Today marks World Earth Day, an annual occasion celebrated on April 22nd to demonstrate understanding and support for environmental preservation. Originating in 1970, this event, now held globally by Earthday.org, engages over 1 billion individuals across 193 countries.

In honour of this important day, Urban Apartments is using the opportunity to highlight our ongoing dedication to environmental consciousness and sustainability in both our operational practices and guest experience.

This years theme is “Planet vs. Plastics.”, Throughout their lifecycle, plastics have a significant carbon footprint and emit 3.4% of global greenhouse gas emissions.

Alongside this, Fossil fuels – coal, oil and gas – are by far the largest contributor to global climate change, accounting for over 75 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions and nearly 90 per cent of all carbon dioxide emissions. As greenhouse gas emissions blanket the Earth, they trap the sun’s heat.

To address these areas and lower our emissions, Urban Apartments has implemented several key strategies:

Carbon Offsetting

We proudly announce our achievement of carbon neutrality for scope 1 and 2 emissions through a partnership with SQSTR, a carbon offset program. This collaboration involves tree planting initiatives to offset our emissions annually. Additionally, we’ve instituted an employee offset program, planting trees each month per employee, further mitigating our collective carbon footprint.

Low Carbon Energy Sources

We only own and manage buildings that we have developed, meaning we take a much more holistic view of the energy efficiency of our buildings due to the long term investments we make within them. 

When redeveloping a property we always exceed the Bristol City Council’s 20% Energy and CO2 Reduction Strategy by an average of 59%. We do this by installing a number of low-carbon energy solutions such as solar panels, air-source heat pumps, triple glazing and increasing optimal levels of eco-friendly insulation.

We have also recently moved all of our buildings over to EDF’s Green Energy, who are Britain’s largest generator of zero carbon electricity to maximise energy efficiency and integrating the use of renewable and low-carbon energy;

When designing our rooms, all rooms have good levels of day light, and we have chosen the décor to enhance this (where possible, the need for artificial lighting is also reduced).

Mechanical ventilation is also installed in the majority of our properties to ensure that a good air change rate is achieved, particularly if windows need to be closed to manage noise and air pollution from the high street.

Transport

Recognising the importance of sustainable travel, we’ve installed spacious bike storage pods at select apartment grounds. Coupled with convenient public transport access and nearby amenities, we support eco-friendly transportation choices for our guests.

Materials

Emphasising materials with minimal environmental impact, we strive for A or A+ ratings under BRE’s Green Guide and prioritize low GWP insulation materials. Our aluminum windows maintain A/B ratings for sustainability.

Waste Management

Implementing dedicated waste storage facilities aligning with Bristol City Council’s guidelines, we ensure proper waste disposal and recycling practices across all properties.

Biodiversity

Incorporating biodiversity initiatives within our developments, such as creating wild gardens, fosters urban biodiversity. Additionally, placing houseplants within serviced apartments enhances indoor air quality and promotes environmental awareness.

Apartment Initiatives

Eliminating single-use plastics and transitioning to eco-refillable alternatives within apartments reduces environmental impact. Implementing energy-efficient lighting and digital advancements like contactless check-in systems enhance guest experiences while minimizing resource consumption.

Sustainable Partnerships

Collaborating with Trees4Travel enables guests to offset travel emissions through tree planting initiatives. Additionally, partnerships with local organizations such as Visit Bristol, Bristol 24/7 and the Great West Way foster community engagement in sustainable practices and workshops.

Technology

In terms of digital advances, we have introduced a contactless check in/out system allowing us to remove the need for a receptionist at the properties; now all properties remain contactless and guests can enter with digital lock box codes. 

We also introduced a brand new mobile key system for guests and all leaflets have been removed from the apartments to reduce waste and have been replaced with digital QR codes for them to scan. 

We have a new PMS system currently being implemented into the business so that we can seamlessly run our whole portfolio through one singular platform, enabling us to analyse and report on our bookings. Through regular analysis and reporting we will be able to unearth other aspects of the running of the serviced apartments in order to tweak and innovate them to make the service much more seamless whilst running much more sustainably.

Staff Engagement

When trying to make a business more sustainable, resources and staff need to be taken into account. We have grown our serviced apartment team exponentially in the last two years in order to help us with this. 

With a much more structured team and distinctive areas that specific team members focus on, we have managed to introduce a more diverse team who can bring new skills and experience to the business. We now have a clear managerial team, a reservations supervisory role, alongside a new reservations assistance team and have also grown our housekeeping team to assist with the growing demand in stays. 

With new managerial and supervisory roles introduced, we have been able to focus on new innovative ways to sustainably grow freeing up certain staff members from the day-to-day running of the apartments; so that they are able to focus on finding new innovations. Our operations and revenue manager can now focus on continuously making our services better whilst seeking new relationships with new suppliers who are also extremely focused on sustainability. 

Urban Apartment remains committed to championing sustainability, continuously striving to minimize environmental impact while providing exceptional guest experiences.

Happy World Earth Day!

Published: 22.04.24 by Phoebe Clutton