Marble Arch BID launched its first Sustainability Exchange on 22 September 2026, with a speaker panel and networking lunch at the Victory Services Club. The event showcased the work of Whitbread, The Portman Estate and London Marriott Hotel Marble Arch across a range of green initiatives.
20 sustainability leads came together from hotels, estates, property owners, neighbouring BIDs, Westminster City Council and other key stakeholders. Together they discussed three topics: water usage, green lease clauses and food waste. Here is a summary of what was shared.
Reducing water use at Whitbread
Sarah Ivory from Whitbread explained how reducing water use is contributing to the hotel group’s overall carbon reduction targets. Holding a self-supply licence for water gives the group far greater control over its data and helps the team stay on top of leak detection. Sarah also described a pilot project focused on reducing water use in bathrooms, which trials different shower heads alongside nudge principles such as timers and lights on shower appliances. To date, this work has saved £4 million in operational costs and 170,000m3 of water, the equivalent of 68 Olympic-sized swimming pools.
The discussion began with whether sustainability credentials, such as Green Key, make a difference to bookings. The view from all of the hotels present was a definite yes. The effect is felt more on the corporate and events side than the leisure side, but it is clear across the board.
Attendees then asked to what extent the group’s future acquisition strategy is guided by a wish to avoid geographic areas of water stress. This led to a conversation about drought conditions. In places with hosepipe bans and water rationing, hotels sit lower in the order of priority than hospitals, schools and homes.
A further question covered the process of obtaining a self-supply certificate for water. Sarah confirmed that it took around two years to move all Whitbread sites over to self-supply and to get metering in place.
One of the key surprises from the trial so far is that the average shower lasts 5.5 minutes, which is shorter than the seven minutes the team had expected.
Green lease clauses at The Portman Estate
Chris Dunlop from The Portman Estate spoke about green lease clauses across the estate, which covers retail, offices and hotels. The aim is a shared commitment between landlord and tenant to sustainable operations. The clauses have six key elements: co-operation, data sharing, landlord rights to carry out works, alterations, EPC protection, and waste and servicing.
The discussion opened with the emerging Marble Arch Energy Network, the first of its kind among the great estates.
Chris also spoke about EPC registers. Creating one can seem burdensome for landlords, but not having one carries a high level of risk, and a register can help to reduce the risk of stranded assets. It also allows landlords to plan ahead for improvements. The recent extension of the EPC deadline has been welcome news for landlords.
The conversation then turned to small and micro-businesses, where the challenge is considerably greater. These businesses have fewer resources to draw on when it comes to trialling materials and building supply chain knowledge.
Finally, the group discussed how planning rules, conservation areas and listed buildings can bring challenges of their own. The Portman Estate is currently trialling different glazing products on listed townhouses.
Tackling food waste at Marriott Marble Arch
Sean Kelly from Marriott Marble Arch described the hotel’s award-winning work on reducing food waste. Sean trained as a chef, and his passion for tackling food waste has made it a non-negotiable at the hotel. Food is the third highest cost in a hotel, after payroll and utilities, and Sean’s hotel spends £2 million on food each year. Education is the biggest challenge.
The hotel uses a system that weighs every item placed in the kitchen bins, photographing it and recording the time and weight. This provides daily, weekly and monthly insights, and it allows the team to analyse waste in relation to food preparation, meal sizes and portion sizes.
The discussion highlighted that breakfast is usually the biggest source of food waste in hotels. With more than 450 breakfasts served every hour at weekends, there is always a risk of over-production, so this is carefully analysed and monitored.
Messaging to guests can also help. The hotel encourages guests to visit the buffet stations more than once, rather than piling up plates on a single visit. This message appears on the hotel’s website and in the dining areas.
Sometimes the answer lies in changing the menu, as some items are harder to reduce in size. Sausages and chicken breasts were cited as items that can be bought in smaller sizes, but this is not possible for everything.
Common themes
Several themes ran through all of the speakers’ contributions.
Understanding customer experience. Knowing what customers value, and where changes might create barriers, helps organisations design solutions that are both sustainable and practical.
Educating your workforce. Employees play an important role in delivering sustainability ambitions. They need the knowledge and confidence to act, so that commitments become everyday behaviours.
Investing in systems. Investment in technology, data collection and reporting makes it easier to monitor performance, identify opportunities and embed sustainability in daily operations.
Challenges for smaller businesses. There are real challenges for microbusinesses in particular, who may find it difficult to engage and to make the necessary changes at the same pace as larger organisations.
Attendees gave the first Sustainability Exchange a warm reception, and we look forward to future activities. You can download the presentation slides here.
If you have ideas for future topics, please contact us at community@marble-arch.london.
