It is important to remember that the commitment to sustainability in all its forms has been adapted in line with market trends, movements towards globalisation, and other internal and external factors.

In 2008 there was a qualitative change. The social, environmental and cultural commitment which had traditionally formed part of the company’s management programme became fully integrated into Sol Meliá strategy, forming part of the Strategic Plan 20082010, approved and announced publicly in February 2008. (See strategic plan in block 1 chapter 4).

The importance of the Sustainable Development Plan with respect to the Strategic Plan 2008-2010 is the following:

• Of the 5 strategic lines 1
• Of the 30 strategic objectives 9
• Of the 5 programmes 1
• Of the 18 projects 2
• Of the 86 subprojects 10
• Of the 144 indicators in the corporate dashboard 6

This decision confirms the Sol Meliá commitment, creating a corporate department reporting to the Chairman. The Sustainable Development Plan was approved by Board of Directors on 29 July 2008. .

The Sustainable Development Plan has been created in such a way that it can be applied at all organisational levels, and also takes into consideration factors that define the nature of the business and its activity. These factors are:

• Personalisation factor via commercial brands, allowing the adaptation and prioritisation of projects in line with the identity and configuration of the business in each brand.
• Geographical factor, a respect for the economic, social and cultural situation of each location is of fundamental importance. Although there are common universal values, the company assigns a special value to the cultural identity of destinations which is, in short, what makes them unique.
• Business relationship with the hotel: which may be ownership, lease, management or franchise. This determines the margin for manoeuvre that Sol Meliá has in each of the hotels.