Summer 2020
Hospitality re-opens!
We are delighted to see hospitality businesses and many of our clients re-opening across Europe.

It is encouraging to see so many of them keeping sustainability in mind whilst tackling the new hygiene and social distancing requirements.

Sofitel Legend Le Grand Amsterdam are further reducing their food waste by asking staff to pre-order meals. They have purchased re-usable face masks for their teams to avoid additional waste, and use Tersano products for cleaning - which are chemical free.

Georgian House Hotel in London have purchased face shields for their staff to protect all and allow more face-to-face contact with guests. They have remained connected with their local community by continuing to source local produce for their takeaway services, and donating food which would otherwise have been wasted to a local organisation supporting the homeless.

Cedar Manor in the Lake District have published a blog on their website on why it is more important than ever to be green both now and in the future.

We would love to hear your news on how you are re-opening - do get in touch with your stories.
Introduction
Can tourism still be a force for good?

Environmental Social Governance – ESG – seems to have gained a renewed importance in the face of recent events and developments.

We have seen social unrest – in particular in the US around the BLM movement – hit the political and social dialogue in full force at the same time as businesses & families are dealing with the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The last few months have made it very clear that social, environmental and health issues are all interrelated in a highly intrinsic way, and a conversation on one of these issues cannot exclude the other topics.

The big American Fund BlackRock calculates that 88 per cent of “a globally-representative selection” of sustainability indices outperformed their non-sustainability peers over the first four months of 2020. Indeed, the pattern is so striking that Al Gore, the former US vice-president, tells the FT that “investors who do not recognise this new reality . . . are in serious danger of violating their fiduciary responsibility to their clients by leaving money on the table, and not taking into account factors that can actually improve performance of companies” (FT – 8th July 2020).

Sustainability Insights
Over the past few months we have been running webinars on a range of hospitality-focused sustainability topics, including a Jargon Buster , the UN Sustainable Development Goals , balancing Hygiene with Sustainability - and more. Missed them? They are all available on our YouTube channel .

Our final session will take place on Wednesday 29th July and will discuss the subject of Responsible Purchasing. Register here to join us!

Want to know more about any of the topics? Contact us for more info on our toolkits and how we can help.
New moves for Fluttr!
You may already know that Considerate has been developing our energy efficiency app for the hospitality industry – Fluttr – with the support of the UK Government Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS).

Back in February we won an exciting new grant that will further extend Fluttr’s reach. Improving energy efficiency and guiding behavioural change will still be at its core - but there will be a number of new features that will help hospitality SMEs reduce their emissions even more. If you are an existing tester or have recently signed up you will see lots of exciting updates over the next few months - look out for our new projects section, which will be a hospitality-specific marketplace designed to help SMEs invest in energy efficiency retrofits.

As ever we thank all our testers for their patience and feedback as we integrate these new features and iron out any glitches.

If you are interested in becoming a tester or want to find out more, please get in touch ! We are always looking to partner with new users and grow the movement!
Continuing the fight against plastic pollution
Considerate Group is very pleased to announce we are officially signatories of the Global Tourism Plastics Initiative and contributors to their Recommendations for the Tourism Sector to Continue Taking Action on Plastic Pollution During COVID-19 Recovery . The recommendations were publicly launched this week by the Plastics Initiative, which itself was launched in January of this year .

By becoming signatories of this important initiative, we have set ambitious commitments demonstrating our leading role in acting upon the issue of plastic pollution despite the very challenging times that the tourism industry is facing.

The recommendations for the sector were developed by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), and the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, supported by the Advisory Group of the Global Tourism Plastics Initiative, of which Considerate Group is an active member.
One Planet Vision
We are also delighted to have supported the UNWTO for their One Planet Sustainable Tourism Programme. On World Environment Day back in June, they released their One Planet Vision for a Responsible Recovery of the Tourism Sector .

This promotes the vision of 'Sustainability as the new normal' with global tourism emerging stronger, more resilient and more sustainably from the COVID-19 crisis, supporting development and recovery plans which are built around contributing to the UN's Sustainable Development Goals. It is structured around six areas all linked to the key principles of people, planet and prosperity- public health, social inclusion, biodiversity conservation, climate action, circular economy and governance & finance.

Initiatives from members of the network will be shared and highlighted as the sector works to #buildbackbetter.
Integrating new hygiene standards and remaining sustainable
Sustainable Cleaning
Protecting staff and ensuring premises are thoroughly cleaned and sanitised safely doesn't have to mean reverting to disposable protection equipment (creating more waste) and aggressive cleaning products that can pollute the water supply and be bad for our health.

Considerate supplier Delphis Eco has a disinfectant cleaner which is free from chlorine and many other hazardous substances, and protects against COVID-19. They also have a hand sanitiser which is alcohol-free and less damaging to the skin.

Combating the increase in waste, they have reusable face masks and hand sanitiser stands made from recycled materials.

Hygiene and sustainability
The question of how to balance hygiene requirements with a commitment to sustainability has been a recurring one.

We held a webinar on the subject ourselves at the beginning of the month, and have also been part of other online events on the topic, including a ' Cleaning Up' focused session as part of the Hotel Optimization event in conjunction with Hospitality Insights, and an interview with Dom Abbott - managing director of a hospitality consultancy and former GM of the Thyme estate in the Cotswolds.

We have developed a further toolkit with more guidance - please get in touch if you are interested in finding out more.
What have Considerate been up to?
We have been fully immersed in webinar season over the past few months! In addition to our own series of webinars (all of which you can view here), we have been involved in a number of discussions looking at sustainability in the hospitality world from a range of different perspectives.

If you are wondering if sustainability will still be relevant for travel and hospitality in the post-COVID era - we certainly join the voices saying YES! There has been discussion that the virus has heightened awareness of how our health is connected to how we live and the way in which we treat our planet, which is a subject covered in a Hospitality Insights feature we were part of, and came up again in a panel at The New Travel Conference .

The business reasons for integrating sustainability into operations is definitely not to be forgotten - we contributed to an MIPIM connect discussion on how sustainability continues to be positive for investors, and were also part of a Women in Hotels event - making the business case for sustainability.

We were delighted to also be mentioned in a couple of articles by Sustainable Travel writer Juliet Kinsman - a Telegraph article on balancing sustainability and hygiene, and a sustainable design piece in Sleeper Magazine which highlights our hospitality-specific technology services - Con-Serve™ and Fluttr.
Celebrating heroes of the pandemic
UK hotels continue to support the NHS
Many hospitality businesses in the UK have supported NHS staff throughout the lockdown by offering accommodation and meals to those working on the front line.

With restrictions lifting, hotels can continue to thank staff through the Nights On Us programme. This collaborative movement offers ICU Nurses a two-night hotel break once the situation has settled. The platform allows hotels to easily pledge rooms and thank those who have been working to care for us.

Considerate clients already signed up include The Beaumont, Brown's Hotel, Le Manoir aux Quat'Saisons, The Savoy, Edwardian Hotels. COMO Metropolitan & COMO The Halkin, and One Aldwych.

Recognising hospitality stars
Opportunities abound to recognise hospitality stars who have shone during the exceptional circumstances surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic.

Organisers of major hospitality shows HRC, The Independent Hotel Show, and PUB21 launched the Hospitality Lockdown Hero Awards to celebrate those who have stood out - if you wish to nominate someone please note the deadline is tomorrow, Friday 24th July .

Nominations for the Boutique Hotelier awards are also now open, and this year the awards have been tailored more towards recognising those who have  strived to help their communities and protect the jobs of staff during the past few months - and to note there is also a Best Sustainable Achievement award. Nominations close in September.
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