We are committed to making our venues fit for the future and encourage a strong green ethos to improve our systems. That's why we're very proud of our Green Tourism Gold award!
To us, being sustainable is about more than ticking a few green boxes. It's our culture and our lifestyle.
We all have an impact on the environment every day. We know we can make a difference but, for us, it's about what kind of difference we want to make. That's why we are fully committed to our Green Tourism journey and are very proud to have retained our Gold status of "Inspirational and Outstanding".
20PercentLess
We have proudly signed up to the MIA's pledge to reduce single-use plastic by 20% each year for 5 years in order to eliminate them from our business by 2025.
Read more about #20PercentLess
EcoSmart by Greengage
ECOsmart accreditation provides a quality stamp of approval to help companies make a sustainable decision when booking, so providing properties with a competitive edge.
Businesses with the ECOsmart accreditation demonstrate their commitment to their sustainability journey and prioritising their impact on the world.
We're proud to have been awarded the EcoSmart Gold award for Burleigh Court
Management
We embed a strong green ethos in our management systems and are on a constant search for ways to improve systems. We have been accredited with ISO14001 standard, which highlights effective environmental management systems.
- See our Environmental Policy and Standards
- We have a predominantly digital marketing strategy to minimise printed material
- We work in line with the University's Energy strategy
- We look to reduce the environmental impact of the goods and services we purchase through our Procurement Policy
- We use local food and drink providers with a traceable food provenance
- We monitor our consumption through a BMS system
Social Responsibility
We are fully committed to being a socially responsible company. We take our commitment to the environment and our community seriously and strive to ensure that we are ethical in all our business practices.
- Download our Corporate Social Responsibility policy
- We have an Employer Supported Volunteering policy which aims to enable our staff to be proactive in voluntary activities that mutually benefit the individual and the community. Staff can apply for one day paid absence per year to undertake volunteer work
- All our breakout areas serve free-flow Fair Trade coffee, tea and sugar and we highlight all Fair Trade products on our menus
- We serve free range eggs, Red Tractor meat and MSC approved fish.
Energy
We are committed to reducing our energy usage and reliance on fossil fuels. Here are some of the ways we are being more responsible about our energy usage:
- Source gas and electricity from renewable energy suppliers
- High efficiency boilers
- UV filtration in swimming pool to reduce chemical waste
- Higher efficiency fridges and freezers
- Radiators thermostatically controlled to level 2
- Low energy light bulbs with a plan to fully switch over to LED
- Key card controlled lights
- Dual flush mechanisms in toilets
- Water saving devices on taps
- We dispense our own drinking water in conference rooms
Waste
Managing the disposal of waste is a major economic, social and environmental challenge. We mitigate our environmental impact by following a strict Environmental Policy and conduct regular waste audits. Our target is to reduce waste by a further 8% on top of our current standards. Here are some of the ways we are reducing waste:
- We ask guests to re-use towels where possible to reduce wastewater
- We only launder bed linen every 3 days
- We recycle cardboard, paper, aluminium cans, batteries, glass and plastic bottles
Community
As people from outside the area attend our venues, they spend money in the local area. This additional expenditure circulates around the local economy generating economic output and supporting jobs. According to a recent Regeneris report, visits to our venues contributed £4m GVA to the Leicester & Leicestershire LEP and supported 90 FTE jobs. Coupled with the impact of visiting family and friends to the University who stay in our hotels, that’s a further £9m GVA and 190 FTE jobs supported in Leicestershire.
Giving back to our community
Our business is about bringing people together. When people come together as a community, great things can happen. Great things such as our participation in the “Bridge To Work” employer scheme; our support of the apprenticeship scheme with Loughborough College for school leavers; our job share and work placement opportunities for students; our volunteering scheme which gives staff 1 day’s paid leave to undertake volunteering activity. We also work with nominated local charities.
Keeping it local
We are conscious of the environmental impact of our food miles as a restaurant. That's why we believe in keeping our food simple and go to great lengths to source fresh, seasonal ingredients for our menus. Wherever possible, we make a point of supporting local producers and promoting food from the region.
