Premier Inn owner, Whitbread Plc, has launched a pioneering new pilot programme that will see its hotels and restaurants move increasingly towards greater sustainability.
The new sustainable refurbishment scheme will improve upon the hotel group’s properties and building stock to reduce water consumption and overall carbon emissions. With a budget of over £7m, the large UK restaurant and hotel chain will implement several new measures to ensure an increase in the company’s environmental performance at all its properties including restaurants, coffee shops and hotels. The move will be a part of the firm’s larger strategy, Good Together, designed to boost overall sustainability credentials.
As part of the programme, the hotelier said it aims to reduce water use by 20 per cent across the board and energy consumption by a further 26 per cent at all properties by 2020. As a portion of the retrofit, the group will install 20,000 low-flow showerheads in Premier Inn bathrooms across the country. The move is expected to save the equivalent of 88 Olympic swimming pools of water each year.
Furthermore, the group will also replace 75,000 of its existing light bulbs with greater efficiency, low-energy LED lights. The replacement is expected to cost the hotel firm around £2.6m, but will save roughly 6,200 tonnes of carbon emissions each year and help reduce the firm’s energy costs.
Additionally, moves being made to reduce energy use and water consumption will include thermal building insulation, dual flush toilets, automated lighting systems, bathroom tap restrictions and voltage optimisation. Head of environment and energy at Whitbread, Chris George, said that the hotel group was aiming to become the UK leader in hotel and restaurant sustainability. He added that the move was exciting due to its sheer scale, as Whitbread is the largest property holder in the UK industry.
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