The Travel Corporation's first Impact Report

Since the launch of our five-year sustainability strategy How We Tread Right (HWTR), established in September 2020 by our parent company The Travel Corporation (TTC), we have made strides towards our target of delivering enriching travel experiences that are environmentally conscious and protective.

TTC’s latest Impact Report updates on our performance against the 11 sustainability goals encompassed within the TreadRight Foundation and evidences the impact that we are proud to be making across our 19 properties.

To focus our sustainable initiatives, we cover six key areas – Climate, Food, Waste, Experiences, Diversity, and Wildlife – that encompass the 11 HWTR goals.

Climate

Climate change can be seen as the foundation for our eco-conscious action, and we recognise our responsibility to carve the path for a future of sustainable tourism. By using carbon reporting tools via Diligent (formerly Accuvio) we are thorough in how we measure business emissions across all Red Carnation Hotels, offices, and employee air travel. By better understanding the impact that we have and where our energy consumption spikes, we can streamline our ambitious, science-based reduction targets more effectively. This manifests in our commitment to use 100% renewable electricity – a target that we have already met at seven UK properties, including the magnificent Ashford Castle, and are set to meet across all our London properties by the close of 2022.

Since 2019, we have also been successfully implementing solar panels across our properties. This has been particularly fruitful at Xigera Safari Lodge, Botswana where 95% of the lodge’s energy needs are driven by a Tesla Solar Diesel Hybrid System. These solar panels also inject clean energy onto local electricity grids, enabling us to support the local ecosystem and communities in which we operate.

Food and waste

Food is a central narrative of the travel experience – it holds value not only in telling a story, but in relaying the values of those delivering the story. We continue to promote our passion for protecting place and planet through our food, and to tell this story through how we waste and source our food, as well as the dishes we serve. 

Our vigilance in reducing food waste resulted in a total decrease in food waste by 39% across our hotels last year alone, placing us on target to hit the target of 50% by 2025. Our partnership with Winnow Solutions and their ground-breaking AI technology has catalysed this success by offering huge insight into unnecessary food waste across our hotels.

Food sourcing is a vital component in reducing the impact of food consumption. At Ashford Castle, Bushmans Kloof, and Summer Lodge, we prioritise growing our own crops for all organic, indigenous produce required for the dishes available on guests’ menus. Four of our properties are also currently in possession of apiaries (Hotel 41, The Chesterfield Mayfair, The Montague on the Gardens, and Ashford Castle). Through focusing on homegrown produce, as well as establishing partnerships with local producers, we have increased our local suppliers by 9.5% and our organic suppliers by 15% across our hotels, minimising our food’s carbon footprint and driving our success towards sustainable dining.

Material waste

Between 2019 and 2021, TTC saw an 88% reduction in printed brochures – we at Red Carnation are proud to have contributed to this fall as we have committed to transferring a large proportion of our guest information into electronic form. In addition, we are proactive in our commitment to eliminate unnecessary single-use plastics from our hotels. This is reflected in our switch to Belu water across our hotels which offers a reusable alternative to plastic bottles, as well as using Floris for our toiletries – a bespoke perfumery that operates on a refillable basis.

Our ambition to remove all unnecessary single-use plastics by the end of 2022 sees us continue to contribute to this ambitious yet vital target.

Experiences and wildlife

Our dedication to uplifting both the social and eco environments in which we exist points to our continued success in meeting goals seven and eight in the HWTR strategy.

We have driven our MAKE TRAVEL MATTER® experiences across our properties, successfully qualifying 13 experiences at 11 hotels in 2021. These range from foraging experiences at The Milestone, London to exploring historic rock art at Bushmans Kloof, South Africa.

Our focus on conservation initiatives also supports our success in the wildlife pillar of TreadRight’s campaign. At Xigera, we have partnered with the University of Botswana Leopard Citizen Science Project to gather data at Xigera Safari Lodge and aid in protecting endangered species. And in 2021, Xigera also led a community outreach programme, BushRAP, with Coaching Conservation as part of the Wild Entrust partnership. In doing so, local primary school children were given insight into the value of conservation in the area to drive continuous environmental protection.

Diversity

Diversity is vital in any industry, but our global operations and acknowledgement of the vitality of meeting different people and exploring new cultures for meaningful travel places it at the forefront of our agenda. This drive underlines our partnerships with schools in underserved communities to promote and inspire children about the hospitality industry, and the ways that they can begin a career in hospitality.

These efforts are strengthened by our continued volunteering and fundraising efforts, as well as our support of local charities including Starlight and The Great Ormond Street Hospital via £1 donations added to guest bills, an initiative that we have continued for three decades.

To read in full how we are progressing towards our 2025 goals, see The Treadright Corporation’s Impact Report.