Whitbread has opened its second sustainable Premier Inn hotel and the first low-energy Beefeater Grill in Burgess Hill, West Sussex, at a development cost of £6m.
The 60-bedroom hotel incorporates ground-source heat pumps, high-efficiency thermal insulation that reduces energy usage by 50%, and automated light controls.
Also, energy-efficient kitchen equipment has been installed, alongside rainwater harvesting, grey water recycling and solar panels to heat bath water.
The on-site 220-seat Beefeater Grill is using an anaerobic digestion waste recycling scheme to transform food waste into green electricity and biofertiliser for local crops.