Newly launched "CSR Champion Training"  is an innovative programme to cascade corporate social responsibility goals to the grassroots hotel level and the communities in which Shangri-La operates.

The objective of the CSR champion training is to equip staff with necessary skills and knowledge on formulating, prioritising and implementing CSR initiatives by taking account of different cultures and local needs.

Shangri-La staff across Asia – middle and senior managers from across all hotel departments -- are undergoing one-day "CSR Champion Training" courses.  The first sessions recently took place in Hong Kong and Singapore, to be followed by a 15 April session in Beijing; a total of 75 hotel CSR Champions will emerge from the course to take the leadership role in their hotels to drive and manage CSR activities.

The training includes four sessions:  an introduction to CSR and its relation to branding; CSR policy and Shangri-La's five key focus areas; how CSR is put into local practice based on local need assessment; and the importance of stakeholder engagement.

The training is hotel-oriented and based on a group and industry CSR benchmarking survey conducted by Shangri-La.  It is interactive and designed for debate, sharing and open discussion. The class is conducted by Richard Welford, director of CSR Asia, who is also Shangri-La's CSR consultant.

"Through this training, we hope to maximise the benefits that Shangri-la hotels and resorts can bring to their local areas and environments -- allowing our umbrella CSR goals to be realized on community levels," said Symon Bridle, chief operating officer of Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts.