We’ve made the switch to 100% renewable electricity.

With the COP26 climate summit coming to a close, we wanted to share with you some exciting ‘green’ news – we’ve switched to 100% renewable electricity!

Since October all our UK sites; from Plymouth to Carlisle and Cardiff to Colchester; are powered by 100% green electricity. This means that all 28 of our locations are powered through electricity generated exclusively from wind, hydro and solar sources. By switching to 100% renewable electricity, we are reducing our environmental impact by over 1,900 metric tons of carbon dioxide (tCO2e), which equates to 430 passenger vehicles driven for one year. Or the CO2 emissions from the energy used by 238 homes, over the same period.

As an eco-conscious student accommodation provider, we are mindful of the effects our operations have on the environment and the world around us. This is reflected by the concerns about climate change held by the vast majority of our 8,000 students, the Host team, and also our building owners and investors. We recognise being environmentally friendly is more important than ever before. If we want to live on a planet with clean water, fresh air and a diversity of plants and animals, we have to do everything we can to protect it and that’s why we’ve made the switch to 100% renewable electricity.

Simon Mansell, National Facilities Manager at Host, said:

“Our residents have been calling for more action on tackling climate change for some time and we felt that the quicker the move to renewable energy the better. We would like to thank them and our building owners for their support in reaching this milestone. Host is working harder than ever before to provide the kind of information that will help change behaviours and inform collaborative action that will save energy and make our accommodation more sustainable.”

Through the #HostEnvironmentalPledge we aim to promote joint efforts to encourage responsible and eco-friendly behaviour and drive sustainability across our sites throughout the UK and Ireland.

What is the #HostEnvironmentalPledge?

The main aim of this campaign is to save energy. We want to reduce the amount of electric, gas and water that we consume at our sites over the year.

Through small actions such as turning off your lights when leaving a room, unplugging chargers when not in use, or taking shorter showers, we can help make a difference to protect the planet we live on. In consuming less energy, we will contribute towards reducing the number of toxic fumes and greenhouse gas emissions being released into the environment. And in return for saving energy, we will also be donating money to charity.