Going Green with Pride – The Hotel Earns ECOsmart Silver
General Manager Christine Malcolm and Quality Compliance Manager, Rachel Browne with ECOsmart Award
The Maids Head Hotel is incredibly proud to earn the prestigious ECOsmart Silver award. This accreditation is from Greengage. Greengage are widely recognised as the UK’s leading sustainability certification for hotels and venues.
ECOsmart evaluates performance across five key areas of eco-friendly practices. These include:
- Energy & Water Conservation,
- Waste Management & Recycling,
- Rooms & Facilities,
- Food & Beverage and
- Corporate & Social Responsibility.
Silver ECOsmart accreditation is a significant achievement and is proof of the entire team’s passion and commitment to sustainability. ECOsmart Certificate
Eco-Smart Initiatives
Eco-friendly practices to date include the reduction of single use plastics. In particular changing the guest’s key cards from plastic to wooden, removing plastic bottles & straws from our bars, offering bamboo toothbrushes, to introducing environmentally refillable toiletries throughout guest and public bathrooms. Guests have embraced these efforts to go greener. They embrace using the dual-compartment bins in the bedrooms. Bins have one side designated for general waste and the other for recyclable materials. The recyclable waste is sorted into the appropriate collection bins by the hardworking housekeeping team at the end of their shift. This initiative has been highly successful, with enthusiastic participation from all staff members.
All departments now sort their waste into five waste collection bins. These are for food, cardboard, glass, plastic/tins, and general waste. Three universal EV charging points have been installed for both guest and staff use. The Hotel fully champions local producers, particularly in the Maids Head bar. This is fully stocked with local craft ales, locally distilled spirits and wine from local vineyards. Buying local enhances the guest experience and reduces carbon footprint.
You can find out more about these initiatives by reading our Sustainability Pledge.
Net Zero Waste Norfolk Champion
Sustainability Champions
These efforts are ongoing and on request from the team the Hotel has now appointed three Sustainability Champions – Housekeeper, Mandy Ames, Quality and Compliance Manager, Rachel Browne and Head Chef, Alastair Grand. Each committed to introducing and maintaining best practice.
General Manager, Christine Malcolm, said. “Silver accreditation is a huge achievement for us. It demonstrates the commitment of the whole team for the Hotel to become more sustainable. We will now work on the guidance received to strive for gold certification. The ECOsmart award also reassures our guests of the Hotel’s commitment to eco-friendly practices.”
Christine goes on to say. “We are now actively working on the Guardians of Grub initiative, aiming to cut food waste by 20% in the first month and by 50% within the year. We will also continue to support the local community and tourism initiatives as well as our staff nominated Charity of the Year. Each quarter we celebrate our Vision and Values – our Guests, our People and our Heritage,. This award clearly demonstrates our commitment to all three.”
The Hotel is fully aware that organisations are making greener business choices. This includes decisions on where to stay and where to hold a meeting. We are proud to ensure that we are meeting these demands and that our guests can now enjoy a stay that aligns with their eco‑friendly values.
Carma
Moving forward the Hotel has joined Carma’s “Doing Good Together”. This initiative empowers businesses to take meaningful climate action while supporting UK veterans. It is about planting more than trees—it’s about growing hope, community, and a sustainable future.
The Maids Head Hotel is incredibly proud to have earnt the ECOsmart Silver award. If you would like to know more, please contact our Marketing team. We would be happy to share our journey to achieving this accreditation marketing@maidsheadhotel.co.uk.