Oxford Thames Four Pillars Hotel awarded Gold for Green Tourism

12 February 2014

The Oxford Thames Four Pillars Hotel has been awarded the Gold Award for Green Tourism through the Green Tourism Business Scheme. The hotel has received this in recognition of its work and commitment to local sustainability and is the only hotel in Oxford to have achieved this accolade.

The Oxford Thames Four Pillars Hotel, under the guidance of Mairi Soutter, Deputy General Manager who heads up the 'Green Team', met stringent criteria to achieve the gold standard. The hotel excelled in areas relating to energy management, water saving, waste reduction, commitment to buying and sourcing local produce and also supporting the local community and charities. With its position overlooking the River Thames and Heyford Meadow nature reserve, the hotel was also recognised for its efforts and involvement in maintaining the meadow in collaboration with the Oxford Preservation Trust and the Berks, Bucks and Oxon Wildlife Trust.

Jonathan Oldroyd, General Manager at Oxford Thames Four Pillars Hotel, said: "We are absolutely delighted to win the Gold Award and also hugely proud to be the first hotel in Oxford to do so. The Green Team, together with the wider hotel team, have all worked so hard to win this and it is testament to their dedication on a daily basis to ensure we keep our environmental impact as low as possible whilst not compromising the standards that our guests expect."

The Green Tourism Business Scheme (GTBS)is the national sustainable tourism certification scheme for the UK and is the only national scheme to be independently validated by the International Centre for Responsibility (ICRT) on behalf of Visit England, Visit Wales and the Northern Ireland Tourist Board and endorsed by Visit Scotland and Failte Ireland.

Four Pillars Hotels has a further five hotels within its collection, predominantly four star hotels in Oxfordshire and Gloucestershire with an inventory of over 900 rooms. The company was acquired by a fund affiliated with Starwood Capital Group last month.