GREEN-thinking has helped a Stratford hotel strike gold.
The Arden Hotel, on Waterside, has been recognised by Green Tourism – a certification that has been assessing travel, tourism and hospitality businesses’ approaches to sustainability for more than 27 years.
Expert assessors provide certification via bronze, silver and gold gradings, with The Arden awarded bronze in 2023 and silver in 2024, before clinching gold this time round.
It comes after the hotel reduced its food waste by nearly 50 per cent in 2025 versus the previous year, thanks to considered purchasing, enhanced waste segregation and the introduction of composting on site, with other residual food waste anaerobically digested.
The team was praised for starting its own kitchen garden in the hotel grounds, with fresh produce grown and used inhouse for guests to enjoy when dining.
The hotel was also applauded for having a sustainable impact on the wider community by playing its part in supporting the work of important charitable causes – including donating £400 to The Stratford Food Bank, hosting a fundraising event with the Shakespeare Soroptimists to support a local women’s refuge, and sponsoring a local under-15s girls football team.
Sai Nathan, general manager at The Arden Hotel, said: “The team has really risen to the challenge of adopting environmentally friendly practices, and is a great achievement for a hotel that is busy all year round thanks to the beautiful location that it sits in.
“Guests love the fact they can consume produce grown in grounds associated with William Shakespeare – and just across the road from the Royal Shakespeare Theatre – and is just one of many ways that we have continued to improve our sustainability practices over the last three years.”
