Firmdale Hotels is committed to leading the industry in minimising the impact of its activities on the environment.
Firmdale endeavours to promote the principle of sustainable development by adhering to and, where possible, exceeding current legislation and best practice guidelines.
Firmdale encourages communication between its staff and suppliers to ensure that there is environmental understanding and that environmental goals are achieved.
Firmdale ensures the continued enthusiasm and commitment of its employees by providing clarity in all employment policies and training in environmental issues to that they can implement good practices in their daily work.
Crosby Street Hotel became the first hotel in New York to attain GOLD Standard status under the LEED rating system in 2011.
Firmdale Hotels now meets the requirements of CEMARSTM certification having measured its greenhouse gas emissions in compliance with the requirements of ISO 14064-1:2006, and committed to managing and reducing its emissions in respect of the operational activities of its organisation. Firmdale's target will form a 10 year plan where it would like to reduce its emissions by a minimum of 25% and this will be closely managed. Firmdale are proud of what it has achieved already from 2008, as after calculation it has reduced its emissions by just under 6% to date.
Firmdale's UK Environmental Committee was awarded Green Team of the Year by the Considerate Hoteliers Association in 2010.
Firmdale's Group Purchasing Manager was named the Green Champion of the Year by the Considerate Hoteliers Association in 2009.
Key aims:
- Minimise all waste by evaluating operations and ensuring they are as efficient as possible
- Actively promote recycling internally, as well as ensuring all waste contracts focus on recycling and split collections
- Undertake waste reduction, re-use and recycle
- To ensure landfill waste is as low as possible and by 2013 to eliminate this entirely
- To source responsibly and ensure suppliers do so too and use the best environmental practises
- To minimise the 'road miles' by bulk buying and reducing the amount of deliveries into each hotel
- Ensure use and storage of chemicals, raw materials and waste is carried out in such a way as to prevent pollution and minimise risk of pollution to air, land and water
- Regularly review environmental performance and systems, this is done monthly by the Environmental Committee members
- Set objectives and work towards them to ensure ongoing improvement in environmental performance
- The current 10 year plan is to reduce energy consumption by 25%, this is monitored and reviewed monthly by looking at the consumption figures
- To communicate the environmental policy throughout all levels of the company and make it available upon request
- To ensure best practices, training and incentives for environmental improvement are implemented by and available to all staff
- Use accredited programs for targeting our reductions - including a Cemars ISO number