Hospitality businesses call for more help to be green

The Government has been urged to offer hospitality businesses more support on implementing green business practices, after research revealed the majority of operators in England and Wales are unhappy with the level of advice currently on offer.

The survey of more than 2,000 hospitality operators by purchasing consortium Beacon showed that two-thirds of those based in England and Wales feel there is not enough help from local authorities to advise on and promote ways of making their business more environmentally friendly.

This contrasts sharply with operators in Scotland, where fewer than half (42%) feel dissatisfied with the level of information and support.

Ben Waters, utilities and services buyer at Beacon, said operators are willing to change their business practices but needed more help from officials. "The majority of businesses in the hospitality industry are making efforts to change the way they operate," he said. "But there appears to be a general feeling that more advice and support should be available, and businesses are not sure where to go to find this."

Arthur Potts Dawson, executive chef at Acorn House, London's first environmentally friendly training restaurant, admitted that Government support could be better, but said businesses needed to drive change themselves.

"While there are a lot of Government bodies out there that can provide the necessary help and support, they can be difficult to find and contact. But it's the desire and will to change a business that has to drive the operators, not the Government," he said. "Even if businesses change just one thing, it's a start and a step in the right direction."

Despite the dissatisfaction about governmental support, increasing numbers of hospitality businesses are making "green" changes, with saving energy and recycling being the most common measures used to protect the environment, the survey found.

Green thinking

• 65% of hospitality businesses in England and Wales believe there is a lack of Government support on green issues.
• 67% of UK hospitality businesses regularly recycle.
• 52% of UK operators have taken steps to reduce energy consumption in the past year.
• 81% of Scottish operators frequently recycle their waste.

Source: Beacon

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By Kerstin Kuhn

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