27 Feb 2024
Radisson Blu Glasgow is set to embark on an ambitious plan to phase out gas usage within its 247-room hotel as a participant in a wider green climate transition project worth around £25m.
The three-year programme comes following significant investment from Radisson Blu Glasgow’s Swedish owning company, Pandox AB, to help reduce the venue’s impact on the environment by cutting out gas usage using science-based targets.
The next three years will see a new heat pump system installed to regulate temperature within the Glasgow city centre venue, designed to be 1.5x more efficient than using gas and is estimated to result in at least a 32% reduction in CO2 emissions.
Alongside seven other hotel venues spanning the UK and Europe owned by Sweden-headquartered Pandox, the total investment to future-proof Radisson Blu Glasgow and its sister properties totals around £25m – with the Glasgow venue receiving over £600,000.
Further to the new heat pump system, the hotel is also introducing motion sensor and energy efficient lighting, an AI-powered food waste analytics system, and market-leading software ‘Go Green PMI’ designed to provide tailored recommendations on resource management. The hotel will also implement Klimato, an analytics system to calculate the carbon footprint of each menu item and provide recommendations for improvement.
The team has created a significant reduction in the use of environmentally damaging chemicals after switching to Enozo’s aqueous ozone cleaning products, with an aim to replace the remaining chemicals with Eco-labelled alternatives by the end of Q1.
Additional measures underway from the hotel include specialised Nespresso capsule recycling; replacing plastic water bottles with glass, staff sustainability training sessions, GreenKey and renewed BREEAM certification.
It is estimated that these new initiatives will save around £2.5m per year, equivalent to an average ROI of 11%, and reducing CO2 emissions by at least 42%.
Radisson Blu Glasgow is reaching these goals through the support of in-house Sustainability Coach. Hina Rubbani-Mills, General Manager of Radisson Blu Glasgow, said: “In an industry where indulgence is often perceived as the hallmark of excellence, finding the perfect harmony between a premier guest experience and a commitment to environmental responsibility can be challenging. This is why it is great that Pandox have enabled their hotels to have dedicated in-house sustainability coaches, who can focus solely on driving environmental progress within the hotel.
“While the implementation of new green initiatives will significantly reduce our carbon footprint, it is my hope that by inspiring behavioural changes within the staff, pursuing further projects, and communicating our efforts to our guests, that we will continue to do our part in reshaping the industry’s approach to sustainability.
“This substantial investment is a testament to our dedication to the issue, positioning us well to meet our group’s target emissions in alignment with the Paris Accords by the year 2030.
“The challenges facing us as an industry are well documented and we’re aware of how key our role is, as a large-scale hospitality operation, to reduce our environmental impact.
“According to the Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership, tourism contributes about 5% of global greenhouse gas emissions, with some of the worst offenders being chemical usage, inefficient energy systems and poor waste management.
“Importantly, this sustainability project allows us to play our part in looking after the wider world, whilst also making our business more economically efficient. Guests are more aware than ever about where they choose to stay based on eco-friendly policies, which is something we continue to address through implementing those smaller day-to-day changes, like switching our cleaning products to chemical-free formulas.
“We welcome this significant investment from Pandox and look forward to taking the next steps in our green journey.”
Marking a new era for the Glasgow hospitality venue, which opened its doors in 2002, a further £15m investment has been made to refurbish the hotel’s interior spaces and enhance the meetings and events facilities, with further exciting additions planned for 2024.
For more information, please visit: https://www.radissonhotels.com/en-us/hotels/radisson-blu-glasgow.
