CSR and Sustainability

🌳 Daniel Johnson, appointed as Partnerships Officer - Technology by Hotels for Trees, will drive sustainability in hospitality by integrating tech to plant trees in exchange for reduced hotel room cleanings. The travel sector contributes to 8% of global emissions, with lodging at 1%. Johnson's role aids global reforestation by simplifying this initiative's adoption. He also serves as Strategic Advisor, EMEA, for ProVision Partners, reinforcing sustainability as essential in hospitality.

🏨 Langham Hospitality Group celebrates 160 years of The Langham Hotels and Resorts, founded 10 June 1865. Activities include extravagant guest packages featuring destinations like New York, London, Hong Kong, Melbourne, Sydney, and Gold Coast, plus a special Langham Royale Punch from 10-30 June 2025. The Langham Pink Run aims to raise funds for charity, engaging approximately 1,600 participants worldwide. The brand commemorates its legacy by offering indulgent culinary experiences inspired by its historic innovations.

🏞 Capella Ubud, designed by Bensley, is a luxury tented camp in Bali, Indonesia, featuring 23 extravagant tented villas. Each villa is themed around 19th-century explorers and incorporates European and Balinese design elements. The camp is sustainably built without cutting any trees, using locally sourced materials, reclaimed wood, and rainwater harvesting systems. Structures are on stilts to minimize environmental impact, emphasizing a harmonious relationship with nature. The resort includes a tented spa, yoga deck, and experiential activities.

🌼 Fielden Whisky partners with Kent Wildflower Seeds for the 2025 RHS Chelsea Flower Show, May 20-24, site GPE073, to highlight wildflowers' importance in gardens. Commissioning artist Frances Costelloe, they showcase landscapes integrating wildflowers and cultivated perennials, promoting biodiversity through regenerative farming. A Whisky & Wildflower gift set, £65 for 70cl, is available at the show and fielden.com. Charlotte Denne and David Smith emphasize wildflowers' role in ecological harmony and sustainable agriculture.

🌞 English Lakes Hotels invested £195,000 in 385 solar panels at Low Wood Bay Resort & Spa, Windermere. In 2025, these panels will generate over 130,000 kWh annually, saving £1.3m in lifetime costs and reducing CO₂ emissions by 33 tons per year. Hydropower already provides 12% of the hotel's electricity, saving £36,000 in 2024. The project aims at carbon neutrality, with payback expected in six years and parallels the planting of 6,000 trees.

🌱 L’Occitane en Provence and Highgate Portugal have partnered to introduce sustainable luxury in hospitality with refill systems at nine Highgate Portugal properties, including Kimpton Atlântico Algarve, Algarve Marriott Salgados Golf Resort & Conference Center, Cascade Wellness Resort, among others. The initiative supports sustainability, reduces plastic waste, and promotes a circular economy. Francisco Santos of Highgate Portugal and Fabienne Bourbonnaux of L’Occitane emphasized their commitment to eco-conscious luxury hospitality. L’Occitane has over 40 years of experience in natural beauty and more than 25 years in the hospitality sector.

🌱 The Eden Project Collection by Hypnos Beds won the Sustainability Brand Licensed Product or Range Award at the Brand & Lifestyle Licensing Awards 2025 in London. The mattresses, inspired by the Eden Project's biomes and gardens, use sustainable plant fibres and are recyclable, chemical-free, and fully natural. The partnership between the Eden Project and Hypnos Beds began in 2019, and this marks their second win, after claiming the award for Compostable Coffee Capsules in 2022.

🍽 In 2007, Matt and Nina Bigland opened a Gastro Pub in Kelham Island, Sheffield, where mains cost £15. They now run Blend Family, addressing food insecurity by opening food halls like Cambridge Street Collective in Sheffield and Kargo MKT in Manchester, and launching the Blend Culinary Foundation. Expanding globally, they announced Tower Bridge Collective in London, featuring 13 food partners offering diverse dishes.

🌿 Yeastup focuses on sustainable food through meat alternatives, addressing the 14.5% of human greenhouse gas emissions from livestock farming. Targeting the sports nutrition sector, seen commercially as high-value due to the demand for quality protein, comparable to whey protein prices. In 2024, Yeastup's new factory is in the exploratory phase, aimed at product development and seeking partners to co-develop meat substitutes.

🌈 In 2024, Booking.com revealed that over half of LGBTQ+ travelers experienced discrimination, and 56% feel more insecure while traveling. Despite this, 67% value authenticity during their journeys. Travel Proud, launched in 2021 and available in 11 languages including Japanese and Thai, provides inclusive hospitality training in partnership with HospitableMe. The program aims to address the specific challenges and discrimination LGBTQ+ travelers face, with 62% in APAC reporting barriers to feeling welcome.