Beijing’s Peninsula hotel refurbishment achieves international BREEAM rating

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Hong Kong and Shanghai Hotels Group (HSH Group) sets a precedent for sustainable renovation with the BREEAM refurbishment of their seminal Peninsula Hotel in China’s capital.

In a complex feat of engineering and design, the Peninsula Beijing transformed its 525 rooms into 230 luxury suites during its 2017 renovation. Sustainable design features that formed part of the BREEAM assessment included re-use of many of the original materials in the façade and structure and use of recycled aggregates (25% of the overall aggregate used). HSH also achieved full credits in the BREEAM waste category by carefully managing construction waste on site and recycling and reusing 75% of the total construction waste. Other achievements include:

  • reduced noise and light pollution as a result of refurbishment
  • improved water conservation via dual flush toilets and deliberate exclusion of an irrigation system for the planted areas which means manual watering is employed
  • Proximity to good public transport networks and a travel information point which provides users with up-to-date information on local public transport routes and timetables.

This combination of factors means the Peninsula Beijing achieved a GOOD rating becoming only the third BREEAM-accredited building in the Chinese capital, and the first for a newly renovated hotel. It is also the first hotel owned by the HSH Group to achieve a BREEAM rating.

Celebrating the achievement at a ceremony in the hotel in July, Jaya Skandamoorthy, BRE Group Director of Asia Pacific and President of BRE China said “Congratulations to The Peninsula Beijing which has gone beyond typical best practice in design and refurbishment and is a great example of the enduring benefits of sustainable construction.”

Event host Clement Kwok, HSH Group’s Managing Director and CEO Peninsula Hotels said “Securing the BREEAM certificate is a significant achievement by The Peninsula Beijing’s engineering and operations teams, and it also reaffirms our group’s commitment to sustainability and being an industry leader in these standards. We are delighted that we can incorporate these elements in in The Peninsula Hotels Group, which are globally recognised as one of the best luxury hospitality companies in the world.”

The HSH group plan to continue its commitment to BREEAM for its three new Peninsula hotel projects under development in London, Istanbul and Yangon.

First launched in the UK in 1990, BREEAM is one of the world’s leading methods of assessing the environmental, social and economic performance of buildings and infrastructure projects. It also sets best practice standards for the environmental performance of buildings through design, specification, construction and operation.

Director of BREEAM Shamir Ghumra said “This is yet another significant milestone for BREEAM in China. It was an absolute pleasure to award HSH Group their BREEAM certificate at such an iconic hotel. The attention to detail and integration of sustainability design principles into each suite is fantastic to see. We congratulate all those involved.”

This important milestone has come about following the visit of Chinese Premier Li Keqiang to BRE’s London headquarter in 2011 (then as Vice Premier) during which he asked BRE to share the knowledge gathered over the past decades on sustainable development and help create a China-UK platform that enables leading Chinese and British organisations to collaborate and raise the standard and quality of green buildings and sustainable developments in China.

British Embassy Counsellor to China Stephen Ellison said “The Peninsula Hotel Beijing sets a high industry benchmark for luxury hotels in China, representing a quality building that is both good to the environment and the people who live and work within it. I look forward to seeing how the Peninsula Group continue to pioneer in their efforts to reduce their environmental impact and raise the standard of sustainability of the hospitality industry.”

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 NOTES TO EDITOR

About the Hongkong and Shanghai Hotels Limited : Incorporated in 1866 and listed on The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong (00045), HSH is the holding company of a Group which is engaged in the ownership, development and management of prestigious hotel, commercial and residential properties in key locations in Asia, the United States and Europe, as well as the provision of tourism and leisure, club management and other services. The Peninsula Hotels portfolio comprises The Peninsula Hong Kong, The Peninsula Shanghai, The Peninsula Beijing, The Peninsula Tokyo, The Peninsula New York, The Peninsula Chicago, The Peninsula Beverly Hills, The Peninsula Paris, The Peninsula Bangkok, and The Peninsula Manila. Projects under development include The Peninsula London, The Peninsula Yangon and The Peninsula Istanbul. The property portfolio of the Group includes The Repulse Bay Complex, The Peak Tower and St. John’s Building in Hong Kong; The Landmark in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam; and 21 avenue Kléber in Paris, France. The clubs and services portfolio of the Group includes The Peak Tram in Hong Kong; Thai Country Club in Bangkok, Thailand; Quail Lodge & Golf Club in Carmel, California; Peninsula Clubs and Consultancy Services, Peninsula Merchandising, and Tai Pan Laundry in Hong Kong. www.hshgroup.com

BRE Building a better world together: BRE is an international, multi-disciplinary, building science centre with a mission to improve buildings through research and knowledge generation. We are owned by a charity called the BRE Trust, which is the largest single funder of education and research for the built environment. We use our cutting edge collaborative research to develop a range of digital products, services, standards and qualifications that are adopted around the world to bring about positive change in the built environment. www.bregroup.com

BREEAM: BREEAM is the world’s leading sustainability assessment method for masterplanning projects, infrastructure and buildings. It recognises and reflects the value in higher performing assets across the built environment lifecycle, from new construction to in-use and refurbishment. BREEAM does this through third party certification of the assessment of an asset’s environmental, social and economic sustainability performance, using standards developed by BRE. This means BREEAM rated developments are more sustainable environments that enhance the well-being of the people who live and work in them, help protect natural resources and make for more attractive property investments www.breeam.com