simple membership (e.g. organizing mutual events, sponsorship of events, working on mutual programs etc)
List of All Entities
Or other initiatives to which the organization subscribes or endorses
Singapore Registered Company Name: Siloso Beach Resort Pte. Ltd.
Siloso Beach Resort is a family-owned hotel. Its only site and operations are on Sentosa island. SBR does not have any other operating companies, subsidiaries or joint ventures. SBR has a unique yet simple corporate structure formed of a general management core and dependant departments.
The corporate structure at SBR is unique because:
• It is a family-owned and managed business.
• Corporate sustainability is an integral part of the overall management.
Company Structural Diagram
As this diagram highlights, the Sustainability Committee plays a crucial role at SBR as it serves as a filter to most decisions taken regarding the company’s operations. The presence of this structure ensures that sustainability is not just a practice but rather an integral part of the business structure.
Stakeholder Engagement
The following disclosure Items refer to general stakeholder engagement conducted by the
organization over the course of the reporting period
List of Stakeholder Groups Engaged by the Organization
Our stakeholders include all the various partners with whom we work with on the various programs that we have.
Main Program Supporting Organisations
SBR has developed a number of high level outreach CSR programs. Some of these programs have gained a lot of support from leading organisations in their respective fields. Below is a selection of latest engagements with stakeholders.
The list above is not exhaustive and SBR is continuously seeking new partnerships with various stakeholders.
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Other stakeholders comprise of the following:
Basis for Identification & Selection of Stakeholders
As an eco-hotel, SBR takes particular care to select stakeholders which share its vision of sustainability. The below diagram highlights the systematic process by which SBR chooses its stakeholders:
This selection is targeted at different levels with varying stringency:
SBR is a responsible business and has strong commitments to select its business partners to be some which also share its sustainability values. By doing so, SBR can extend its sustainable outreach beyond the boundaries of the organization. SBR is only interested to do business with like minded individuals and organizations. This philosophy is good for the long term prosperity of SBR.
Approaches to Stakeholder Engagement
Including frequency of engagement by type & stakeholder group and an indication of whether any of the engagement was undertaken specifically as part of the report preparation process
SBR has various approaches to engage with stakeholders. Below are some examples:
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Surveys
SBR is regularly approached by stakeholders who wish to undertake surveys. In recent years many of these surveys have been targeted at third parties gaining a better understanding of SBR sustainability initiatives.
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Focus groups
SBR is open to collaboration and partnership with all stakeholder groups. Our 3 focus groups are - People, Private, Public.
In the past years, SBR has gained strong stakeholder partnerships with groups as diverse as:
• Government organisations (e.g. Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources, National Environment Agency, National Parks Board, Public Utilities Board, Ministry of National Development)
• NGOs (e.g. Singapore Environment Council, World Wide Fund for Nature, Conservation International, Singapore Compact for CSR)
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• Private Sector: SBR is regularly engaging with various private sector entities, from suppliers to manufacturers or service providers
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• Public Sector: SBR engages with many public sector organizations such as universities, schools, community services
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Community Panels
SBR sits on a number of community /discussion panels , of which some include:
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• Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources. Corporate and education institutions engagement
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• Sentosa Island Partners discussion group
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Written Communications
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SBR engages with various stakeholders through written communications means:
• Reports on environmental initiatives
• Sustainability and CSR programs
• Articles/news
• Marketing collaterals
• Audiovisual materials
• Eco tours
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Frequency of Engagement
On Site Engagement
SBR has a range of programs aiming to engage stakeholders on its site:
SBR is trying to engage its stakeholder on its site in so many ways as it is one of our fundamental principles to actually use its facilities as a test bed and a showcase of sustainability practices.
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SBR hopes by doing this to inspire many people who transit through its facilities.
Key Topics and Concerns &
Organisation's Response
Our Guests
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Misunderstanding of the concept to preserve much wildlife on site including monitor lizards and insects.
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SBR's Response
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As an Eco Hotel, SBR has a strong commitment to preserve biodiversity on site. As such, it made significant efforts to minimize the impacts through the built environment by preserving the initial terrain, trees and plants. It also takes great care in pest control and cleaning products to use less impactful products. As a result, one would expect to find more species at SBR than in a conventional hotel where these could be considered as pest. SBR is trying hard to communicate this message to its guests that biodiversity preservation is important and a primary goal of SBR in order to blend leisure and nature together and provide a memorable staying experience for nature lovers.
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Our Guests
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Misunderstandings on the concept not to provide amenities in the rooms (tooth brush, shampoo bottles etc). It has come to our attention that there has been a few misunderstandings on the fact that SBR does not provide amenities kit in the rooms. The misunderstanding is on the fact that SBR is trying to reduce on cost by doing so.
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SBR's Response
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SBR has been very clear that the reason for not systematically providing amenities in the guests rooms has nothing to do with cost saving but is purely an environmental initiative to reduce wastage within the resort and to promote good practices to our guests. We wish to highlight that any guest can request for such services and that amenities are indeed available on request by the guest should they need it.
We believe that too often, amenities provided in hotels throughout the world result in tremendous wastage and resource usage. Serious studies also highlight that many guests would not make any use of such amenities and usually bring their own products with them (e.g. tooth brushes, shampoos etc).
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Our Guests
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Misunderstanding on the open door concept throughout the resort (non air-conditioned public spaces).
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SBR's Response
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Indeed, at SBR only 28% of the terrain is covered area. The rest has been kept open space as much as possible. One of the main reason for this was to preserve the existing trees on site (more than 200 initial trees have been preserved). The other reason is for energy efficiency. By having open public spaces, which are either using natural cooling (wind) or ventilators, SBR is able to significantly reduce its energy consumption. SBR believes that the excessive use of air conditioning in public spaces is not necessary to achieve a desired level of comfort.
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Our Guests
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Misunderstanding on the need to apply mosquito control treatment on site.
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SBR's Response
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There has been some complains that SBR was using fogging methods to treat its mosquitoes. Some guest found it to be disturbing while they are enjoying the outdoor environment and that as an eco hotel SBR should not use chemicals.
As a resort which is located in an environment with very high vegetal coverage, SBR has no choice but to apply mosquito control procedures. This is actually not only SBR’s choice but also a government regulation in Singapore as part of the fight against dengue fever potential cases.
However, SBR has taken feedbacks into account and has since over a year ago, tried a new pest control technique that makes use of alternative treatments using a bacterial based solution around the perimeter of the resort. This process is much less impactful on wildlife, which is very important to SBR.
SBR would like to highlight that it is very mindful of guests' comfort and wildlife welfare but it is also concerned about assuring a safe environment for its guests and staff.
Governance Structure of Organisation
Senior Management
Siloso Beach Resort is a family owned and operated business. Senior management (responsible for executive decisions ) comprises of family members:
• Mr Ng Swee Hwa: Chairman/Owner
• Mr Kelvin Ng: Managing Director/Owner
• Ms Felicia Ng: Sales and Reservations Manager
As a small family-run organization, the number of company executives is limited and comprises of a majority of male representatives. Ratio 2:1
The senior advising group comprises of a Sustainability Committee. Decisions of the committee have influence on the family members' decisions.
The Sustainability Committee is responsible for analysing key executive decisions on economic, environmental and social impacts in the organisation. Below shows the gender ratio in the committee.
The Sustainability Committee comprises of 10 members of which 5 are male and 5 are female:
SBR is trying to engage its stakeholder on its site in so many ways as it is one of our fundamental principles to actually use its facilities as a test bed and a showcase of sustainability practices.
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SBR hopes by doing this to inspire many people who transit through its facilities.
Process for Delegating Authority
For economic, environmental and social topics from the highest governance body to senior executives and other employees
As a family owned business, our owner has the final say in all decisions being made. The Sustainability Committee is responsible for executive decisions. The Sustainability Committee comprises of senior executives and the decisions and conveyed to employees in various departments.
Report Whether Organization has Appointed an Executive-Level Position
With responsibility for economic, environmental and social topics,
& whether post holders report directly to the highest governance body
SBR is a family owned and managed resort hotel. SBR does not have a unitary board structure.
Report Processes for Consultation between Stakeholders & Highest Governance Body
On economic, environmental and social topics
SBR has various mechanisms in place to collect feedbacks from its stakeholders which includes service providers, suppliers and hotel guests.
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Hotel guests are able to provide feedback through various means which include:
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• Pre-established feedback forms available in every room and which are then collected by the staff during room cleaning;
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• Approaching one of the staff directly who will then report to their department managers;
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• The resort’s website provides various sections especially designed to collect feedbacks as well as through third party sites such as Tripadvisor which allows guests to review the hotel. SBR regularly scans these sites to gather feedback and take corrective action if necessary.
Composition of Highest Governance Body
SBR is a family owned and managed resort hotel. SBR does not have a unitary board structure.
Executive or non-executive
Independence
Tenure on the governance body
Number of each individual’s other significant positions and commitments, and the nature of the commitments
Gender
Membership of under-represented social groups
Competences relating to economic, environmental and social impacts
Stakeholder representation
Chair of the Highest Governance Body
The chairman, Mr Ng Swee Hwa, is also an executive officer in the organisation.
Highest authority in the organisation is by the owner himself, which is also an executive officer in the organisation.
The reason for this arrangement is that SBR was built from the very beginning with direct guidance from the owner to make SBR a very unique hotel with a strong commitment in sustainability and environmental preservation.
As outsourcing an environmentally conscious management is proven very difficult to find, It was crucial that the owner and family members remained actively involved in the management of SBR in order to stay committed to preserving the environment and promoting sustainable practices.
Nomination & Selection Processes
For the highest governance body and its committees
SBR has a process in place in order to assign members of its various governance boards: Governance boards are comprised of advisory committees of which:
• The Sustainability Committee
• The Risk Management Committee
• The General Review Committee
New committee members are appointed for a period of 2 years after which their relevance on the board is reassessed.
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Diversity: SBR does not conduct gender discrimination when appointing new members. Efforts are made to aim towards an equilibrium between number of man and women in the committees.
Processes in Place for the Highest Governance Body
To ensure conflicts of interest are avoided
Linkage Between Compensation
For members of the highest governance body, senior managers & executives
Every employee of the company is subject to employees rules and regulations which include employees rights. These rules are highlighted in the employment contract and agreed between the employee and the employer at the time of employment.
These include (but are not limited to):
- Number of paid leave and holidays
- Fixed salary and bonuses options
- Compensation: SBR has flexible compensation options for various levels of management which are customized based on experience and qualifications.
- Departure arrangements: These are the same for all employees and are subject to one month notice. Other departure arrangements may occur and arrangements are made on a case to case basis.
Processes for Evaluating Highest Governance Body’s Own Performance
Particularly with respect to economic, environmental, and social performance
During meetings, the performance of existing targets and objectives are reviewed. Each department manager will then provide the results of the performance of previous fixed targets in the environment, social and economic aspects.
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If previous targets have not been achieved, an investigation is launched to determine the reason and also to fix new targets.
A number of indicators have been put in place in order to regularly assess the performance of the organisation with regards to economics, environment and social aspects.
Employees' Feedback
SBR has a well-established process for collecting feedbacks from its employees. In order to do this, regular meetings are organized at two levels:
Intra-department meetings: Managers of the different departments meet with their respective staffs to collect feedback. Feedback is then transmitted to the sustainability committee
Inter-department meetings: These meetings involve departments managers with general management. Several committees have been established for this purpose:
-SBR sustainability committee
-SBR safety and risk management committee
-SBR Annual review committee
General Feedback Collection Mechanism
SBR has open policies with regards to collecting feedbacks from its employees.
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A feedback collection box is another mechanisms for employees to provide feedback anonymously should they not wish to interact with the management directly.
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Every feedback received at SBR is taken into consideration and significant and suggest corrective actions are analyzed carefully through an established mechanism. The sustainability committee ensures that decisions made are in the long term sustainability interest of the organization.
Process for Determining Remuneration
Whether remuneration consultants are involved in determining remuneration & whether they are independent of management |
Any other relationships which the remuneration consultants have with the organization
SBR deals with remuneration on its own without outside consultants inputs. The salaries are set and benchmarked against standards in the industry. It is currently up to the management to finalize and adjust salaries based on aspects such as performance, level of experience and education.
