Whitbread launches corporate responsibility report & announces water efficiency target

By: Whitbread | 2 Shares 75 Reads

May 20, 2010 // Franchising.com // Whitbread PLC, the UK's largest hotel and restaurant company, today announces the publication of its first Corporate Responsibility Report . The 2009/10 report introduces Whitbread's Corporate Responsibility Programme called Good Together and outlines its strategic focus, priority issues and governance.

Highlights of the 2009/10 report include:

Progress reporting against key Good Together targets
Whitbread's 26% carbon emissions target as it gains the Carbon Trust Standard for demonstrating leadership in carbon reduction.
Performance data for Whitbread's pilot green hotel at Tamworth demonstrating a 81% reduction in carbon footprint and a 66% reduction in the water footprint
An Award winning apprenticeship and skills development programme for employees
Strides forward in recycling, including an innovative food waste recycling project
Inspiring case studies of Costa Foundation's work to build schools in Columbia and a new partnership with Wateraid.
Interviews with key team members involved with delivering Good Together

Alan Parker, Chief Executive at Whitbread said: "We have made a step change in how we communicate our sustainability credentials. Our report for 2009/10 lays the foundations for Whitbread to tell its Good Together story and demonstrate measurable progress in years to come. It's the start of an exciting journey for us."

Today Whitbread also announces a new water efficiency target to achieve a relative 20% reduction in water consumption within the Hotels and Restaurant portfolio against a set baseline by 2020.

This new target is additional to the first set of targets that Whitbread announced in 2009, when Good Together was launched. It reflects the importance of water management as a key strategic issue for Whitbread and the wider hospitality industry.

"We always look for innovative opportunities to reduce our water and carbon footprint. We are working to be water efficient in many ways such as monitoring and measurement of real time water consumption and the use of water saving products and technologies such as aerated showers and taps, dual flush toilets and water efficient kitchen measures all of which are being incorporated into our existing portfolio. This is in conjunction with our work to improve the water efficiency of new build hotels and restaurants, for example with the fitting of Grey and Rain water systems ." says Chris George, Head of Energy and Environment at Whitbread.

Notes to Editors

Whitbread PLC is the UK's largest hotel and restaurant group operating market-leading businesses in the budget hotels and restaurant sectors. Its well-loved brands are Premier Inn, Beefeater, Brewers Fayre, Table Table, Taybarns and Costa Coffee.

Whitbread PLC employs over 33,000 people and serves 10 million customers every month in over 2,000 outlets across the UK.

In the year ended 4 March 2010, Whitbread PLC reported a 7.5% increase in Group Revenue to £1,435.0 million and Underlying Profit before tax of £239.1 million up 6.6%.

Whitbread PLC is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 100. It is also a member of the FTSE4Good Index and has been awarded the Carbon Trust Standard for demonstrating leadership in carbon reduction.

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