Premier Inn owner Whitbread PLC (LSE:WTB) will implement a mass rollout of heat pumps and solar panels across its hotel estate in the coming years as part of a bid to reach net zero by 2040.
An audit will begin next year ahead of a plan to ditch gas boilers in Whitbread’s 840-plus UK hotels, the company said in an environmental, social and governance report on Thursday.
Greener and more efficient heat pumps, which heat air through compression to then be circulated through buildings, will then replace these and be powered by renewables.
“Today’s plan doubles down on our commitment to re-invent budget hotels for the net zero age,” Whitbread sustainability head Rosana Elias said.
“We don’t claim to have all the answers now, but our plan will evolve over time and evolve as the technologies and policies that we rely on for success develop further.”
Whitbread, which also owns over 50 hotels in Germany alongside the Beefeater and Brewers Fayre restaurant chains, will open its first fully electric hotel this year in Swindon, ahead of plans to power the entire Premier Inn estate via renewables from 2026.
The Swindon property will be powered through a mix of on-site and grid-supplied renewable energy, with Mitsubishi heat pump technology set to heat the hotel, Whitbread said.
Scepticism had been raised over the use of heat pumps in the UK, particularly in older and less well-insulated buildings, though a late-May survey from charity Nesta found the majority of those who had ditched gas boilers were satisfied with the new systems.
“We are in a strong position as one of the few hospitality businesses to own its assets to leverage our rate of change and be confident of delivering our low carbon ambitions,” chief executive Dominic Paul added.
Whitbread shares rose 0.8% to 3,312p.