LONDON—Whitbread PLC, the United Kingdom’s largest hotel and restaurant group, announced that as part of this year’s capital investment program it will be spending more than $10.6 million on a sustainability program to boost the environmental performance of its hotels, restaurants and coffee shops. The move forms an important part of Whitbread’s ‘Good Together’ sustainability strategy and will help the business deliver against its targets of a 26 percent reduction in energy consumption and a 20 percent reduction in water use by 2020.
The investment drive will focus on Whitbread’s existing estate and will see the introduction of a package of efficiency measures to help the company reduce its carbon emissions and conserve water.
As part of the program, 20,000 low-flow showerheads will be installed at Premier Inn hotels. Extensive tests by Whitbread have helped the company develop a showerhead that delivers the feel and effect of a powerful shower while saving three liters of water a minute. This single initiative will save enough water to fill 88 Olympic swimming pools a year by 2012.
Investment in LED Lighting
Another key element of the program will see $3.9 million go towards low-energy LED light bulbs, replacing 75,000 energy inefficient light bulbs. This investment will save an estimated 6,200 tons of carbon each year as well as reduce Whitbread’s energy bill.
Additional energy and water saving measures include investment in voltage optimization, thermal building insulation, automated lighting systems, bathroom tap restrictors and dual flush toilets, renewable technology such as solar panels and micro combined heat and power and solar film (window film which allows light in but reduces the need for cooling by keeping heat out in summer).
“This significant green investment is a major step forward for Whitbread as we continue to drive down carbon emissions and reduce water consumption as part of our ‘Good Together’ commitments,” says Chris George, Whitbread’s head of Energy & Environment. “By leading the way in our sector, we can show what can be achieved when you are committed to taking action on the environment. What’s really exciting about our program is its scale—we have the largest portfolio of hotels, restaurants and coffee shops in the U.K. That means we have a real opportunity to make a difference and there is considerable scope for us to be innovative and bold.”
Whitbread is also operating a sustainable new build program and construction is currently underway on a second green hotel and first low-carbon restaurant. Burgess Hill Premier Inn and Beefeater in West Sussex, due to open in late Autumn 2010, follows Whitbread’s pioneering green hotel pilot in Tamworth, Staffordshire—the United Kingdom’s first green budget hotel which opened its doors to guests in December 2008.
Go to Whitbread PLC.
