UK Business Briefs: Excellent sustainable business practices, and training

Six Continents Plc, which describes itself as the world’s most global hospitality company with more than 3,200 hotels in nearly 100 countries, has published its second quarterly update for its Annual Environmental and Social Report. Initiatives highlighted in the update include Express by Holiday Inn’s achievement of environmental targets on issues such as use of space and energy and water conservation. As well as sustainability issues that directly benefit the company, Hotel Inter-Continental Nairobi has been working with a safe-house in Kenya that protects women from the custom of genital mutilation. The hotel has donated sufficient linen, towels and furniture for 60 young women.

Chemicals company BASF has also been outlining its sustainability practices, stating that it has committed itself to the principle of sustainable development as one of its corporate goals. BASF is one of the first companies in the world to establish a sustainability council designed to integrate such practices into the company’s strategies. The company also carries out eco-efficiency analyses, which take into account a product’s entire lifecycle from the extraction of raw materials and energy consumption of production to disposal after use.

And finally, the Construction Industry Research and Information Association (CIRIA) has launched a training pack to aid the control of water pollution from construction sites. The pack consists of a guide to good practice, providing cost benefits for the industry, improved environmental awareness and sustainability.