GREEN POLICY

The Ritz takes its commitment to minimising its impact on the environment very seriously. Our aim is to reduce our energy use by 3% every year for the foreseeable future.

Insulation
All the windows are double-glazed, and the entire building is thermally tested every year to monitor energy losses.

Gas
All gas appliances in the hotel kitchen have been replaced with an all-electric system. We use gas for heating and hot water, which is monitored by our building energy management system.

Electricity
All electricity that is procured is ‘Green’ energy.
We keep lighting in all public areas to a minimum overnight except for emergency lighting. We have replaced over 5500 lamps in all guest bedrooms and corridors with LED energy-saving bulbs, which have reduced energy output from 40w to 4w.

Water
To reduce the amount of water used, we have installed slow-flow showerheads, pressure-reducing systems, smaller cistern capacities, flush volume measurement and sensors for urinals.

All refurbished rooms are now fitted with water pressure reducers to limit wasted water.

Our water quality is regularly checked to make sure it conforms to the latest EU legislation.

Buildings
We carry out regular maintenance checks on all the hotel buildings.

Waste Disposal
All waste must be disposed of in accordance with the relevant legislation:

  • The Environmental Protection Act 1990
  • The Controlled Waste Regulations 1991
  • The Special Waste Regulations 1996 (as amended)

Recycling
We recycle paper, cardboard, glass, and food. We also work closely with Westminster City Council and Veolia, who as a company that specialises in environmental solutions called to find new ways to recycle waste. We are now ‘Zero waste to landfill’.

Equipment
Disused or dilapidated equipment that is capable of being broken down into reusable components is disposed of by a registered waste contractor under The Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive (WEEE) regulations.

CleanConscience – charity
The Ritz supports a charity called CleanConscience, which recycles toiletries and gifts them to charities in the UK and aid organisations abroad.

We donate partly used soap and toiletries to charity. With the assistance of mainly disabled volunteers, CleanConscience creates fresh bars of soap, which are then gifted to humanitarian aid organisations.

Part-used bottled toiletries are decanted and re-bottled for charities that help at-risk people in the UK while plastic bottles are recycled.

Food and drink
The Ritz has a policy of purchasing the freshest seasonal ingredients available. Where possible we use local suppliers to reduce our carbon footprint. Where food cannot be sourced locally then all other food is sourced from the UK (except for Northern Sea Fish) All the meat we buy is British and we use Fairtrade produce whenever we can (with the exception of veal). The Ritz Restaurant is a member of the Sustainable Restaurant Association with a 3-star rating (highest).

Lunico, a coffee supplier to The Ritz is a specialist coffee roaster who is part of the CSC organization in Italy (Certified Specialty Coffee roasters). They are an elite organization, that only purchases from certified plantations that are checked by independent auditors, that the conditions for both the growers and the coffee are high. Their coffee blends are certified by the UK Fairtrade mark.

Pollution control

Air
Vehicles are not permitted to leave their engines running while delivering to the premises.

Drainage
Grease traps are used throughout the kitchen and a planned maintenance programme is in place to maintain all drains on a regular basis.

Green achievements
The Ritz fully understands its responsibility to minimise its impact on the environment and is committed to this at all levels of the business.

  • Reduced carbon footprint by 1,000 tonnes.
  • 96% of all lights are LED.
  • Reduced electricity, gas and water consumption and costs by 10%.
  • Increased recycling from 44% to 54%.
  • Ritz team members took part in the Half Marathon, Palace to Palace bike race, Tough Mudder, trek to Nepal, and ‘Children with Cancer UK’. which raised £10,000.
  • Donated over two tonnes of soap to CleanConscience.
  • Reduced waste by 365,000 paper cups per year, not going to landfill.  We introduced reusable thermos mugs in the staff canteen and stopped the use of paper cups.
  • Took part in ‘Earth Hour’ and several corporate social responsibility events.
  • All new starter packs are now paperless.
  • All printers have been set to ‘Double sided’ black and white printing as the default.

Ritz Bees
Bees play a vital role in our ecosystem, pollinating flowering plants, trees, and crops but they are becoming an endangered species. Parasites and disease, climate change, and air pollution all have an impact on bee health, especially pesticides.

Bees pollinate approximately 80% of our flowering crops, which constitute one-third of everything we eat. Losing them could affect our only dietary staples such as apples, broccoli, strawberries, nuts, asparagus, blueberries, and cucumbers. Bees are of inestimable value as managers of cross-pollination and many plants are entirely dependent on particular kinds of bees for their reproduction.

As part of our green initiative of protecting our environment, The Ritz London has three beehives. There are 20,000 Buckfast bees in each beehive as well as a Queen bee. We have eight trained beekeepers from The Ritz team who have volunteered their services for free to ensure the bees are healthy and happy and they are in clean surroundings.

The Ritz will work with Green Park to plant more bee-friendly year-round forage in the royal park and the natural honey produced from the bees will be used by our Chefs in The Ritz Kitchen.

Green tourism
The Ritz is a member of Green Tourism and has achieved a Gold award.

EarthCheck
The Ritz has signed up to EarthCheck, the world’s leading scientific benchmarking, certification and advisory group for travel and tourism. Helping businesses, communities and governments to deliver clean, safe, prosperous and healthy destinations for travellers to visit, live, work and play.

Green Tourism London attractions:

  • The Museum of London – London Docklands
  • ZSL London Zoo – Regents Park
  • London Transport Museum – Covent Garden
  • Dominion Theatre – Tottenham Court Road
  • The Imperial War Museum – Lambeth
  • WWT London Wetland Centre – Barnes
  • Horniman Museum – Forest Hill
  • Chelsea Physic Centre – Chelsea