CorpComms Magazine

Whitbread, the UK's largest hotel and restaurant group, has announced a £7 million refurbishment programme to cut carbon emissions and reduce water consumption across its estate of hotels, restaurants and coffee shops.

The refurbishment will include the installation of 20,000 low-flow showerheads across its chain of Premier Inn hotels, which are anticipated to save enough water to fill 88 Olympic swimming pools a year by 2012.

The company is also replacing 75,000 energy inefficient light bulbs with low-energy LED equivalents ina move which is expected to save 6,200 tonnes of carbon every year.

The green drive is intended to help the company, which owns Premier Inn, Beefeater and Costa, achieve its targets of a 26 per cent reduction in energy consumption and a 20 per cent reduction in water use by 2020.

The programme of upgrades will also include more efficient thermal building insulation, automated lighting systems, dual flush toilets, renewable technology such as solar panels, micro combined heat and power and solar film (which covers the windows allowing light to permeate whist limiting the loss of heat).

Chris George, Whitbread's Head of Energy & Environment, said: '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. 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 programme is its scale - we have the largest portfolio of hotels, restaurants and coffee shops in the UK. That means we have a real opportunity to make a difference and there is considerable scope for us to be innovative and bold.'

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