Opulent has presented plans to address the potential environmental and social impacts to ensure that the project will, upon implementation of the specific agreed mitigation measures, comply with policies and standards internal to the Group, applicable national laws and regulations, IFC’s Performance Standards on Social and Environmental Sustainability and applicable World Bank Group (WBG) Environmental, Health and Safety (EHS) Guidelines. The information about how these potential impacts will be addressed by the project is summarized in the paragraphs that follow, and in the Environmental and Social Action Plan (ESAP) which is disclosed with this document.
PS1: Social and Environmental Assessment and Management Systems
As part of its franchise agreement with the Hilton Group Opulent is required to comply with the Hilton Worldwide Double Tree Brand Standards for design and construction, and operation. These standards, which encompass EHSS issues, are based on internationally recognized and accepted standards. To ensure compliance to its standards, Hilton will conduct a post renovation audit during hotel commissioning, and thereafter will undertake unscheduled audits every 3 – 6 months. The audits will consider three main aspects as follows; training and documentation (40%), cleanliness, hygiene and safety (40%), and compliance with building codes (20%); the latter will include a review against national and international recognized codes for disabled individuals.
According to the franchise agreement, it is the responsibility of the individual Property and/or owner to comply with all applicable national legislation and codes. In the event that the latter exceed the requirements contained in the Hilton Worldwide Double Tree Brand Standards, the local codes and regulations will be construed as the minimum requirements. All discrepancies between these standards and the applicable national legislation and codes are to be brought to the attention of the Hilton Group for resolution. Where designs deviate from applicable legislation and codes, approval or acceptance by the relevant authority is required.
In line with the above requirement, the Group’s design team identified potential risks for which method statements and risk assessments will be required as appropriate. The risks which could not be completely eliminated include: localized ground collapse, interference with existing buried services such as power cables; and personnel injuries due to lifting of heavy building materials and working at heights. To mitigate these risks, Opulent produced a comprehensive Health and Safety Plan which clearly specifies obligations for the contractor and the client.
Prior to commencement of works, the contractor will provide a detailed method statement identifying all the health and safety risks associated with specific works and define all measures proposed to address such issues. The contractor is required to retain a copy of the Health and Safety Plan for inspection by the client and their representatives for the duration of the contract. The contractor is also required to maintain records of any materials taken off site and the disposal method for all wastes.
Opulent obtained stamped approval for the updated hotel plan from the National Tourism Office of Burundi. Opulent also obtained approval from other relevant government ministries/departments such as Ministry of Water, Environment, Land Management and Urban Development, Environment Directorate, planning, engineering and investment center, etc.
PS2: Labor and Working Conditions
The hotel currently employs 61 workers of which 31% (19) are women. Once commissioned, the hotel will employ 155 people.
The Hilton Bujumbura hotel will be governed by the Double Tree by Hilton Human Resources Policy and Procedures. The Policy encompass a mission statement, vision and company values, personal code of conduct and procedures for the selection, hiring, training, promotion, resignation, retrenchment and termination of employees. It specifies the terms of employment for different categories of appointments, employee working conditions (e.g. working hours, training, salary scale), benefits (medical insurance, pension, and leave etc.) and grievance procedures. The hotel will assess and report on employee performance on a regular basis (three months for new staff, and six months thereafter) and follow-up on the time-frames agreed for improvement.
Opulent is committed to fair, sound and non-discriminatory employment practices. When interviewing, they ensure that Equal Opportunities legislation is strictly adhered to, with no discrimination shown on the grounds of sex, religion, age, disability or ethnic origin. In addition, employees who are HIV positive or those with AIDS are not subjected to any form of victimisation or discrimination. All policies, procedures and guidelines are made available to employees and are in compliance with Burundi’s labor laws. In accordance with Burundian labor law, the hotel will not restrict workers against joining unions of their choice, or forming employees’ organizations. In addition, the minimum age for employment in Burundi is 18 years.
Opulent, through contractor agreements, will ensure that comprehensive procedures for both workplace hygiene and occupational health and safety (OHS) conditions are implemented and meet both Burundian occupational health and safety requirements and Hilton’s standards during the renovation phase. Hygiene and OHS aspects will be mainstreamed into the hotel’s operations through employee induction and training program and assigning responsibilities as appropriate.
Opulent acknowledges the seriousness of the HIV/AIDS epidemic and seeks to minimize the social, economic and developmental consequences to the company and its employees through comprehensive, proactive HIV/AIDS workplace programs, therefore committing itself to providing leadership in implementing such programs. Thus Opulent is fully committed to protect its employees, create awareness, encourage behavior changes where necessary as well as ensure that all employees are treated with the necessary dignity, fairness and equality.
PS3: Pollution Prevention and Abatement
The hotel is being renovated taking into account resource conservation measures which include: maximizing the use of sunlight through increasing the size of windows; the installation of energy saver lamps and key cards in the rooms such that power to appliances (such as air conditioners and lights) are shut off once the key card is removed from the switch. Air conditioning use is also linked to the windows in such a way that it shuts off when a window is opened. In addition, all toilets will be equipped with dual flush systems for long and short flush periods.
Potential pollution issues during the renovation phase are those typically associated with construction sites and include waste management and use of chemicals, and nuisance impacts (e.g. noise and dust) on existing tenants in adjacent buildings. To minimize these impacts, Opulent will ensure that the Health and Safety Plan, especially sections covering waste management under contractor obligations, chemicals, materials and products requiring special care are fully implemented during the construction phase. According to the Health and Safety Plan, no work is to be undertaken outside reasonable working hours to mitigate noise disturbance to local residents.
The primary waste streams from the operation of the hotel will be domestic solid waste (e.g. paper, plastic, glass bottles) and liquid waste, which includes sewage and storm-water runoff. Solid waste will be collected by the municipal services and disposed at the municipal landfill site. Domestic sewage, generated from the washrooms and cleaning activities, will also be collected via the municipal sewerage system for treatment at its facilities. To demonstrate capacity and adequacy of municipality of Bujumbura sanitary wastewater treatment and effluent disposal Opulent, will submit a letter from the municipality and analytical evidence satisfactory to IFC that wastewater treatment consistently produces an effluent that complies with Burundian and IFC guideline limits prior to disbursement. The kitchen and laundry outlets will be fitted with grease traps to prevent oil or solids from the kitchen sink and laundry areas from entering the main drainage. The cake that forms in the fat traps will be collected and land-filled at the Municipality landfill.
Water will be supplied to the hotel by the national Water and Electric Authority (REGIDESO) which sources the water from the nearby Lake Tanganyika, which is estimated to be the second largest freshwater lake in the world by volume. The water to the hotel is supplied via a storage tank which acts as an emergency backup system. Water purification will be further enhanced via the installation of additional filtration facilities especially for water that will be used in the kitchens. The hotel will monitor the quality of water used for cooking at the restaurants against the WHO potable water standards and EHS Guidelines.
As with water, electricity will be supplied from the national grid by REGIDESO. It is estimated that the hotel will consume an average 250 000 kWh per month. However, due to energy constraints in Burundi over the last years, an 880 KVA backup diesel generator with a fuel consumption rate of 65 liters per hour will be installed. The fuel will be stored in the generator fuel tank which can hold 2000 liters and there will be no additional fuel stored on site. The diesel generator will be maintained on a regular schedule to ensure operation according to manufacturer’s specifications and that exhaust emissions are controlled according to combustion chamber temperature.
Opulent accepted a recommendation from IFC to implement an energy efficiency audit for Doubletree by Hilton Bujumbura hotel for which IFC will monitor the implementation and evaluate for the applicability and eligibility of the hotel to obtain Technical Assistance and financial resources from the IFC’s Cleaner Production Lending Facility.
The current Air Conditioning (AC) system is a centralized unit which is some 25 years old. This system is to be replaced with a more efficient variable refrigerant volume (VRV) system which allows the volume or flow rate of the refrigerant to be matched to the required heating or cooling loads thereby saving energy.
Based on the anticipated electricity and fuel usage along the AC operations, the CO2 equivalent produced will be 1 550 tonnes per annum.
From time to time, the hotel will need to fumigate for pests. Opulent will review and assess the applicability of non chemical pest control procedures. This will include daily inspections, filling up burrows with concrete and rodent proofing buildings at least twice per year, and more often if the situation warrants. Over and above this, the hotel will develop and implement a pesticide management plan compliant with WBG General EHS Guidelines.
PS4: Community Health, Safety and Security
During the operational phase, the key risk is related to fire. The existing fire protection and life safety will be upgraded to comply with the Hilton Group system applied internationally at all hotels. Hilton’s standards on fire protection and life safety requirements include, but are not limited to, control of sources of ignition, control of spread of fire and smoke, egress arrangements (number, size and spacing of exits, signage, lighting,) fuel loading etc. Other measures include fire detection (heat/smoke detectors), alarm system and public address system, outdoor and indoor fire hydrants, automatic water sprinkler system and fire hose reels and fire extinguishers (ammonium phosphate) on all levels. The fire suppression system will be connected to the municipal water supply and capable of supplying the calculated, hydraulic requirements of the installed fire suppression systems for a minimum period of 30 minutes.
Hilton standards require that the whole fire protection and life safety be formally tested based on the requirements of the NFPA Life Safety Code, prior to commissioning, by a qualified, independent third–party engineer. In addition to this, and for IFC’s investment, following completion of the renovations, Opulent will be required to commission an independent life, fire and safety specialist acceptable to IFC to: undertake an audit to confirm the hotel has been designed and constructed in accordance with the NFPA standards, or to detail corrective actions if applicable. This audit will also include a review of the hotel’s emergency response plan to ensure it is responsive to the facility’s design.
Opulent will also implement its comprehensive site-specific emergency (including security) procedures manual at the hotel. These procedures cover fire, bomb threats and attacks, foreign parcel/object and armed robbery. It encompass organizational structure (Fire Marshals, First Aiders and Heads of Departments), defines roles and responsibilities, evacuation floor plan and procedures for all personnel including peoples with disabilities. The General Manager has the overall responsibility to ensure effective enforcement of these measures. Opulent will update this comprehensive emergency plan for Hilton Bujumbura to include telephone numbers for the ambulance, hospital, fire department and the police.
A visual inspection of the building was carried out by Hilton staff prior to the property being purchased. The scope of the visual inspection included familiarization with the structural system and layout of the building, identification of critical areas for inspection and identification of the existence of unauthorized additions or alternation works, if any, that could affect the structure of the building. This was followed by an inspection of the building focusing on the condition of the structure of the building (to identify types of structural defects, signs of structural distress and deformation, and any signs of material deterioration), and the loading on the structure of the building. No signs of any structural deterioration, defects or alterations were identified during the assessment and the inspection deemed the hotel structurally sound. In addition the property was fully inspected in November 2010 by Hilton Worldwide Consultants and a comprehensive Property Improvement Plan was prepared in order to develop the property to Hilton Brand standards.
All Hilton branded hotels must be designed in compliance with local, regional and national codes or laws for disabled or universal access such as the Americans with Disabilities Act in the USA. The applicable code must be identified and provisions agreed upon in advance with the Hilton Group.
To prevent the potential for the legionella bacteria developing in the hotel’s hot water system, the water will be stored at a minimum temperature of 60oC. The pool water will be treated via an automated chlorine testing and dosing system to maintain a constant amount of chlorine in the water. The hotel will however implement a monitoring program to confirm the legionella bacteria are absent from the hot water system and to verify the pool water is of an acceptable quality.
For the kitchen, and in compliance with Hilton Worldwide systems, the hotel will only purchase food that is produced ethically and supported by legally binding guarantees. In addition to this, the hotel will develop and implement an accredited HACCP food safety system which conforms and complies with international standards on food safety.
Security personnel will be outsourced through private security contractors and will be provided on a 24 hour basis. Security personnel will be trained in the use of force for defensive purposes.
The areas of works will be fully fenced off with provision for lockup during construction to prevent unauthorized access by the public; all access will be from rear entrance – no other access will be permitted.
