Summary of Radisson Blu Edwardian's Key Responsible Business Best Practice Initiatives

Here at Radisson Blu Edwardian we strive to consistently improve our commitment to responsible business and green practices. Here is a summary of some of the activities we have implemented.

Carbon footprint measurement calculated for each hotel
Exclusive Vertue® mattresses, made entirely from organic and recycled materials are improving sleep quality and sustainability in all our hotels.
Responsible Business and Corporate teams formed & “Responsible Business” posters with the mission statement are displayed in each canteen, translated also in Portuguese and Polish.
Responsible business mission statement & ethos incorporated into staff induction process & in all in-room guest compendiums.
Overall Responsible Business Group Mission Statement agreed.
Responsible Business Meetings & Events Mission Statement agreed
Responsible Business Purchasing Policy agreed
Responsible Business Spa Mission Statement agreed
Intelli-Hood systems installed to reduce power consumption for kitchen extract systems in all hotels (excluding Sussex).
Single sheet notepaper introduced in all C&B Operations
Pens removed from all bedrooms and substituted with pencils
Bedroom and C&B lighting procedures rolled out.
Weekly bulk stationary orders now coordinated by finance department in each hotel for all departments
Apple policy for C&B clarified
Use of tinfoil / cling film removed from all room service orders
Batteries recycling in place
REH now receive LEC (Levy Exemption Product) low carbon power from Total Gas & Power Ltd, which reduces the CO2 emissions by approximately 40% using electricity conversion factors as supplied by DEFRA.
New energy saving computer PCs have been rolled out.
Low energy bulbs introduced into all guest bedroom corridors and number of lights being reduced, as well as movement sensors fitted in low-use public and BOH areas.
Organic salmon dishes have been incorporated into all menus across the group
Meat and vegetable food suppliers now supply produce in reusable plastic containers
Summary of RB energy saving initiatives has been completed & shared for each hotel
Bailers introduced at the May Fair, Hampshire & Bloomsbury Street hotels
Reusable material newspaper bags introduced across the group
Red dot initiative on all BOH lights and equipment switches
Weekly ‘Green Fact of the Week’ – Put on the green boards in each staff canteen and explained to all teams.
Paper handtowels removed from all public area rest rooms
Recycling of used toner cartridges with supplies team via Heathrow by financial controllers
New organic products, treatments and suppliers introduced in all spas via Spa Ritual, Bio Essential, Ahava, Pinks as well as organic cotton mitts
Thames Valley Oil nominated as supplier to collect used kitchen oil.
Rainbow cleaning products introduced into all housekeeping operations – (all phosphate and chlorine free)
Reduced night audit reports introduced across the group.
K.P. Waste nominated as new waste management supplier from May 09 offering separation of cardboard/paper, glass, general and food waste. All waste previously incinerated helping to produce electricity to 35,000 homes.
All standard hotel bills print on 1 page.
Re-chargeable battery tea lights introduced in all public areas, rather than use of tea lights
Eco-smart pillows introduced for guest bedrooms.
Eco-pure water (in-house bottling plant) served in all C&B operations & VIP gifts
Seven Dials dry Cleaners now supply bio-degradable laundry bags for guest laundry & dry cleaning.
Bathroom towels & eco-sheet changing strategies rolled out across the group together with guest amenity bathroom dispensers
Free trade tea & coffee available in all F&B outlets across the group.
Salt, pepper and sugar dispensers introduced in all staff dining rooms
Flowco flow limiting shower valves fitted to all showers & taps in guest bathrooms across the group
Red Tractor chicken incorporated into our general group menus
Bathroom heated rails switched off across the group during summer months
Weighing scales introduced into all laundry operations
Reusable vinyl bathmats introduced to all guest bathrooms @ Heathrow in lieu of laundering linen variety daily
Awarded Gold certification from Green500 – June 2009 & Platinum in June 2010
Electricity consumption savings – 2008/2011 – 22.3%. Further savings ongoing
Floor operated push taps to designated sinks in each main kitchen.
Installation of electronic guest key operated master switches to all guest bedrooms
Online H&S, Disability, Food safety and Environmental training which reduces travel, stationery and payroll consumption/costs.
Project brand standards updated to include Carbon 500 requirements and Responsible Business best practice
Dairystix milk sachets introduced for in-room tea/coffee facilities as they are better quality, longer shelf life and half as damaging to the environment
World Childhood Foundation designated as nominated charity for the entire group. Each hotel also supports a local community charity.
All C&B invoices sent out electronically
Green Libraries set up at each hotel
Light compactors for Grafton, May Fair and Kenilworth hotels
Valves have also been fitted to all public toilet and staff urinals to reduce volumes of water consumed in all hotels.
Bicycle rack facilities established at each hotel
Hotel group car fleet moved to Toyota Hybrid models from May 2010.
Energy efficiency & environmental awareness 0n-line training via Safety media introduced into mandatory training schedules for all departments in 2010 & now replaced with “Living & Leading RB” classroom courses.
Disposable cups removed from all staff canteens
Energy champions established in each hotel
Dual flush installed at Grafton, Sussex, Berkshire, May Fair, Leicester Sq, Mercer Street & BSH
External spotlights are now switched off at night in all hotels.
RB page developed on canteen electronic info board, with HR managers taking ownership of eco-info on notice boards
“Eco” idea of the month competition of the month launched in 2010.
All printed collateral is now printed on recycled paper in all hotels.
Email option had been made default setting for all purchase orders rather than printed version.
Green Fact of the Week to be added to all VIP welcome cards.
Watt Farms appointed as our new fruit & vegetables supplier based in Orpington, traditionally growers of herbs and vegetables for the supermarkets and wholesalers. They grow 35-40 different products on approximately 1000 acres and source another 20-30 lines from surrounding farms, thus again radically increasing the percentage of British grown products and reducing the carbon footprint.
Endangered species of fish removed from all outlet menus.
The Gilchrist & Soames new ‘Essential Elements” collection of guest toiletries has been rolled out at all hotels. The signature formulations contain no parabens, phthalates, petrol-derived ingredients, mineral oil, urea, DEA, TEA or propylene glycol. They do contain food-grade, naturally derived USP glycerine, natural conditioning agent from honey and the brassica plant and soybean and cottonseed oil, instead of petrochemicals. G&S are also committed to cruelty-free development and vow to never test their products on animals.
All hotels awarded silver certification by Green Tourism 2010, with the exception of NPW, May Fair & Heathrow who received gold.
Annual carbon emissions results produced by Green Tourism circulated to all hotels and sales teams to distribute to key customers as required.
Secondary glazing fitted to windows at Bloomsbury Street, Kenilworth, Vanderbilt, May Fair, Grafton & Mercer Street. New windows planned at the Sussex & Hampshire as part of 2013 renovation plans.
LED lighting in all public areas, corridors & conference rooms in 2011
Bottle crushers have been installed in all hotels as appropriate.
Duplex printing options added to all main photocopier/printers across the group.
2nd copies of all back-up correspondence for all back invoices including credit cards are no longer required, saving us over 170,000 needless photocopies approximately per annum.
Remaining old style TVs have been replaced with new LED flat screen televisions to all rooms at Heathrow, Grafton, Mercer Street in 2011. Same at Manchester, Hampshire, Berkshire, Sussex & May Fair in 2012.
Key card wallets on recycled paper have been redesigned and simplified.
All food waste is now recycled at all properties across the group in London
Night audit reports automatically printed to new duplex printing setting (saving 650 sheets of paper daily – 237,250 per annum) until Opera roll-out, when all reports will be stored electronically and plain recycled paper when used for guest billing.
Electronic guest bills now offered on check-out as part of the Opera roll-out.
Annual sustainability report is now available on our website
Group CHR white boards (rather than flipcharts) now used at group induction
First Mile recycle all waste at Leicester Square
Sugar sachets removed from all staff canteens and free pouring dispensers introduced.
Stirrers removed from all canteens and teaspoons reintroduced
We have received the “Highly commended” award for Best Carbon Reduction in a Hotel Chain of Green Tourism Week 2011
Certificate of recognition “Silver – Highly Commended” also issued by Water Brands Group in the category of Carbon Reduction in a hotel chain at the Green Tourism Awards 2011
We are winners of the NVS, Cauldron Local Organisation Hero award, awarded to all our restaurants for National Vegetarian Week 2011
Heathrow to install a Tesla (electric) car charger within the car park area in 2012.
Re-usable tray liners introduced in all room service departments
Charitable donation of £0.50 introduced in 2012 on one dish in all F&B outlets going to Springboard charity
Responsible Business mandatory training courses introduced for all employees and managers as part of 90 day induction as part of 2012 training calendar. (Living Responsible Business & Leading Responsible Business)
Manchester: Roof garden established on roof with the assistance of Manchester Urban Farmers Federation with water butts, drainage and planting systems & herb garden at Heathrow.
Secondary glazing fitted to all front facing bedrooms at the Vanderbilt.
Electronic tablets introduced at all reception desks (eliminating the need for printing registration cards for all arriving guests.
Reusable leather coaster introduced in all F&B outlets
Anti-shatter/glare energy efficient film fitted to ground floor windows at the May Fair
Recycled newspaper bags introduced across the group (supplied by Sleeping bags)
Responsible Business section included in new iConnect employee portal
Enersol Flomar Energy saving device installed at the Kenilworth & has produced good results (gas savings between 15% in winter and 30% in summer)
Tap sensors installed in public toilets as part of overall renovation programmes at: Mercer St, Berkshire, Grafton, BSH & planned at Manchester & Hampshire.
Gas/electricity consumption now part of hotel monthly performance reviews and tracked electronically
Key operated master switches being rolled out in all C&B rooms: Grafton & Vanderbilt completed.
Electronic compendiums introduced via televisions at Guildford. Mercer Street & shortly at Berkshire, Sussex, Hampshire, Manchester & May Fair in conjunction with new Smart Samsung technology
Heat Recovery systems installed at Mercer Street, Grafton & planned at Heathrow & Hampshire in 2013
The Edwardian Charitable Fund created in October 2012 offering additional funding in addition to existing charitable initiatives.
Eco-credentials of hand and paper towels from Kimberley Clark – FSC & Toilet rolls have European Eco label.
Recycled photocopy paper rolled out across the group