How to Improve Sustainability in Hospitality in 2025 

Here at Access Hospitality, we hear the same message from our hospitality clients, and we help them build tailored solutions that help meet their sustainability goals while also increasing efficiency. 

In this article, we’ll discuss some of the key steps you can take to become more sustainable in 2025, and how you can focus on digital sustainability for big wins. 

The pandemic triggered a remarkable shift in consumers' preferences. Not only around things like accessibility and home deliveries but also people's perspectives on sustainability have shifted.  

Studies find that when it comes to other parts of hospitality, such as hotels, sustainable ways are crucial to 83% of global travellers with 43% saying they feel guilty when they make less sustainable travel choices.   

Customers aside, sustainability in hospitality is also incredibly important from a moral standpoint. As mentioned, hospitality contributes to global emissions and wastes a massive amount of food - 920,000 tonnes annually, precisely.   

Achieving true sustainability in hospitality requires businesses to go beyond the usual steps in their pursuit of effective and innovative solutions. Improving sustainability in hospitality starts with being strategic, leveraging technology to its fullest extent, and most importantly, putting an authentic desire to be more sustainable at the heart of your operations. 

There are numerous avenues that you can take, and the more you can achieve, the better off you will be - both in terms of sustainability and efficiency. 

When you’re working in hospitality, you’re likely to be surrounded by appliances that will run throughout the day. Here’s how to reduce your consumption and cut costs: 

In their bid to reach net zero, the the UK government continues to provide significant funding and support to help businesses become greener, with nearly £52 million in funding awarded in January 2025 to 25 businesses across England, Wales and Northern Ireland for innovative emissions-cutting projects. 

But that’s not the end of it. Companies invested in sustainability and energy optimisation could even go a step further by becoming a Virtual Power Plant.  

If you opt to install smart energy devices, renewable energy sources and energy storage systems in and around your sites, not only will you have your own supply of clean energy (reducing your dependence on the national grid) but you may also be able to support the grid by selling energy back to them, making an extra return on your sustainability efforts. 

As well as being more mindful about how you use food, something else you should consider during your menu review is whether or not you’re offering enough plant-based alternatives. 

Veganism and vegetarianism are growing, especially among the younger generations. Half of generation Z (50%) and over a third of millennials (36%) plan to follow a meat-free diet in 2025, compared to just 1 in 10 baby boomers (10%). 

While many vegans choose their lifestyle for animal-based morality reasons, many are also conscious of the effects that cattle farming has on the planet. The farming of cows and other animals contributes to 49% of all UK methane emissions.  

The meat industry also contributes to a range of other problems, such as:  

Consider swapping out some of your less popular meat-based dishes for plant-based alternatives. 

There are a lot of opportunities to recycle in the hospitality industry, beyond reusing water and making use of leftover ingredients. The hospitality industry is estimated to use over 289,000 tonnes of plastic each year in the UK, despite single-use plastics banned and restricted in 2023.  

Cutting down on unnecessary materials, such as plastics, can be done in a variety of ways, such as utilising glass containers for leftovers and ingredients, swapping plastic packaging for paper (or forgoing certain packaging entirely) or making changes such as installing soap and shampoo dispensers rather than purchasing individual bottles for each room.