Whitbread targets 26% reduction in CO2 emissions by 2020 as it gains carbon trust standard

- Company reports saving of 8,562 tonnes of CO2 against business as usual
- Chief Executive launches 'Good Together' sustainability strategy

Whitbread, the UK's leading hotel and restaurant group, has today announced plans to reduce its carbon emission by 26% by 2020.

The move, which comes as international leaders push for further action on tackling global emissions at Copenhagen, is the company's first statement of intent on carbon reduction and will form an important part of it's 'Good Together' corporate sustainability strategy.

At the same time, Whitbread is reporting that from 2007 to 2009, the company improved its carbon efficiency by 4%, which is equivalent to saving 8,562 tonnes of CO2 - or taking 2,446 cars off the road.

Carbon Trust standard
In recognition of this achievement, Whitbread has today been awarded the Carbon Trust Standard. The Carbon Trust Standard is the world's first award that requires organisations to measure, manage and reduce their carbon footprint and actually make real reductions year-on-year.

Alan Parker, CEO of Whitbread, said: "Whitbread has always put a high value on being a responsible business. Committing to this carbon reduction target is a statement of our determination to drive down emissions and ensure that we operate as efficiently and sustainably as possible. By taking the lead, we can help our customers to make a difference and show that action on the environment is most effective when we all work together."

Whitbread's Good Together Sustainability Strategy
Good Together is the umbrella for Whitbread's company-wide innitiatives to drive sustainable performance and further deepen corporate responsibility: it aims to help Whitbread's people, customers and supply chain partners make changes to how they work and how they 'eat, sleep and drink' Whitbread. When combined, these changes will make a significant difference to the company's overall environmental and social footprint.
"Good Together is our way of uniting the power and potential of our people, customers and suppliers so that we can make a genuine difference," added Alan Parker. "We are at the start of an exciting journey."

Harry Morrison, General Manager of Carbon Trust Standard, said: "Being certified with the Carbon Trust Standard is proof an organisation has taken genuine action to reduce their direct impact on climate change by cutting carbon emissions. We congratulate Whitbread on this achievement.

"Both businesses and consumers share a desire for one , credible way to prove an organisation has not only measured, but actually reduced their carbon emissions year-on-year without the use of offsetting. The Carbon Trust Standard provides this credibility and we encourage more organisations to follow Whitbread in making this commitment."

Good Together will focus on seven themes, setting targets for achievement and behavioural change in each. these themes are;

- Environment
- Employee engagement
- Sourcing of products and services
- Standards and performance measurement
- Customer engagement
- Health
- Community

Targets
in addition to today's pledge to reduce CO2 emissions by 26% by 2020, Whitbread has also confirmed the following initial targets:

- Achieve 80% of waste diverted from landfill from Whitbread Hotels & Restaurants sites by February 1012

- 100% of all Costa Coffee production to be Rainforest Alliance certified by June 2010

- Launch purpose built 'green hotel and restaurant' at Burgess Hill, west Sussex (to open in Autumn 2010)

- Achieve 3,000 qualifications from Whitbread Hotels & Restaurant Apprenticeship scheme. 400 Costa learners trained by the end of 2011

- Raise 1 million for WaterAid

- Enable 15,000 children to be educated as part of the Costa Foundation

More Good Together targets and actions will be confirmed and announced in due course. A special 'Good Together Week' (w/c 11 January 2010) will bring Whitbread people together for the first time to focus on how everyone can be involved to make a difference. Involving customers will also become a core component of the Good Together strategy with Whitbread aiming to help its customers play an active part in achieving sustainability targets. Whitbread will use it's team and customer surveys to track the impact of Good Together and help to shape future action.

Whitbread operates more than 580 Premier Inn hotels across the UKwith in excess of 40,000 rooms and 375 Beefeater, Brewers Fayre, Table Table and Taybarns restaurants.

Costa is part of Whitbread and is the largest and fastest growing Coffee Shop business in the UK, and second largest globally with a total of some 1,500 stores.