"Part of the DNA? InterContinental Hotels Group and corporate responsibility failures in Tibet", May 2014

In 2010, IHG announced that it would open a...luxury hotel in Lhasa...Tibet...When specifically invited to do so, IHG made no attempt to demonstrate adherence to the principles of the United Nations Global Compact, despite promoting its status as a signatory to the scheme as an indication of its corporate responsibility...InterContinental Hotels Group has provided no evidence that it has conducted due diligence in regard to corporate responsibility over the Lhasa hotel. Specifically, it has not demonstrated that it has taken appropriate steps to avoid complicity with human rights abuses...IHG has also...failed to engage constructively with legitimate stakeholders and to be transparent about its practices and policies. This consistent pattern of failure to account for its behaviour gives rise to strong concerns that the company has not fulfilled its legal and ethical responsibilities...The company's behaviour has been starkly at odds with its own rhetoric on corporate responsibility and global citizenship...