Outside Citysuites II In Manchester City Centre

Our Environmental Commitment

Setting ambitious sustainable objectives

At CitySuites, we are passionate about what we do and enjoy finding ways where we can go that extra mile and deliver greatness. 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.

In 2020, we created our first Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Impact Report where we set out a series of sustainability objectives to achieve by the end of 2022. We are delighted to say that we went above and beyond in reaching our goals.

Our sustainable highlights in 2021

  • Achieved carbon neutral status
  • Maintained our target to procure 100% renewable energy
  • Maintained our target to divert 100% of waste from landfill
  • Formed an ESG Committee to drive our ESG agenda
  • £4,965.00 donated to charitable initiatives
  • Conducted a survey to better understand our supply chain

But we’re not going to stop here.

Outside Citysuites II View Of Manchester Cathedral

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 extremely 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.

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Our environmental objectives in 2022

Environmental objectives

  • Conduct a baseline assessment of Scope 3 emissions
  • Lower our carbon intensity ratio by 5%
  • Maintain 100% of waste diverted from landfill
  • Continue to procure 100% renewable electricity
  • Conduct a Stakeholder Materiality Assessment
  • Assess impact of energy reduction initiatives against monthly consumption data

Social objectives

  • Develop a Supplier Code of Conduct and integrate ESG criteria
  • Understand workforce demographics and create an employee-led Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) Council and Charter
  • Conduct a staff engagement survey and track performance metrics and targets, i.e., Net Promoter Scores (NPS)
  • Develop a formal wellbeing policy and strategy and select wellbeing champions to reinforce initiatives
  • Develop a formal career development framework for all employees

Governance objectives

  • Publish a Gender Pay Gap report for the last financial year
  • Establish a strategy to address gender pay gaps
  • Create a Corporate Criminal Offence Policy
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Getting to Net Zero

In 2021, CitySuites attained our target to become carbon negative through the procurement of 100% renewable electricity and the offsetting residual emissions. We recalculated our carbon footprint for all our Scope 1 (gas consumption) and Scope 2 (electricity consumption) emissions. Following this, we set ourselves the target to reduce our overall emissions by 5%.

In 2022, we will delve into our Scope 3 emissions and conduct a baseline assessment across relevant Scope 3 categories. This includes other indirect emissions in our value chain, such as business travel, purchased goods and services, and waste disposal.

We have also set ourselves a target for 2024 to develop a carbon reduction glide path, setting annual targets to hit Net-Zero emissions. More information about our Net Zero goals can be found in our 2022 ESG Report here.

We offset 250 tCO2e of our residual emissions in 2021, and in 2022 we have attained our target to become carbon negative by offsetting more carbon than we emit. We have offset 290 tCO2e by investing in two independently verified projects that support the global transition to Net Zero, in line with our environmental objectives.

Our carbon offsetting projects

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Project 1: Kariba Forest Protection, Zimbabwe

The Kariba Forest Protection project is a community-based project that works to protect almost 785,000 hectares of forests and wildlife on the southern shores of Lake Kariba, Zimbabwe. The project is managed by the four local Rural District Councils (RDCs), connecting four national parks and eight safari reserves. It helps to protect an expansive forest area and numerous endangered species. In addition to protecting the environment and biodiversity, the project enhances and supports the independence and wellbeing of its local communities. This includes better healthcare, infrastructure and school subsidies for the poorest in the population. It also generates job opportunities across community gardens, beekeeping training, fire management, conservation agriculture and ecotourism, boosting the region’s economy.

Brascarbon Methane Recovery

Project 2: Brascarbon Methane Recovery Project, Brazil

CitySuites have also chosen to support the Brascarbon Methane Recovery project in São Paulo state, Brazil. We recognise the environmental impacts of mass animal agriculture, and while we have taken steps to reduce the amount of meat on our menus, we want to further minimise our overall methane footprint. The Brascarbon Methane Recovery project captures biogas produced by decomposing manure at animal feed operations for combustion, using an anaerobic reactor (digester). The reactor utilises the manure previously treated in anaerobic open lagoons to produce biogas, which is measured and destroyed throughout a flaring system. The result is a significant reduction in GHG emissions.

Supporting our communities

As part of our environmental commitment, we also recognise our responsibility to be socially conscious and give back as much as possible to our local community and beyond through social responsibility initiatives.

Helping others is a cornerstone of our ethos, whether it is our guests, our staff, suppliers — and of course, communities. We are proud to share the steps we have taken to put a smile on the faces of those in need over the last year, as well as our plans for the year ahead.

Overall, we have donated £4,965.00 over the last twelve months to several causes close to our hearts, including:

Mustard Tree

CitySuites has been a proud Mustard Tree partner since 2018, shortly after we opened. 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. We collect items that have been left by guests, and if they are not identified or claimed, we donate them to Mustard Tree.

Charity Escapes

In 2021, we continued our partnership with Charity Escapes to donate overnight stays and raise money for a range of good causes. CitySuites donated 20 of their B&B studios for both one- and two-night stays. Charity Escapes are a not-for-profit organisation that partners with companies to donate prizes to charities hosting fundraising events. See the full list of their charity partners here.

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Mission Christmas

Our management team got stuck in helping pack presents for Cash for Kids ‘Mission Christmas’ initiative, donating gifts to disadvantaged young people in the community. The team managed to sort and distribute more than £1.1 million worth of gifts, which were given to 35,482 children across Greater Manchester — just in time for Christmas morning!

Macmillan Cancer Support - Coffee Morning

We raised £250 by participating for the first time in last year’s Macmillan Coffee Morning — the world’s biggest coffee morning — to raise much-needed funds for people living with cancer.

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Our ISAAP accreditation

Our ESG policy is further complemented by our attention to guest wellbeing. We work hard to ensure we are able to welcome our guests with the highest industry standards of quality and comfort, as attested by ISAAP (International Serviced Accommodation Accreditation Process) in awarding us the Quality & Comfort Certification, being part of our annual Building Accreditation award. Our guests benefit from the attention to detail we apply to our core competency, with the provision of a high quality, comfortable and reliably safe and secure stay.

This provides our guests with the best possible opportunity to recover from their travels quickly so as to be able to apply themselves fully to leisure or their work commitments. Quality & comfort is front and centre of guest wellbeing, and our ESG policy allows this culture to flourish.

ISAAP Accreditation Logos For Citysuites Luxury Aparthotel

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.

Supporting the UN Sustainable Development Goals

The United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are a universal call to action on the world to end the most pressing challenges faced by humanity and the natural world, including ending poverty and protecting the planet. There are 17 SDGs which are all integrated (action in one area will affect outcomes in others), and as one world we must come together to make an overwhelmingly positive impact on our planet by 2030.

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As part of our environmental commitment, we have outlined the four sustainable UN SDGs that we are working towards here at CitySuites.

Good Health and Well-being

Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages

This goal has become even more vital since the start of the Covid-19 global pandemic. We must now work even harder to get progress back on track so that everyone has access to quality essential healthcare services, effective and affordable medicines and vaccines, and mental health and wellbeing facilities.

UN SDG


Clean Water and Sanitation 

Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all

With global water challenges, including water scarcity and pollution, companies must assess their water performance and the watersheds in which they operate. At CitySuites, we have water-efficient taps, toilets and showers that are in the process of being upgraded and a towel/linen reuse programme.

UN SDG2


Affordable and Clean Energy

Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all

Improving energy efficiency is vital to reaching the global climate goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The UN SDG indicators include increasing the share of renewable energy in the global energy mix. This is why CitySuites is committed to procuring 100% renewable energy by the end of 2022.

UN SDG3


Responsible Consumption and Production

Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns

Waste management is crucial for global sustainable development. With more than seven billion people on the planet, a shift from waste to resource management is desperately needed. CitySuites will increase recycling by 5% and maintain 100% of waste diverted from landfill.

UN SDG4


Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts

We are determined to take climate action. This year, we will assess our energy consumption in order to set targets and reduce our emissions. We have also pledged to lower our carbon intensity ratio by at least 5%; recalculate our carbon footprint and intend to include Scope 3 categories.

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