The Grove introduces ‘Green Team’ to strengthen sustainability

Hertfordshire hotel The Grove is to reinforce its ‘conscious culture’ with the formation of a dedicated green team, new for 2018.

Set within 300 acres of Hertfordshire countryside, The Grove’s dedicated ‘Green Team’ is now on hand to ensure that the hotel is a place where luxury and sustainability are not mutually exclusive.

The new ‘Green Team’, starting as a group of three members of staff, eventually increasing to a team of twenty-four, is what Abigail Ankrah, logistics manager at The Grove, describes as the “first step in an exciting journey. A way to start the conversation and to take action”.

The team will meet regularly, with monthly formal meetings and representation from key departments including food and beverage, housekeeping, maintenance and front of house.  

As part of the teams push for sustainability all drinks at the hotel will come ‘plastic free’ – across all three restaurants and bars, and room service. They are now replaced with biodegradable paper straws, stirrers and cocktail sticks made from bamboo.

The hotel will also continue with existing sustainability initiatives, such as an ongoing partnership with local charity New Hope Trust, a charity set up to help aid the homeless or vulnerably-housed in the local area.

The Grove donates used linens, bathrobes and towelling, in an effort to re-use items that although no longer right for a luxury hotel setting, can offer comfort and much needed resources for many others.

Additional new initiatives are also in place and include a move from traditional, printed newspapers to a complimentary newspaper app, available for all guests to use wherever they wish, across the hotel. Although newspapers will still be available on request.

“It’s about giving guests the ability to choose,” says Ankrah. “We want to make sure the guest experience remains the same but look at providing alternative solutions, that don’t compromise the environment in the process.”