Environmental impact

Understanding our impact on the environment is critical and we recognise the responsibility we have to take action to drive change.

Net zero targets validated by SBTi

Carbon emissions continue to be a huge focus for our business and reducing emissions is an ethical and economic imperative. We have gained SBTi validation for our overall net zero targets (both near and long-term), the long term targets commit us to reduce scope 1 and 2 emissions by 99.6% by 2040 and to reduce scope 3 emissions by 90% by 2050. We are working hard to reduce emission, we use 100% renewable electricity across our owned and operated sites within the UK and Germany, while 20% of our UK hotels have solar panels. We have published our first Transition Plan to Net Zero which has more details on how we plan to meet these targets.

20% water reduction per sleeper by 2030

Whitbread has had a long-standing focus on water management, with ongoing efforts around leak detection and repair, as well as implementation of water saving technologies. We have set a 20% reduction per sleeper target by 2030 from a FY19/20 baseline, this will help ensure that we are doing our bit to protect this precious resource.

Our new goals are not only a response to an environmental priority but will also support our net zero strategy as initial trials of water saving technology in bathrooms revealed the potential to cut gas consumption.

Elimination of unnecessary single-use plastics by 2025

Single-use plastics is one of the most crucial issues for our business. Most single-use plastics used at our sites are found at the back of our hotels and restaurants through food, drink and laundry packaging. We know eliminating this waste won’t be easy, but we are committed to reducing our impact on the environment.

We already have a great track record of minimising the use of single-use plastics, becoming the first hotel group to stop the use of plastic straws and stirrers, and unlike many other hotel operators, we have never used miniature shower products. However, we have more to do. In order to remove single-use plastic from our business we are working with our suppliers to innovate and drive change.

50% reduction in food waste by 2030

Our target is to reduce food waste by 50% by 2030 against a FY18/19 baseline. This helps us to become a more efficient business, but also reduces our GHG emissions and helps support food security, both in the UK and across our global supply chain.

We are also working hard to ensure that none of our general waste goes to landfill as we know that the environmental impact of landfill is a growing issue. We have a target to divert 100% of our operational waste from landfill and work with our supplier to meet this. This year we diverted 100% of our waste from landfill.

How we’re positively impacting the environment

Award winning hotels

Our new Swindon hotel was the first Premier Inn to be designed and built without a connection to a natural gas supply and is powered entirely by renewable electricity. It received the edie ‘Built environment project of the year’ award in November 2023.

The site is designed to BREEAM ‘Excellent’ standards and packed with innovative features, including energy-efficient air-to-water Mitsubishi Q-Ton CO2 heat pumps to heat water, low energy LED lighting with lighting controls and metering and solar panels installed on site. The hotel purchases only renewable electricity from the grid – in line with all of Whitbread’s owned and operated operations in the UK and Germany.

Synergy chargrills

As part of our commitment to reducing our impact on the environment, reducing our gas consumption is crucial.

In 2019 we began rolling out the award‐winning Synergy chargrill to over 200 restaurants including all Beefeater and Cookhouse & Pub sites. The Synergy Grill has led to gas savings of over 20% in the impacted sites and a 10% reduction of the total gas consumption of the entire restaurant business.

Not only this, but the new grill also improves the quality of cooking, enables faster cleaning, and reduces cooking oil and waste. Therefore, through our innovations we can not only improve our carbon footprint but also delight our guests with even better tasting food and support our operations teams become more efficient.

Collaborating to reduce water use

To achieve our target of reducing water consumption by 20% per sleeper by 2030, we partner with water wholesalers to implement water efficiency interventions in our hotels and restaurants in their geographical regions. This allows us to collaboratively implement water saving technology at scale whilst monitoring and measuring the interventions to bring water consumption reduction and cost savings to Whitbread. This approach also means we target water reduction interventions in the areas that need it the most.

In the spring of 2023, we worked with South West Water (SWW) to trial water-efficient technologies including airgap toilet valves and more water-efficient taps and shower heads. The project aimed to create water savings for Whitbread, SWW and the region in general. An audit of the interventions revealed a positive overall impact with a 15.3% reduction in water use per sleeper recorded at the relevant Whitbread sites, demonstrating significant water savings for both Whitbread and SWW.