IHG Hotels & Resorts has launched a Low Carbon Pioneers programme, to bring together energy efficient hotels that have no fossil fuels combusted on-site.

This group of low operational carbon hotels is the first community of its kind in the industry and will help IHG test, learn and share findings on sustainability measures. The ambition is to inspire other properties to join the programme and also help encourage wider adoption of carbon reduction practices.

Each Low Carbon Pioneer hotel will feature sustainable solutions such as high-efficiency heat pumps for heating and hot water generation, as well as fully electric kitchens. Every property will also have an operational sustainability certification recognised by the Global Sustainable Tourism Council, such as Green Key, or a sustainable building certification, such as LEED, BREEAM or EDGE.

The first Low Carbon Pioneer hotels span different IHG brands and locations: Holiday Inn Express Madrid Airport, Spain; Iberostar Waves Cristina, Spain; Kimpton BEM Budapest, Hungary.

Additional hotels will join the Low Carbon Pioneers programme across all regions and IHG is also developing a ‘low-carbon ready’ group of hotels in preparation for when it becomes possible to fully back all energy with renewables in countries or districts where this is not currently available.

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