Partners
Whitbread works in partnership with the following organisations, to find solutions to Environmental Issues:
The Carbon Trust
Whitbread has been working with the Carbon Trust for a number of years. The Carbon Trust's mission is to accelerate the move to a low carbon economy by helping organisations reduce their carbon emissions and develop commercial low carbon technologies.
Whitbread has implemented two of the Carbon Trust's programmes: 'Carbon Management', which brings a systematic approach to managing the risks and realising the opportunities that Climate Change presents; and 'Low Carbon Building Accelerator', which focuses on gathering data and demonstrating expertise in the energy-efficient refurbishment of non-residential buildings. The latter project resulted in a case study that can be found on the Carbon Trust's website
UK Paper Cup Recycling Committee
Costa is a member of the UK Paper Cup Recycling Committee. This is an industry formed group that is working to provide a sustainable route for the recovery and recycling of used paper cups and similar products. Committee members include cup manufacturers and coffee retailers such as Costa.
Further information on Costa's takeaway cups can be found in the Waste, Recycling and Packaging section of this report
World Travel & Tourism Council
The World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) is the forum for business leaders in the Travel & Tourism industry. In February 2009, the WTTC published a report entitled 'Leading the challenge on Climate Change', which sets out the vision and commitment of Travel and Tourism industry leaders to tackle Climate change. Whitbread PLC was one of thirty-seven companies who contributed their time and expertise to the drafting of this report. The report can be downloaded from the WTTC website:
Whitbread's CEO, Alan Parker, CBE, is a member of the Council's Executive Committee.
Rainforest Alliance
In April 2008, Costa became the first UK Coffee Shop chain to commit to sourcing coffee beans from Rainforest Alliance-certified farms. Since October 2008 at least 30% of the beans, which make up Costa's signature Mocha Italia blend in the UK are sourced from Rainforest Alliance-certified farms. This equates to 1,500 tonnes of green coffee over the course of a year.
The Rainforest Alliance is an independent, international non-profit NGO that works to conserve biodiversity and ensure sustainable livelihoods by transforming land-use practices, business practices and consumer behaviour. Only farms that meet specific standards balancing all aspects of production, including protecting the environment, the rights and welfare of workers and the interest of coffee-growing communities are awarded certification.
The Malthouse Consultancy
Whitbread has been working with the Malthouse Consultancy since 2007, to substantially improve the environmental design and performance of its buildings. Initially employed to identify low carbon and water-saving technologies to trial at Premier Inn's flagship green hotel in Tamworth, their longer-term objective has been to identify the best and most cost effective solutions that can be used within Whitbread's wider estate.
The Malthouse Consultancy is an independent environmental consultancy, providing unbiased advice and project management services to property professionals in the planning design and construction fields. More information can be found on their website:
Wolseley UK
Whitbread's most significant environmental impacts relate directly to its buildings and therefore the Company works closely with Wolseley to source sustainable building materials, fixtures and fittings for use in its construction and refurbishment programmes.
Wolseley UK is the world's largest specialist trade distributor of plumbing and heating products to professional contractors and a leading supplier of building materials to the professional market. They have taken a proactive approach to the sustainability agenda, by developing a range of circa 7,000 sustainable products that are readily available through their branch network.
Wolseley UK has also undertaken the construction of their £3.2 million Sustainable Building Center in Leamington Spa, which showcases sustainable building products and construction methods. Further information can be found on their website:
