Park Inn Heathrow has been awarded Gold accreditation by the Green Tourism Business Scheme (GTBS) for its efforts in environmental practice, the first hotel at Heathrow Airport to receive this status.
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This is a major achievement due to the significant size of the hotel (it is home to 895 bedrooms and two conference centres totalling 45 meeting rooms) and it being one of the older hotels at Heathrow Airport, parts of the building dating back to 1964.
Some of the green initiatives include:
- Investment of £64K in low energy lighting for the whole hotel, resulting in a projected reduction of 960,388 kwh electricity and a financial saving of £67,226, both over 12 months
- Increased recycling facilities at the hotel which now cover glass, paper, plastic, light bulbs, batteries and cardboard
- Lobby recycling facilities and systems in place for Housekeeping to recycle guest waste
- Working with suppliers to ensure they take back their packaging for re-use
- As part of hotel refurbishment programme almost 300 rooms now have room key card systems to activate heat and light
- Continued support and involvement in local and global projects – Harlington Hospice, Litter picks, Charity sporting activities, Charity bike ride, Earth hour, Red Nose Day
- Committed Hotel Green Team and Action Plan for 2009/10
- Implementation of Work Travel Plan in conjunction with Westtrans which promotes public transport, cycling and walking routes to the hotel
- The hotel receives regular enquiries from clients looking for a green meeting venue and receives positive feedback from clients regarding green actions
- Sponsorship of various wildlife campaigns including Lumpar the Sumatran Tiger and Pipsqueak the Meerkat at ZSL London Zoo, and donations to the EDGE programme for endangered species
- A bird and wildlife space has been created at the hotel featuring nesting box and bird feeders
- Introduced fairtrade coffee, tea and sugar and recycled toilet roll in all bedrooms
- Changed in-room amenities to the environmentally friendly ‘beekind’ range
- Offer organic and fairtrade options in all restaurants and bars, including fair trade muffins, biscuits, sweets, chocolate bars, coffee, yoghurts, sugar
- Use environmentally friendly cleaning products in all Housekeeping and Kitchen areas
- Strong programme in place to ensure all employees receive training in environmental awareness, and information is widely communicated
The structured programme, part of the overall Responsible Business programme operated by The Rezidor Hotel Group, also outlines responsibility for the health and safety of employees and customers, as well as social and ethical issues. The hotel’s commitment also supports the needs and priorities of clients who are keen to work with green businesses.
“The team here at Park Inn Heathrow is both delighted and very proud to have received the Gold Award, which acknowledges the clear strategy for environmental performance that the hotel has in place and the hard work that has gone into achieving it. This Award recognises the commitment and initiative demonstrated by the entire team, and is especially pleasing when the achievements have been made in such a large and old hotel which is not the easiest starting point and makes the achievement all the more significant,” said Oliver Staas, General Manager, Park Inn Heathrow.
Jon Procter, GTBS Assessor, quoted in his report, “this hotel is clearly the Greenest in Heathrow”.
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