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Our Environmental Commitment

At CitySuites, we believe that everyone involved in hospitality has an essential role to play in shaping a more sustainable future. Hospitality is a large contributor to the world’s greenhouse gas emissions, making our sector an important catalyst for change. While we can’t do it alone, we are demonstrating that high-end doesn’t have to be high-impact. We recognise that the hospitality of tomorrow rests on the sustainable business model we build today.

As a leading luxury aparthotel, we want to be at the forefront of sustainable initiatives and demonstrate that we are an environmentally and socially responsible organisation. We are passionate about what we do and enjoy finding ways where we can go that extra mile and deliver greatness. 

In 2024, we published our fourth consecutive Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Impact Report, taking stock of everything we have achieved and setting new, ambitious goals for the future.

Read the full 2024 Report here.

Our 2024–2025 highlights

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Environmental achievements

  • Achieved carbon-neutral status for the fifth year in a row
  • Continued to produce 100% renewable electricity
  • Diverted 100% of our waste away from landfills for the fourth consecutive year

Social achievements

  • Initiated a Staff Recognition Awards Programme
  • Raised in excess of £36,597 for charitable initiatives
  • Reassigned 'Wellbeing Champion' to drive and implement initiatives

Governance achievements

  • Developed & shared our supplier code of conduct
  • Achieved ISAAP Building Accreditation for the sixth consecutive year
  • Instructed 5D Net Zero to codevelop an ESG reporting framework
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Looking forward

Our ambition to be at the forefront of sustainability in the hotel industry reflects how seriously we take environmental matters. The hotel industry represents approximately 1% of the world’s total CO2 emissions — and this percentage will climb as the industry expands. This percentage may seem small at first, but it is meaningful amid the world’s demanding climate goals by mid-century, as per the Paris Agreement.

Within this, we fully intend to play our part to support the UK’s climate journey to be Net-Zero by 2050. We are recognising our responsibility to reduce our environmental footprint while embracing guests’ growing appetite for sustainable options. Our environmental programme spans energy efficiency, water reduction, waste reduction and resource efficiency — all equally essential to meeting our goals.

We don’t just do what we think is the right thing to do, we do the right thing.

Our ESG objectives for 2025

Environment

  • Continue calculating scope 1 & 2. 
  • Develop reduction & Net Zero targets. 
  • Conduct a baseline scope 3 emissions assessment.
  • Maintain carbon-neutral status for our scope 1 & 2 for a fifth consecutive year.
  • Continue to produce 100% renewable electricity. 
  • Continue to divert 100% waste from landfill. 
  • Increase awareness of our 'switch off policy' among staff & guests and begin to measure the efficacy of the policy. 

Social

  • Repeat annual staff survey and look at areas for improvement. 
  • Run a minimum of three initiatives to support local charity partners. 
  • Conduct a supplier survey on carbon & ESG to estimate baseline. 
  • Finalise and initiate gender pay gap strategy. 

Governance

  • Create a framework with assistance from 5D Net Zero.
  • Have quarterly ESG progress meetings included in future reporting.
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Getting to net zero

In 2021, we became carbon neutral through the procurement of 100% renewable energy and offsetting residual Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions which came out at 282.0 tCO2e. Since then, as the business has developed, we have recalculated our carbon footprint for all our Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions year-on-year to ensure we maintain our carbon neutral status.

In 2023, we offset 383.48 tCO2e tonnes of our residual emissions, retaining our carbon neutral status. We have invested in two independently verified projects that support the global transition to net zero, in line with our environmental objectives, the 2015 Paris Agreement, the 2012 Glasgow Climate Pact and UN SDG commitments.

So far, in 2024, we have developed a carbon reduction glide path, setting annual targets as we move towards net zero emissions. We have also entered into a new partnership with 5D Net Zero, a carbon offsetting investment company that ensures that we participate in verified programme.

Our Carbon Offsetting Projects

Portfolio Of Offset Projects July2024 (002)

Project 1: Household Biogas Project in Uttarakhand, India

This project, located in Uttarakhand province, India, seeks to replace the prevalent and inefficient wood-fired mud stoves with clean, sustainable, and efficient biogas technology. This project avoids an estimated 53.673 tCO2e annually.

Portfolio Of Offset Projects July2024 (003)

Project 2: 180tons CO2e - Eglence I-II Hydroelectric Power Plant VCS 1221

The Eglence I-II Hydroelectric Power Plant is a run-of-river hygroelectric facility located on the Eglence River in the Mediterranean Region within the Karaisali district of Adana province. The annual emissions avoided from this project is 114,065 tCO2e.

ISAAP accreditation

June PP ISAAP

In June 2023, CitySuites received confirmation of successfully having achieved ISAAP Building Accreditation for the 6th consecutive year. Building Accreditation is regarded as ISAAP’s highest recognition award, and verifies, through a series of on-site assessment activities, that CitySuites provides a safe and secure accommodation environment for guests, as well as upholding all necessary legal and regulatory standards.

This is important because it gives our guests the peace of mind that an independent, external accrediting body, such as ISAAP, has verified on site that all expected standards of health, hygiene, safety and quality have been met by CitySuites.

 

 

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Promoting positive behaviours

Improving the sustainability of our operations is only part of the story. We also have a role in spreading awareness, encouraging change and supporting our guests’ sustainability choices.

To make sustainable choices the default option, we aim to simplify the identification of green opportunities and decisions. Transparency is crucial in empowering guests. By offering accessible and informative resources, we help guests expand their knowledge and understand the significance of their actions.

For example, we encourage our guests to practice responsible consumption by displaying energy awareness messages on screens throughout our properties. Our ‘Switch Off’ policy encourages guests to switch off their appliances when they are not in use, thus helping to reduce our carbon footprint.

As an aparthotel, we offer our guests a towel change twice per week, and a full apartment clean once per week. By encouraging guests to use CitySuites as their place while staying in the city, it helps to further reduce our energy and water consumption.

Supporting our communities

CitySuites is delighted to announce we raised £36,597 for Manchester and North West charities in 2024 through various fundraising efforts, with the largest contribution coming from selling replaced TVs and additional funds raised through team challenges and ongoing charitable activities.

Mustard Tree

CitySuites has been a proud Mustard Tree partner since 2018, and in the second half of 2023 we touched base with them to strengthen our partnership. Mustard Tree is a charity that helps the local people of Greater Manchester who are vulnerable, isolated or in need of financial support to change their lives through securing better accommodation and economic wellbeing. In 2024 some of our team members took on the challenge of Tough Mudder and raised a fantastic £1,932.37 for Mustard Tree. 

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Mission Christmas: Presents All Round

Once again, CitySuites championed the spirit of giving by actively participating in Cash for Kids’ ‘Mission Christmas’ initiative. With a
heartwarming display of generosity, our team came together to donate a collection of money and gifts and help pack gifts for disadvantaged young people, ensuring every child in Greater Manchester woke up to a special surprise on Christmas morning. Through their efforts, CitySuites contributed to the distribution of over £1.1 million worth of gifts, brightening the holiday season for 35,482 children.

Mission Christmas Present Photo 2023

Macmillan Coffee Morning

Once again, we put the kettle on for the world’s biggest coffee morning, joining the hundreds of thousands of people across the UK taking a break and raising much-needed funds to help those living with cancer. 

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FAQs about our Environmental Policy

We moved to a 100% renewable energy contract with our providers in September 2021. This means both our properties are now completely powered by clean electricity.

Every month we track, monitor and report consumption across our operations. Our fitted Automated Meter Readings (AMR) also provide us with granular data to keep atop of our energy usage — right down to guests’ bedrooms. We have replaced all our lighting with low energy LED light bulbs and have fitted PIR sensors. We also installed set timers on the fridges in our bar area, so they turn off automatically when not in use. Plus, all our employees undertake an environmental awareness course when they join us, which encompasses responsible energy usage.

Over the next year, we want to further investigate our energy usage and assess the impact of our energy reduction initiatives against our monthly consumption data.

At CitySuites, we aim to promote positive energy consumption practices among our guests. We have screens displayed around our properties promoting energy awareness and have implemented a ‘Switch Off’ policy, encouraging guests to switch off their appliances when not in use.

As the saying goes, every bit counts.

We have several initiatives aimed at bolstering our water management strategies, some of which are already having extremely positive results. In 2021, we halved the water usage in our CitySuites Chapel Street property, from 12,328 cubic metres of water (m3) in 2020 to 6,294 m3 in 2021 — a 49% decrease in just one year. Our initiatives included turning off the water supply to our swimming pool and spa during the national lockdowns, plus fitting yellow water restrictors throughout our property to reduce water flow to nine litres per minute. We are currently upgrading these to blue water restrictors in the bathrooms within both of our properties, potentially cutting the water flow to six litres per minute — a 33% reduction across our basin taps and showers.

Compared to other hotels, we already use very little plastic in our operations. For example, all our luxury apartments provide complete guest amenities — cutlery, glasses and crockery — which drastically reduces the use of single-use plastics. Some of the other small yet impactful switches we have made include:

  • All bottled water removed from guest rooms
  • Instilled a culture to refill toiletry bottles
  • Only glass bottles are used in our restaurants
  • Only eco-friendly coffee cups used in our restaurant and café
  • Switched to washable laundry bags only
  • Water machine in both gyms encouraging use of reusable bottles

We are proud to divert 100% of our waste from landfill — a milestone we certainly want to maintain in 2022. Properly segregating waste is also integral to the recycling process, which is why we have a tri-separator for waste on-site to segregate all general waste, paper, cardboard and glass bottles. We extended our segregation programme to include lights, ink cartridges and batteries, which are returned to a local recycling point.

We also expanded our efforts to address food waste. To improve our impact, we now segregate all our food waste on-site before it is collected by our waste provider for recycling. We also recycle all our cooking oil. This helps alleviate the risk of pollution and it provides a green alternative to fossil fuels by producing biofuels. Our used cooking oil is collected by Olleco, whose facility can generate enough renewable biodiesel to fuel 1,632 heavy goods vehicles (HGVs) or 57,000 cars every year from all their clients.

Yes, as far as we can, we ensure there is sustainability across our supply chain, including linen, cleaning products and food.

We could not function without a reliable supply chain. Therein lies the enormous value that our responsible partners bring to CitySuites’ evolution. Of course, the increased complexity of a supply chain that comes with business growth means clearer management and transparency are pivotal to sustainable success.

For many businesses, the COVID-19 pandemic exposed a host of supply-chain issues. Yet we managed to navigate many of the challenges over the last two years — a testament to our longstanding relationships with our trusted partners. From linen to construction to furniture providers and more, we work closely with our broad range of suppliers, as you would expect from any hospitality provider, whilst ensuring that those relationships are nurtured so we can in turn provide luxury at the highest standard whilst ensuring a value for money experience for all our guests.

Case studies: Supporting our local suppliers

The Linen Group

Located less than 10 miles from CitySuites, The Linen Group services laundry for both of our hotels. The group are committed to providing a more environmentally friendly laundry service by using the latest technology. All stock adheres to the Ethical Trading Initiative (ETI), accreditation ISA and the SA800 standard.

The Bread Factory

We source our freshly baked goods from The Bread Factory’s Manchester branch, a 20-minute drive from CitySuites. The Bread Factory is serious about investing in, reducing, reusing, and recycling their waste wherever possible.

Aqua Air

Eco-friendly cleaning product supplier Aqua Air is located 40-minutes from CitySuites. Toxic chemicals found in traditional cleaning products — such as solutions, soap and bleach — can be harmful to the environment and the user. Aqua Air has developed eco-friendly alternatives that are less damaging for use in sectors like hospitality, medical, education and catering.

The environmental certification that CitySuites has is: BS 8555 Certification - Implementation of Environmental Management Systems and ISSAP accreditation.

We celebrate guests’ growing preference for more sustainable dietary choices by ensuring we offer a wide range of vegetarian and vegan options. This means creating tasty dishes that appeal to our guests while reducing our carbon and waste footprint. So far, 43% of our menu consists of vegetarian options. The imminent launch of our new Summer 2022 menu will have more plant-based dishes than ever: 64% of our selection will be vegetarian, of which 32% will be vegan.

We want to see every single employee reach their full potential, expanding their skillsets in tandem with the company’s growth. So, we decided to enhance our strategy for internal development in 2022, which includes creating a formal career framework for all employees.

We have a thorough induction programme in place for new employees, which includes mandatory training on environmental awareness, fire safety, Health and Safety (H&S) and manual handling. Our management team also undertakes informal yet regular check-ins, and weekly and monthly meetings. Plus, we conduct annual appraisals to identify skill gaps and employees can access a range of courses if they want to upskill further.

Our training includes awareness and skills development across a range of business areas, including:

  • Staff Handbook and Policies
  • Social Media Policy
  • Environmental Awareness
  • Fire Warden
  • Manual Handling
  • Pool Operations
  • Face Mask New Regulations
  • Display Screen Equipment
  • Legionella Awareness
  • Food Hygiene
  • Control of Substances Hazardous to Health (COSHH) Awareness
  • General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)

We have comprehensive policies in place, outlining our standards and expectations for our business and people. These include:

  • ESG
  • Health & Safety (H&S)
  • Data Privacy
  • Diversity & Inclusion (D&I)
  • Modern Slavery
  • Anti-bribery and Corruption
  • Computer Usage
  • Grievances
  • Code of Conduct
  • Maternity and Paternity
  • Alcohol and Drugs
  • Attendance

In 2022, we plan to develop a Corporate Criminal Offence Policy. This will be in line with the Corporate Criminal Offence Policy introduced in 2017, which is part of the Criminal Finances Act. The policy was introduced by Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) to crack down on tax evasion and tax enablers.

At the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, between March and June 2020, we offered complimentary apartments to more than 30 NHS employees. We gave hospital staff who either lived too far away from Manchester city centre to travel in every day, or who lived with vulnerable people, a safe and relaxing environment to come back to. Overall, we provided over 1,600 nights of free accommodation to NHS employees. The relationship between the NHS and CitySuites that began at the start of the pandemic is one that has grown from strength to strength.