03 September 2009

IHG pledges $1million to support conservation research

LONDON - IHG (InterContinental Hotels Group), and Oxford University have joined forces to accelerate research into conservation, with IHG pledging up to $1million over a five-year period to help Oxford increase its research capability.

IHG will use this research to inform its future hotel design and operations.

Working with communities and scientists, OxfordÃ¢â¬â¢s research will help to pinpoint and publicise areas of the planet - small in some cases - that have the greatest concentration of rare and threatened plants, any of which could be useful to all of us one day.

IHG is using its Priority Club Rewards (PCR) programme to fund the donation by asking members to switch from paper to online statements.

Switching to online statements will save up to $400,000 every year and the hotel group will donate half of these savings directly to the Department of Plant Sciences at Oxford University.

PCR members can support the programme, and receive 500 bonus points, by signing up to receive online statements at www.priorityclub.com/OxfordPlants.

From October, members will also be able to track the progress of the research project and speak to the scientists directly on this site.