We define relevant ESG as the management of any environmental, social or governance-related risks or opportunities which, if not appropriately managed, could result in negative consequences, or which alternatively, if managed well, could achieve a positive impact for our company, employees, the surrounding community, other stakeholders and the environment.
We believe our commitment to pursuing CSR / ESG initiatives can be achieved in parallel with building the long-term interests of our shareholders and growth of the company.
Our four ESG pillars are based on the UN's 17 Sustainable Development Goals. We set annual company-wide, measurable goals which support our journey and drive these pillars.
We are dedicated to being a more conscious company in all that we do, by questioning our impact on the planet. We will aim to limit our impact on the environment by focusing on reducing our carbon footprint, carbon offsetting and water use reduction.
We strive to nurture a happy, diverse, inclusive and fair working culture and to make all staff feel motivated, empowered and valued by focusing on workplace culture, training, support and empowerment.
We seek ways to have a positive impact within the communities in which we work and to support local businesses.
We support our named charities, Centrepoint and The Promise Foundation, by providing financial support, volunteering and fundraising.
We have calculated the carbon footprint of a typical stay and are working on carbon footprint reduction and water management goals.
Our current average room emissions are 12.53kg CO2e. We recently worked with Greengage to carry out HCMI calculations on several of our properties. Through the HCMI calculations using our 2021 -2022 energy and occupancy data we were able to work out our average night emissions. The UK BESIS government factor for 2021 - 2022 is 13.9 kg per night for a hotel stay.
Working with Enhabit, the UK’s award-winning provider of energy efficient houses, we built our apartments in Farnborough and Richmond. These apartments provide our guests with eco flow air systems offering cleaner air and controlled temperatures.
Our Hammersmith – Southerton Mews property is a gas-free development, including Air Source Heat Pumps and underfloor heating to maximise their efficiency, providing heating and hot water throughout. A mechanical ventilation system with NOx filtration has been fitted which is designed to filter polluted air. The design of the property also incorporates the requirements of Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems (SUDS). This is a natural approach to managing drainage and works by slowing and holding back the water that runs off from a site, allowing natural processes to break down pollutants.
We have partnered with an interior design company with strong sustainable ethics. They work with suppliers to ensure they adhere to the strictest standards on raw materials, packaging and employee rights. A strong Re-Use- Recycle- Donate scheme is in place and they provide sustainability certificates for products installed. They have introduced us to eco-friendly products such as rugs woven from recycled hessian and eco mattresses made from recycled marine plastic – our manufacturer actually pays charities to remove plastic from the ocean and then buys that plastic from them and turns it in to mattresses.
As part of our property improvement plan, we are introducing new systems to help reduce our carbon footprint, including energy-efficient lighting, smart thermostat controls, testing water management options as well as waste reduction and recycling programs.
Our company-wide procurement policy prioritises eco suppliers and products unless there is a strong business case otherwise. When finding partners to work with we also look at their sustainability credentials to ensure it aligns with our ethos.
For example, we use biodegradable cleaning products and recycled paper products wherever possible. Our energy suppliers are green throughout the portfolio. Looking at travel, we run a car share scheme between our Newbury and London offices and our London maintenance staff use electric cars.
It is very important to Flying Butler to support the local businesses around every development in which we operate. Our website and social media promote the best local, independent businesses near to our apartments to all guests and followers.
We have been working with a small, independent laundry company for years in our bid to support local.
We have set up a food bank initiative whereby any non-perishable food guests leave is first offered to housekeepers and alternatively goes to a local food bank if it is not used internally.
Our communal entertaining space in Hemel Hempstead has been offered to local business groups to gather for meetings on a complimentary basis. We will continue to provide this area free-of-charge to local businesses in order to give something back to the community.
We are committed to building a culture dedicated to ethical business behaviour and responsible corporate activity. We believe that strong ESG governance practices typically start with responsible leadership teams, clear accountability structures, good process controls, strong policies and risk management.
Our Net Zero Website label from Tree-Nation automatically compensates all the CO2 emissions our website generates. Tree-Nation calculates our website’s emissions based on the number of visits it receives and plants the trees needed to offset them.