“At the bottom of the mountain, you’re looking up at a huge number of hotels — you’ve got to start. And in order to do that, you’ve got to understand all the levers you’ve got to pull.”
Decarbonising a hotel is one thing. Decarbonising nearly a thousand of them, across different sizes, ages, and building types, while keeping guests happy, investors informed, and a small internal team motivated, is another challenge entirely.
Yet that’s precisely the reality for large-scale hospitality operators, and it’s a challenge the industry is only beginning to get to grips with: sustainability in hospitality is multi-layered and deeply necessary work.
In this episode of the Sustainability Stories podcast, host Radhika Arapally is joined by Will Silverwood, former Head of Sustainability at Whitbread, the UK’s largest hotel operator and the company behind Premier Inn.
What makes this conversation particularly valuable is Will’s commercial lens. He doesn’t approach sustainability as a specialist function sitting apart from the business. He approaches it as a business change programme — one that requires the same relationship-building, stakeholder management and evidence-based decision-making as any major commercial initiative. Will describes his role not as the person with all the answers, but as the one who gets the right people into the room in the first place.
“To some extent, I’m the kind of fire starter.” he says, the one waving the flag, creating the urgency, and making sure the conversation happens at all.
This episode is essential listening for anyone ready to do the same in their own organisation: stop waiting for the perfect moment, and start making things happen.
Key takeaways from the episode:
🟢 The customer has to feature right at the centre of the changes you’re making. Sustainability isn’t coming along to impact on that guest experience.
🟢 Make sure you’ve got senior level endorsement of what you want to do. Think about who’s on board, but also who might not be.
🟢 The only shared thing across all procurement verticals is the principle of what needs to be done together.
🟢 Accept the unknowns. You know where your big carbon opportunities are, so just start working on them.
🟢 It’s really important that people understand [sustainability], in a way that is not jargon-fuelled but really clear, what the numbers are and how they’re impacting it.
🟢 Be cautious about not over-claiming, but confident when you do.
🟢 Hospitality has got a long way to go, but that shouldn’t stop us. We’ve just got to start.
Will spent the early part of his career making complex change happen inside large FTSE 100 organisations before making the leap into sustainability. Most recently, he led Whitbread’s Force for Good programme — covering climate, carbon, waste, water and supply chain — across 900+ hotels. He currently works within sustainability advisory.
Show notes & resources referenced in the episode:
Supporting Hotels on Their Sustainability Journey
At Sustainability Kiosk, we help hotels embed sustainability into daily operations so it becomes a shared effort across teams. From training to solution sourcing, we support hotels in making sustainability practical and impactful.
Reach out to us to find out how we can support your hotel.
Explore more episodes on the Sustainability Stories podcast, for insights on practical sustainability tips and how hospitality can balance people, planet and profits.
