Time to serve a circular economy

A Circular Economy: Transforming the Hospitality Sector

A circular economy has the potential to revolutionize the hospitality sector by not only reducing costs and making resources go further but also by significantly cutting greenhouse gas emissions, as revealed in a new report.

The ‘Hospitality Spotlight Report’ delves into the realm of circular economy business models, which prioritize reusing materials and minimizing waste, to showcase how they can play a crucial role in enhancing the efficiency, cost-effectiveness, and sustainability of the hospitality industry.

Conducted as part of the NICER (National Interdisciplinary Circular Economy Research) programme, the report involved consultations and workshops with 42 stakeholders from various segments of the hospitality sector and its supply chains. Through these interactions, researchers explored the challenges, opportunities, and potential measures of success associated with the adoption of circular economy practices.

Embracing a Lifecycle Approach

The report advocates for a comprehensive ‘whole-system approach’ that aims to eliminate waste and pollution by focusing on the circulation of products and materials throughout their lifecycle stages – from ‘inflow’ to ‘use’ to ‘outflow’. This approach has the capacity to not only reduce emissions and enhance resource productivity but also lead to significant cost savings.

It sheds light on various initiatives that aim to curtail the demand for materials and resources from the outset. For instance, creative design agency Object.Space.Place (OSP) collaborates with clients in the hospitality industry to integrate circular principles into refurbishment plans, prioritizing longevity, energy efficiency, and the use of eco-friendly materials.

The report also highlights Silentnight’s innovative approach to addressing low rates of mattress recycling by redesigning products to use fewer materials that are easily recyclable. Their new modular design, featuring a replaceable ‘comfort layer’, has helped reduce a mattress’s carbon footprint by 23%.

Furthermore, initiatives like Loopcycle (now part of ImpactLoop) assist businesses in managing surplus equipment through a digital platform that facilitates tracing, refurbishing, reusing, or reselling items. This not only reduces waste but also leads to substantial cost savings for businesses.

Other initiatives focus on extending the life of materials, such as a recycling programme by the Textiles Services Association aimed at preserving the value of high-quality textiles in the hospitality sector, thereby addressing the significant amount of textile waste generated annually by hotels.

Driving Optimization in the Hospitality Sector

The hospitality sector stands as the UK’s sixth largest industrial sector, contributing £103 billion annually to the economy and supporting 2.74 million jobs. However, its environmental footprint is concerning, with 2.8 million tonnes of waste generated each year at a cost of £3.2 billion and accounting for approximately one percent of the UK’s total greenhouse gas emissions.