51 Buckingham Gate is dedicated to environmental issues and has championed the ‘green’ cause for many years, long before it became the focus of world attention.

The Taj philosophy of community integration and environmental responsibility forms the basis of all the hotel’s activities.

Earlier this year we relaunched our Environmental Policy to bring it up to date and to ensure it is relevant to guests and associates at the hotel. We also set ourselves the aim of reducing our energy and water consumption by 15 per cent, a target that we are on our way to achieving.


Green activities at 51 Buckingham Gate

 
Green Team

The Green team has been in operation since 2003. Its goal is to drive all of 51’s green and environmentally friendly initiatives.

Awards and Reviews

In 2004 we won the Considerate Hotelier of the year award from the Considerate Hotelier’s Association.

In 2005 we won the Considerate Hotelier of the year award, and the Environmentally friendly Hotel of the year award from the Considerate Hoteliers Association.

In 2006 we won the Envirowise Award for Water savings in the Considerate Hoteliers of the Year Awards.

A Carbon Audit was carried out over the whole property by the Carbon Trust in May 2006.

Highly Commended for Energy Savings by the Considerate Hoteliers Association in 2007.

In 2008 51 was certified by Green Globe Benchmarking with a Bronze Certificate.


51 Buckingham Gate green initiatives

There are currently eight people in the Green Team that meet once a month to discuss green initiatives.

Every one of our 250 associates has a duty to do their bit within their area(s) of responsibility.
 
Every associate is given training on the hotel’s environmental policy and main procedures at induction when they start working at 51 Buckingham Gate. That is re-enforced in the ‘Encore’ training, which readdreses the induction training three months after an associate has started.

Green quiz’s for the associates include: 

  • a Christmas quiz and
  • a guess the number of re-cycled stamps competition.

On our internal computer network, there is a green ideas folder where all associates can leave ideas and suggestions for green initiatives, which the Green team will then follow up.

Housekeeping are trained to:

  • leave only the minimum number of lights on, and where possible, to leave no lights on in the rooms and suites and
  • only flush the loos when necessary and they don’t flush just to check if the loo is working.

Engineering are constantly looking at ways to reduce energy consumption. They have:

  • removed nearly 1000 spotlights in the corridors and public areas throughout the property, 
    introduced water harvesting, 
  • produced (in 2006) a comprehensive document for all associates with energy saving advice on all areas including: air conditioning, plumbing, electricals, offices, house keeping, security, Spa and Health club, banquet and meeting rooms and kitchens and 
  • provided general energy saving tips on lighting, fans, irons, refrigerators, etc.

Our recycling list comprises:

  • paper and cardboard, 
    glass, 
    batteries, 
    stamps, 
    cooking oil and
    printer cartridges.

Office workers are provided with recycling bins and fined when they leave their lights on.

We maintain a responsible approach to removing hazardous waste.

The televisions in the gym only switch on when the linked machine is in use and automatically turn off when the machine is not in use.


Plans for 2008

EARTH is Taj Hotels’ new environmental initiative which will be rolled out across the whole Taj hotel portfolio. 51 is due to be part of the pilot programme running in 2008.

Maintain efficient energy usage levels to the same consumption despite a budgeted increase in occupancy.

Review staff canteen processes and introduce a full recycling scheme.

Green training month in June for all associates.

Review current recycling activities for the hotel and see if we can expand recycling to plastic bottles and place recycling bins in suite/rooms.

Green tip of the month to be circulated to everyone.

Replace green patrols and audits with Green Champions from the Green team.