Our inaugural environmental, social and governance (“ESG”) paper is a window into the actions we are taking to have a positive impact of the whole fabric of society. This ESG paper will help hold ourselves accountable, so we question our actions and challenge how quickly we are turning the tide. Read on below, or download the full paper as a PDF here.
At Turtle Bay we seek to recreate the spirit, warmth and magic of the Caribbean; embracing the food, drink and music of these beautiful islands.
Hospitality has always been about people, and Turtle Bay is no different. We try to create a special relationship with our team, communities, and guests, to make a uniquely positive impact on their lives.
Over the past few years, Turtle Bay has gone through a period of growth, not just through our expansion across the UK, but also in our determination and responsibility to ‘do the right thing’ and make a difference. We are dedicated to influencing the people we interact with and to help protect the natural environment we impact.
With this in mind, we are proud to release our first ESG report. These pages outline our ongoing journey to effectively influence a socially just and environmentally regenerative society. At Turtle Bay we are firm believers that the Hospitality industry has a part to play, and we embrace this responsibility.
We are fully committed to the long journey that we have started. As we continue to learn and develop, we will build on our purpose and continue to shape our relationships with our communities and the environment for the better.
Our hero is a 127-gram hatchling found lying on its back in a rockpool. It was missing one of its four flippers and had a hole in its shell. The rescue workers took the hatchling back to the rescue centre to assist in her recovery. Once at the centre, they discovered our hero’s injuries were far greater than those physically first observed.
For the next six days, the baby turtle defecated pure plastic. No faeces came out, just different coloured plastic that she had been eating as her initial food from hatching. With more than 8m tonnes of plastic dumped into our oceans each year, this a far too common issue.
It took the team of rescue workers a whole year to nurse our hero back to health before she was released into the ocean, but she made it and did return to her home. During her time at the centre the team of rescue workers called our hero – Hope.
Sustainability Partner – Tom Oliver became our first in-house Sustainability Partner in August 2022. As a dedicated resource, this allows sustainability projects to sit under a sole project lead to ensure they are delivered on time and within budget. Tom brings passion, fresh eyes, and enthusiasm to the role. He is a direct report to one of the Board members and is involved in multiple decisions made regarding how Turtle Bay operates.
Over the last year, Turtle Bay has made a conscious effort to become a more environmentally friendly business. We are at the infancy stage of becoming a carbon neutral (or even positive) business, one where we are still understanding the impact we have on the planet. Our approach to date has been on reducing our impact while moving towards renewables before finalising what, if any, is unavoidable and needs to be offset. We know that other hospitality companies have taken different approaches, focusing more on rebalancing their impact, but for us the main effort is to reduce. We have subsequently created four separate pillars, focusing our efforts on areas which we believe to be the most important in our sustainable journey.
Turtle Bay is aware of the link between energy consumption and carbon emissions. We have set out to make our restaurants as energy-efficient as possible.
Reduce
Renew
Rebalance
Report
The UK produces over 200 million tons of waste a year. With waste being the fourth biggest contributor to greenhouse gas emissions, Turtle Bay needs to do its part to limit this, to recycle/ reuse and innovate where possible.
Behavioural Changes and Reporting
Water Saving Controls
Waste Source
The majority of our sites waste are managed by a zero waste to landfill business, called waste source. They manage our different waste streams to make sure every item entering our business is disposed of sustainably.
Food Waste is processed to create Biomethane (Green gas), Bio-CO2 and fertiliser.
Dry Mixed Recycling is recycled to created products made of 100% recycled fibres and remoulded into new products.
General Waste is checked for any recyclables and any remaining waste is processed to create energy in Waste Plants in the form of electricity or heat.
Glass Waste is sorted, crushed and processed to create new bottles, jars or glass wool insulation.
We have taken active steps to limit our impact on the planet, making sure we have environmentally conscious products and practices to help with this goal.
BioHygiene Chemicals
Cooking Oil Management
Printed Materials
In any hospitality company, the supply chain is the most impactful aspect of business activities; an area where we know we can do much more. While we have already made strides in this space, we are committed to continuing our efforts to limit our impact within our supply chain.
Vegetarian dishes
Own Branded Beers
Turtle Bay is inspired by the rich and diverse culture, food, and music of the many islands of the Caribbean.
Our philosophy is simple: to be the best place for a Caribbean good time and create a place where people feel welcome, respected and that they can be themselves. Our Equality and Inclusion (“E&I”) strategy plays an important role in our overall vision. We aim to foster a culture of equality and inclusion where our teams and guests all have a sense of belonging at Turtle Bay. We provide opportunities for all team members at Turtle Bay to develop. Finally, we will operate with integrity, respect and empathy for our teams, and the communities we serve and operate in.
What happens at the table between the guest and the server is everything. The rest of the organisation is there to support this. Our people need to feel they are working for a truly unique organisation. We need to demonstrate this every day; in everything we do. Our One Love DNA is aimed at making people happy and it is really that simple at Turtle Bay, we achieve this through our core values.
We believe everyone is on a journey, and here are some of the ways we help them progress:
We also provide outside work events, parties, presents, celebrations, benefits and saying thank you to make sure our people feel our appreciation.
In the pursuit of sustainable business practices, Turtle Bay is committed to fostering transparency, accountability and ethical leadership at every level. By embracing a comprehensive approach, we recognise the pivotal role governance plays in shaping our corporate framework. We not only meet the regulatory requirements, but also seek to foster a culture of responsible management that goes beyond compliance, ensuring the long term resilience and positive impacts of our operations. The Board at Turtle Bay is made up of three executive directors and three non-exec directors, giving us good balance in our decision making. Each director understands they must act in good faith and in a way that promotes the success of the company for the benefit of its members as a whole.
Here are some ways of how we maintain a transparent and representative senior leadership team; making sure we effectively reflect our stakeholders and maintain ethical leadership at every level:
Thank you for taking the time to read our first edition of our ESG report. Some of you might be pleasantly surprised by what we’ve done to date, while others may feel we have not done enough.
What is certain is we acknowledge that there is much more work to be done. In the hospitality industry, we have countless opportunities each year to interact with our teams, guests, and communities. These interactions challenge us to improve and uphold our core value of doing the right thing. Sustainable practices have become increasingly important, leading us to take significant measures in recent years to reduce our ecological impact and support a more sustainable future.
Through initiatives, implementing energy-efficient practices, and reducing waste, Turtle Bay demonstrates its dedication to environmental stewardship. The company also prioritizes social responsibility by fostering a diverse and inclusive work environment, supporting local communities, and promoting fair labour practices. As Turtle Bay continues its sustainability journey, we plan to update our ESG report and be transparent with what we are doing. For us, we can all do much more and if others can benefit from using the ideas and initiatives, we are implementing then all the better. When it’s comes to sustainability it is not a competition. The power to create positive change lies in our collective actions. Together, we can make a significant difference in building a more sustainable and inclusive future for all. Together we have Hope.