The Royal Crescent Hotel & Spa achieves highly regarded Green Key accreditation

Photo credit: Brendan Foster Photography

The Green Key Award is the leading standard for excellence in the field of environmental responsibility and sustainable operation within the tourism industry. The prestigious eco-label represents a commitment by businesses that their premises adhere to the strict criteria set by the Foundation for Environmental Education.

The hotel achieved the accreditation following an assessment of its sustainability and CSR programme, which is managed by the hotel’s dedicated Green Team. The Green Team, led by Marketing Manager Mary Stringer (seen holding the Green Key logo plaque above), is responsible for creating a number of strategies that focus on protecting the environment and giving back to local communities. The Green Team worked with external sustainability consultants from mission : net zero to prepare for the audit.

During the assessment, the Green Key auditor reviewed everything from the water flow in guest bedrooms to the kitchen’s produce supply chains.

In a conscious effort to make a positive impact, the hotel’s operations team continue to roll out a number of green initiatives. These include reduction strategies for energy, water and waste; supporting initiatives in the field of nature conservation and biodiversity; and sourcing local produce and suppliers for the restaurant.

The hotel recently installed three electric vehicle charging points, to encourage environmentally-friendly travel for guests. Head Chef Martin Blake picks many herbs for his dishes fresh from the hotel’s acre of gardens. These gardens, which are home to three rescue hedgehogs, benefit from biodiversity-friendly gardening techniques such as minimal pesticide usage and pollinator-friendly planting. The hotel has also reviewed its many suppliers to ensure that their products, packaging and/or processes are aligned with the hotel’s own sustainability policy.

The Green Team works with a number of local charities including Julian House, a local organisation committed to helping the homeless. Fundraising events include the annual Big Bath Sleep Out, where the hotel’s staff ‘sleep rough’ for one night to experience life on the streets first hand and raise vital funds. Other local charities and communities the hotel works with include the National Garden Scheme, The Pink Ribbon Foundation, Room To Reward, and local Bath College students. The hotel is also supporting a project to “rewild” a section of the “Ha-Ha” at the bottom of the Royal Crescent lawn, where a local school is planting wildflowers.

Lorraine Jarvie (pictured above holding the certificate), General Manager at The Royal Crescent Hotel & Spa, commented:
“We are delighted to have been awarded The Green Key accreditation and this is testament to the hard work of our dedicated Green Team. As a hospitality business, we inevitably impact the environment and our local community and therefore, we have a responsibility to mitigate our impact. Gaining this award was our number one goal to demonstrate to our guests, staff and to the wider hospitality industry, that we take sustainability and our CSR programme very seriously and that we will continue to do so.”

Simon Catterick from Mission: Net Zero, said: “With socially responsible investors using Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) criteria to measure the sustainability and ethical impact of a business, we were delighted to be invited by global hotel & hospitality experts, Colliers International to assist Royal Crescent Hotel and Spa earn the prestigious Green Key certification. 
The Green Key scheme is acknowledged worldwide as an indicator of excellence in the field of environmental responsibility and sustainable operation as well as acting as an independent hallmark of ‘green quality’ in the hospitality sector. 
 Independent, Green Key certification will ensure the high environmental standards expected by owner, Topland Group, one of the world’s largest privately owned property and investment groups, are maintained through rigorous documentation and assessment of various criteria including energy, waste, and water management, and social elements including employee welfare and guest experiences. Together with demonstrating active community engagement and developing an authentic local supply chain. 
Guests are promised that by opting to stay with Royal Crescent Hotel and Spa they are helping to make a difference on an environmental level giving the business a competitive advantage with a certified grading that sets it apart from other five-star hotels and spas in the South West without any accredited green credentials.”

In England, the Green Key scheme is managed by environmental charity Keep Britain Tidy. Chief Executive Allison Ogden-Newton OBE said:
“We are delighted to award this iconic hotel Green Key certification for the first time after a rigorous judging process. This historic Green Key establishment has proven that luxury and sustainability can go hand-in-hand, meaning guests do not have to compromise in order to curb their impact on the planet.”

For more information about The Royal Crescent Hotel & Spa, its green credentials and CSR programme, head to their website here.