Enabling people to live and work well
At Whitbread, we are committed to making a lasting impact through our Force for Good programme, built on three pillars: Responsibility, Opportunity and Community.
This report focuses on our key sustainability issues: decarbonisation, resource use, supply chains, product quality and creating equal opportunities, which enable us to strengthen the resilience of our business and have a positive impact.
We are leading the UK&I hospitality industry with the most low-carbon* hotel rooms as of March 2026
2300 rooms
We have lowered water use per Premier Inn guest in UK&I from a 2019/20 baseline year
18 %
reduction
We have reduced our Scope 1 and 2 emissions intensity from a 2016/17 baseline year by
63 %
Number of apprenticeships in learning in Operations and Support Centre
> 1000
We ensure all our teams are paid above the National Living Wage and National Minimum Wage
31500
Winner of Most Transformative Inclusion Initiative at the Inclusion In Awards
Estimated number of volunteering and fundraising hours completed across the business
2608
Number of digital devices donated to those with limited access to technology
769
Amount raised for Great Ormond Street Hospital in 2025/26
£ 2 .6 m
* By ‘low-carbon’ we mean that the hotels are powered by electricity backed by Renewable Energy Guarantees of Origin (REGO) and no gas or liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) is used for water and space heating and cooking. REGO certifies that the equivalent number of units of electricity purchased have been generated from renewable sources such as wind or solar.
Adapting to future-proof our business
Whitbread operates in a sector where sustainability is increasingly shaping costs, regulation and guest expectations. The Chair and CEO discuss how these forces are influencing decisions today while sharpening the business for the long term.
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Christine Hodgson
Chair
Dominic Paul
Chief Executive
Our sustainability programme Force for Good is fundamental to our long-term growth and resilience. It comprises three pillars: responsibility, opportunity and community.
Sustainability is embedded throughout our operations, from food sourcing to building new sites, from providing career opportunities for all to investing in local regeneration. This is why guests trust our brands and investors are confident in our future.
Business-led initiative offers replicable model for inclusive employment nationwide Whitbread, the UK’s largest hospitality company and owner of Premier
Business-led initiative expands to Liverpool City Region, offering a blueprint for tackling disability employment gaps Whitbread, the UK’s largest
A Cornish hotel team has launched a major new fundraising initiative to help transform the lives of seriously ill
With the impact of climate change increasingly evident in our business, it is critical for long-term resilience that we minimise our own impact and adapt our model for changing weather conditions. In 2025/26, we made progress both in operational and value-chain emissions towards our net zero target.
Our approach to assessing and mitigating climate-related risks is embedded in the company-wide risk management process. Oversight of the climate-related programmes is delivered through the Board, Executive Committee, Sustainability Steering Committee, and cross‑functional working groups.
We see clear opportunities associated with water stewardship. Improving water efficiency reduces operating costs and strengthens our resilience to climate change. Our focus on efficient fixtures and fittings, leak detection and optimised housekeeping practices enables us to decouple increased guest numbers from water use.
Minimising our water consumption is not just the right thing to do. It is essential for the resilience of our own operations as we head into a future in which water supplies are uncertain. 30% of Europe’s land is considered to be water stressed1, with this figure only expected to grow over the coming decades as the impacts of climate change and nature depletion exacerbate problems caused by increasing demand. Water use in hotels has long been higher than at home, with a single room recorded as using nearly three times as much as the average household2. The biggest use of water is through showers, toilets and taps, yet these are also critical to the guest experience. Reducing water flow without impact on our customers therefore requires careful design and extensive trials.
1 The EU’s water crisis by the numbers – POLITICO.
2 FOCUS ON: Water and hotels – Sustainable Hotel News.
Waste is an environmental, social and commercial issue that requires a holistic approach. In 2025/26, we reduced overall resource inefficiency through improved measurement and cross‑functional collaboration.
It is estimated that almost 3m tonnes of waste are generated each year by hospitality and food service businesses in the UK alone1. With humanity using natural resources 80% faster than ecosystems can regenerate, businesses have a responsibility to understand, minimise and manage their waste.
1 Overview of waste in the hospitality and food services sector: WRAP – The Waste and Resources Action Programme.
Whitbread’s responsible sourcing programme is a core part of our business strategy and supports our ambition to be a force for good.
We aim to buy products and services that are produced in ways that meet legal and ethical standards, respect human rights, protect animal welfare and minimise environmental impact.
Our approach is grounded in internationally recognised frameworks, including the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs) and the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises on Responsible Business Conduct. These standards inform the expectations we set for suppliers and guide the continuous improvement of our sourcing practices.
Engagement and reward has made our workforce more stable than at any point in recent memory. That stability brings clear benefits: deeper experience, better service for guests, and lower hiring and training costs.
The Chief People Officer (CPO) is accountable for our overall People Strategy, covering training and development, wellbeing, inclusion and workforce representation. The CPO reports directly to the Chief Executive and provides regular updates to the Board, ensuring that risks and upcoming regulatory requirements – such as the Employment Rights Act and evolving workforce reporting obligations – are clearly understood at senior level.
We are guided by a set of people policies, including policies on working time, hybrid working, parental leave, Diversity and Inclusion, and speaking out.
Whitbread is committed to serving high-quality, nutritious food that meets the needs of guests across different occasions. As the UK’s leading hospitality business, we recognise the growing importance of nutrition in shaping consumer expectations, regulatory requirements and long-term business resilience.
Nutrition and health sit within Whitbread’s wider sustainability governance structure, which ensures clear accountability, robust oversight and cross-functional co-ordination. Our Nutrition Policy and Code of Practice outline the principles and standards guiding menu development, salt sugar and calorie reduction targets, and the accurate production and presentation of nutrition information. These are managed by our Food and Beverage Development and Technical teams, supported by procurement, marketing and a broader cross-functional working group.
Oversight is provided through regular monthly and quarterly reviews, supported by the Nutrition Steering Group, which monitors progress against internal KPIs and reports to the Sustainability Steering Committee.
Whitbread’s Code of Conduct sets out the shared principles and standards that guide how we do business. It applies across the organisation and underpins the behaviours we expect from our teams.
All employees complete mandatory Code of Conduct training on induction, covering colleagues in operations, Support Centres, guest contact roles, management and field-based positions. The training focuses on areas of higher risk, including information security, data protection, anti-bribery and corruption, and competition law. Employees working in higher-risk roles receive additional, targeted training on relevant elements of the Code.
By embedding the Code across the business, we aim to uphold high standards of ethical behaviour and legal compliance, and to foster a culture built on integrity, trust and inclusion.
