Rosewood Hotel Group has unveiled Rosewood Impacts, a group-wide roadmap for delivering positive impact on all its communities and the planet.

The roadmap features tangible goals in the fields of sustainability, employment, partnerships and more, encompassing consequential policies and programming under two distinct pillars: Rosewood Empowers and Rosewood Sustains.

“With Rosewood Impacts, we are not only championing the exemplary efforts being made across our organisation but setting new benchmarks for positive impact that will propel us forward to a more sustainable and equitable tomorrow,” said Sonia Cheng, CEO of Rosewood Hotel Group.

Rosewood Empowers uplifts communities through equal access to opportunity, such as Opportunity Employment, which seeks talent from underserved or underrepresented groups and working to lower barriers to employment. In addition, it strengthens local economies through local hiring, sourcing and partnerships.

Rosewood also believes in empowering people through education and upskilling. Two examples include Rosewood Mayakoba’s work with Centro Educativo K’iin Beh, a non-profit school in the Riviera Maya, Mexico, and BluHouse, Rosewood Hotel Group’s first restaurant inspired by the concept of a business-with-purpose.

Lucy Werner, chief commercial officer, Rosewood Hotel Group, shared: “(With the) schools in Mayakoba, Mexico, we (had) asked our employees what their number one need was, and the answer was schooling for their kids. At Rosewood Hong Kong, in BluHouse, we employ two refugees who would typically struggle to find employment. We look at each specific location, and explore what attributes we can elevate to power that local community and our associates.”

Additionally, a newly-launched programme, Rosewood Bridges, connects young people from disadvantaged backgrounds with internships at the group’s hotels. Committed in being an inclusive company, Rosewood sends vocational students from the Hong Kong Vocational Training Council abroad for internships, and partnering with local NGOs to give young people with autism a chance of a career at Rosewood Beijing or Guangzhou.

Meanwhile, Rosewood Sustains showcases a commitment to growing Rosewood’s lifestyle ecosystem responsibly and protecting the environment for future generations. Setting targets for environmental sustainability, these include pursuing carbon neutrality, engaging in regenerative practices, to driving the evolution of circular hospitality and eventually eliminating waste.

Rosewood Baha Mar has teamed up with The Bahamas Reef Environment Educational Foundation to preserve the marine environment off Nassau’s Cable Beach and educate the next generation of Bahamians and visitors on how to protect coral reefs, which are critical both for ecosystem preservation and for supporting local livelihoods dependent on fishing.

At Kona Village, A Rosewood Resort, opening in Hawaii this summer, the entire property is fully powered by solar energy, while an onsite cultural centre provides both visitors and locals with perspective into the rich natural and cultural significance of the surroundings.

Furthermore, multiple properties including Rosewood Hong Kong, Rosewood Bermuda and Rosewood London have partnered with EcoSpirits, a low-carbon, low-waste spirits distributor, to champion circularity in the F&B space.

When asked about future expansion plans, Werner told TTG Asia: “We currently have properties across the world, and we have another 20 more signed in the pipeline. In 2024, Rosewood Miyakojima will be opening in Okinawa, Japan. A majority of the pipeline is in China – Shenzhen, Shanghai, Chongqing, Ningbo – and we’ve also just announced our first project in Seoul.”

On how these locations are chosen, Werner explained: “We are not signing for the sake of signing; we want to be purposeful. We pick destinations that are worthy of a Rosewood and we curate that property to the specific destination. For instance, the Rosewood in Luang Prabang barely gets local tourism, but instead positions itself as a bucket list destination.”