Published on : Thursday, February 7, 2013
Macdonald Hotels & Resorts, the UK’s largest privately owned hotel group, today announced that it has retained the coveted Carbon Trust Standard.
As part of Macdonald Hotels & Resorts’ innovative Room 15 initiative, the market leading hotel group has set itself a target of reducing electricity and fossil fuel use across the business by 15% by 2015.
The independently verified Carbon Trust Standard is only awarded to organisations that provide genuine proof of a reduction in their organisational carbon footprint to help combat the global impact of climate change. Over the assessment period Macdonald Hotels & Resorts, with a portfolio of over forty 4 and 5 star hotels and resorts across the UK and Spain, has reduced its UK CO2 emissions by 7.5%. Macdonald Hotels & Resorts is committed to further improvements, and has invested over £700,000 in energy saving projects, including light sensor devices in corridor / conference areas, in both the UK and Spain in the last year alone.
Retaining the coveted Carbon Trust Standard is a major achievement for Macdonald Hotels & Resorts. The award comes after a string of recent environmental accolades; it was named 2012-2013 AA Eco-Hotel Group of the Year, and received the 2012 Good Egg Award for the commitment to sourcing eggs locally to reduce food miles.
Referring to the significance of achieving the Carbon Trust Standard, Gordon Fraser, Finance Director of Macdonald Hotels & Resorts and Chair of the Room 15 Committee, commented: “I am incredibly proud of the contribution every employee across the hotel group has made to ensure we have secured the Carbon Trust Standard.
“We take our responsibilities seriously, and the issues of sustainability and energy conservation are a priority. While we have created an in-house Energy Committee, we still have more projects to deliver before we meet our Room 15 target for 2015. The Carbon Trust Standard is testament to the progress we are making each year, coming closer to where we want to be reducing electricity and fossil fuel usage by 15%.”
Gordon Fraser added, “We were astonished at the impact our decision to install LED lights in 5 hotels has had in just one year, saving, over 852 tonnes of CO2.
“We were pleased to be able to report an improvement in carbon efficiency across our UK operations at the first assessment of 7.9% per room sold, this has continued with further efficiency gains of 6% at the new certification. With regards our Room 15 targets we are currently tracking a 5.1 % reduction in electricity, 13.1 % in gas, and 25 % in LPG gas. I am very confident we are on track for our 2015 target.”
Darran Messem, Managing Director of Certification at the Carbon Trust commented: “The action taken by MacDonald Hotels & Resorts sets a fantastic example, both for guests and the hospitality industry, showing that sustainability and comfort can go hand-in-hand. Retaining the Carbon Trust Standard demonstrates a genuine commitment to reducing carbon emissions year-on-year and playing a part in combating climate change.”
Source:- Macdonald Hotels
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