Sustainability Management System

118 ALAÇATI SUSTAINABILITY

MANAGEMENT SYSTEM

Management System

This document establishes the main framework for a Sustainability Management System (SMS), which can be adapted and developed to cover all management processes of our hotel, and sets forth its policies. This document is prepared for the management and staff of the hotel. Our system has been developed to suit the scale and scope of our hotel.

The foundation of our management system is based on risk analysis. Risk analysis is conducted under the categories of environment, natural disasters, society, culture, economy, quality, human rights, health, and safety. If necessary, new categories can be added.

After identifying the risks, we have a crisis management policy and system in place to determine the actions to be taken if these risks materialize. The appendix of this document outlines how the risk analysis and crisis management will be conducted.

Risk analysis is carried out using the method outlined in Table 1.

The SMS involves the implementation of certain policies by all employees in the areas of quality, economy, management, environment, culture, human rights, health, and safety, along with setting targets and monitoring whether these targets are achieved to continuously improve business management processes.

If the defined targets are achieved, new targets are set. If they are not achieved, our targets, policies, and practices are reviewed. In this way, we strive to ensure continuous improvement.

The goals related to the management system of our hotel and the performance indicators used to monitor compliance with these goals are included in the appendix of this document.

The targets and performance indicators of our hotel are outlined in Table 2.

Our hotel commits to fulfilling the first-phase requirements of the Türkiye Sustainable Tourism Program and to continuously improving the sustainable management system to enhance its sustainability performance.

Due to changes and updates in the sector, environmental, societal, technological, economic, and cultural risks, as well as legislative changes, our management system is continuously reviewed, and the system and policies are updated if necessary.

The steps mentioned above can be summarized as the Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA) approach (Figure 1).

Figure 1. PDCA Cycle

Plan: Our hotel values the environment, society, culture, national economy, and management systems and sets targets. It plans the roadmap and actions to achieve these targets.

Do: Our hotel identifies fundamental policies and practices related to the environment, culture, society, human rights, health, and safety. These are monitored, measured, and recorded at defined intervals by the relevant staff.

Check: Feedback from both staff and customers at our hotel is monitored and recorded. Corrective measures are taken if necessary.

Act: This is the step where our hotel takes action to address the issues identified in the “Check” stage. Corrective actions and processes are recorded and archived.

Legal Compliance

Our hotel commits to complying with applicable laws, regulations, and international conventions. We maintain an up-to-date list of these and regularly inform our staff, providing necessary training on these topics.

The primary legislation to be complied with is listed in Table 3.

If requested, our hotel is committed to presenting all necessary permits, certificates, and documents to the relevant individuals and institutions.

These documents include:

Tourism Operation Certificate
Simple Accommodation Tourism Operation Certificate
Workplace Opening and Operating Permit
Insurance declaration for the last month of personnel
Tax certificate
Emergency action plan
Personnel training and certificates
If applicable, agreements with workplace physicians
Sewer connection certificate from the municipality
If applicable, identification and control documents for treatment plants
If applicable, documents related to the use of underground water
Thermal water usage permits
If applicable, pool water measurements and control documents
Documents relating to pest control operations
And any other required documents.

Stakeholders and Communication

Our hotel provides accurate information to all stakeholders in its promotions. Real visual materials are always used in promotions. On our website, social media accounts, and other printed and written promotional channels, our hotel maintains transparency and honesty regarding its products and services.

Our hotel also openly and transparently shares its sustainability-related policies, actions, and processes with its employees and customers. This is done primarily through the hotel’s website. Periodic reports on sustainability performance are published on our website, prepared at intervals appropriate to the subject.

An example of performance reporting can be found in Table 4.

Our hotel has a system in place to receive feedback from customers, public institutions, local governments, employees, local communities, and all other relevant individuals and institutions regarding our sustainability performance, policies, and practices. Through this system, we collect feedback from both employees and customers.

The system is designed to allow and encourage our customers and staff to provide feedback quickly, easily, and effectively.

This system includes:

Surveys for guests
Regularly monitoring social media accounts
Email and messaging services for employees
Email communication and regular follow-up for all other stakeholders.

An example of the survey application can be found in Table 5.

Customer Experience

Customer satisfaction is a priority at our hotel. Customer satisfaction includes feedback from the sustainability system described above. Results are analyzed, and negative feedback and responses are recorded, with necessary measures taken.

Employee Participation

The most important element of our hotel’s management system is our employees.

Our employees are aware of their responsibilities within the management system and with regard to our sustainability-related policies and practices. These responsibilities have been clearly defined in writing, communicated to them, and necessary training and guidance are provided regularly. These training sessions are recorded.

Our employees actively participate in the improvement and continuous development of our management system and sustainability performance. Based on feedback from our employees, we review and improve our system.

In line with our sustainability policies and management system, we provide periodic training programs, including orientation training, on sustainability and related work areas. These include on-the-job training, legally mandated training, and guidance support.

We implement annual training plans on topics such as Occupational Health and Safety, hygiene training for kitchen/service/massage personnel, water and energy conservation, chemical usage rules, fire prevention, first aid, and others.

All of our employees have free and open access to our training materials.

Our hotel is committed to complying with the relevant provisions of Law No. 4857 on Labor and provides at least the minimum wage to employees. Furthermore, our hotel also fully adheres to Law No. 5510 on Social Insurance and General Health Insurance, as well as Law No. 6331 on Occupational Health and Safety.

Our hotel has established a “Sustainability Team” to manage sustainability efforts.

The responsibilities of the Sustainability Team are detailed in Table 6.

Accessibility

Our hotel is committed to providing accessible tourism services for everyone within its capabilities and informs its customers and stakeholders about the level of accessibility accurately and transparently through its website.

Our hotel also commits to full compliance with legal regulations on accessibility and continuously works to improve its accessibility measures.

Efforts are made not only for individuals with physical disabilities but also for those who cannot participate in tourism activities due to visual, auditory, or other disabilities.

Our hotel regularly carries out maintenance and repairs of its accessibility arrangements and infrastructure, and improvements are made when necessary. Additionally, our employees are regularly informed about accessibility-related topics.

Procurement

Our procurement policy incorporates local, environmentally friendly, fair-trade, and efficient purchasing strategies.

Our hotel monitors the sources of goods and services. We hold periodic meetings with our suppliers and review their sustainability certificates, information, and documents.

Local Procurement:
Our hotel prioritizes local suppliers when purchasing goods and services, provided they are of high quality and reasonably priced. As such, we regularly inspect suppliers, update our supplier list, and provide them with information. We measure the proportion of goods and services procured from the local community.

When it comes to imported products, our hotel prioritizes fair-trade suppliers if the products are of high quality and reasonably priced.

Environmentally Friendly Procurement:
Our hotel follows a policy of environmentally conscious purchasing, focusing on efficient procurement to reduce food and solid waste, energy conservation, and water savings.

The hotel prioritizes environmentally certified products (eco-labeled products) for procurement. If no eco-labeled products are available within a product category, the hotel ensures that items are sourced from suppliers and manufacturers whose production and other processes do not harm the environment.

Within this framework, our hotel prioritizes suppliers with sustainability certifications, such as ISO 14001, ISO 50001, ISO 14064, and ISO 20400.

Products with environmental certifications for wood, fish, paper, and other food items (e.g., FSC, MSC, EU EcoLabel) or traceable origins are preferred.

Threatened or banned species (e.g., fish, trees, plants, game animals) are not purchased or used in our hotel.

The proportion of environmentally certified, local producers, and fair-trade suppliers in our total procurement is measured.

Our hotel has objectives related to environmentally certified, local, and fair-trade procurement. As such, we aim to increase the proportion and number of local and fair-trade suppliers in our procurement practices.

The Supplier Evaluation Form is included in Table 7.
The Approved Supplier List is included in Table 8.

Efficient Procurement:
Our procurement policy favors reusable, returnable, and recycled goods.

Additionally, our hotel prioritizes bulk purchasing and items with minimal packaging to reduce the frequency of shipments to the hotel, thereby cutting greenhouse gas emissions.

Our priority and preference are for products that come without unnecessary and excessive plastic, nylon, paper, glass, or wooden packaging.

In the purchase of consumables and amenities, single-use items and unnecessary packaging (especially plastics) are avoided. The purchase and use of consumables and single-use products are monitored and managed.

The Monitoring Table for Single-Use, Plastic, and Packaged Products is included in Table 9.

Cultural Sustainability Policy

Presentation of Cultural Heritage:
Our hotel respects the intellectual property rights of the local community.

The authentic elements of traditional and contemporary local culture are incorporated into our cuisine, design, and decoration.

Artifacts:
Our hotel does not buy, sell, mediate, or display historical or archaeological artifacts.
Promotion of Sustainable Local Gastronomy:
Our hotel prioritizes the promotion and consumption of local products. Innovation and creativity are employed in all activities to ensure sustainability in gastronomy.

Energy and Environment

Energy Conservation:
Our hotel has an energy conservation policy, which includes regular measurement, monitoring, and reduction of energy consumption, as well as prioritizing the use of renewable energy.

Our hotel, as much as possible, gives priority to renewable energy use.

Energy consumption is categorized by type, and energy use by different units is monitored. The total energy consumed is measured by type, and tracking is conducted using the table in the appendix of this document.

The tracking of electricity consumption is recorded in Table 10.
The monitoring of total energy consumption is documented in Table 11.

Energy-intensive activities are identified, and corrective measures are planned and implemented to reduce energy consumption in these areas (e.g., insulation systems, choosing appliances with lower energy consumption ratings instead of high-consumption incandescent lighting, replacing them with LED bulbs, etc.). Additionally, energy-efficient equipment is used in our hotel.

Our hotel informs and educates its employees and stakeholders on energy conservation.

Water Management and Wastewater

Water Conservation:
Our hotel has a water conservation policy that includes the regular measurement, monitoring, and reduction of water consumption.

The water risk situation in the region where our hotel is located has been identified using the Water Risk Atlas prepared by the World Resources Institute. The relevant website link is provided here.

Water risk has also been evaluated in the risk analysis, and a water management plan has been prepared. This plan includes the measurement and tracking of water usage, as well as goals and reporting aimed at reducing water consumption.

The activities of our hotel do not harm marine or freshwater life in seas, lakes, or other bodies of water. However, the potential risks to these life forms have been evaluated as part of the risk assessment, and necessary precautions have been taken.

Our hotel complies with all legal requirements and regulations concerning water use.

Water used in the hotel comes from legal and sustainable sources, such as municipal water supplies or authorized well water.

We measure water consumption, calculating and reporting total water usage per guest or overnight stay. The file in the appendix of this document is used for these measurements.

The Water Consumption Measurement Table is included in Table 12.

Our hotel has set targets to reduce water consumption. Accordingly, we plan and implement corrective measures to achieve these goals. Water-saving equipment is used in our hotel. Good practices, such as changing sheets and towels upon guest request, are implemented.

Our hotel informs and encourages its employees and stakeholders about water conservation. All available resources are deployed to ensure that the hotel’s wastewater does not harm the environment.

The disposal of wastewater complies with regulations determined by local authorities. Legal obligations regarding this matter are fully adhered to.

Food Waste and Solid Waste

Solid Waste Management Plan:
Our hotel has a Solid Waste Management Plan, which includes the regular measurement, monitoring, reduction, reuse, recycling, and disposal of waste.

The Waste Monitoring Table is included in Table 13.

Solid waste is categorized by type, such as food, recyclable, hazardous/toxic, and organic waste, with a focus on recycling and reuse opportunities during separation.

Our hotel regularly informs and guides its employees and stakeholders about waste management using various visual and communication materials.

Solid waste sorted by type is collected by authorized and licensed firms.

Both food waste and other solid waste are measured by category. The amount of solid waste per guest or overnight stay is calculated and reported at our hotel.

Additionally, our hotel identifies high-waste activities and risk areas. Corrective measures are planned and implemented to reduce food waste and overall waste.

The goal is to ensure that the disposal of solid waste does not negatively impact the local population or the surrounding environment. Compliance is maintained with the Zero Waste Regulation and related legislation.

Sustainable Procurement Policy

In line with our sustainable supply approach, our hotel expects its suppliers and solution partners to adhere to the following:

Have Quality Assurance Management Systems, Environmental and Occupational Health and Safety Management Systems, and internationally recognized environmental and sustainability certificates/standards.
Ensure that production and supply processes do not have harmful effects on the environment and comply with environmental regulations.
Utilize resources in a manner that does not harm natural life or ecosystems and adhere to hunting bans.
Work to minimize waste and manage it responsibly while offering solutions like reduced packaging or bulk packaging alternatives for products.
Provide environmentally friendly, efficient, locally sourced, ethical, recyclable, or recycled products and materials.
Offer organic, bio, vegan, cruelty-free products and those free of harmful chemical components.
Be local or regional producers/service providers.
Reflect and promote the cuisine, traditions, and culture of our country and region.

We share this perspective with our stakeholders and suppliers. Our goal is to create efficient purchasing opportunities with our suppliers while minimizing the environmental impact of procurement processes.

Energy Efficiency Policy

To protect our planet from potential dangers, we use energy efficiently and set targets to reduce energy consumption.

To achieve this:

We abide by national and international standards, laws, and regulations to fulfill both our environmental responsibilities and legal obligations. We voluntarily undertake initiatives to reduce energy usage and/or improve our energy consumption performance, and we monitor the results of these efforts.
We set goals and include energy efficiency in our training programs to engage our employees in these efforts.
We prioritize collaboration with all stakeholders to achieve shared goals and results in energy management. In this regard, we aim to foster interaction with our guests, employees, visitors, and all business partners to achieve a collective level of awareness and consciousness.
We strive to research, procure, and use energy-efficient products, equipment, tools, and technology alternatives.
We aim to document, disseminate across all departments, update, and continuously improve our Energy Management System.
We evaluate potential energy risks or constraints that may arise and plan the necessary precautions.

Environmental Protection and Waste Management Policy

Our business ensures the protection of the environment, prevention of pollution, and reduction of negative environmental impacts through careful management.