Scope 3 Emissions: A major priority for Hospitality Businesses

Reducing Scope 3 emissions requires looking beyond your own four walls. It means asking the right questions of every supplier: How do you consume water and energy? How do you manage waste? What are your emissions, and how are you reducing them?

Sustainability is rapidly becoming one of the most important operational and strategic considerations for businesses across the hospitality sector. While much of the early focus centred around reducing direct environmental impact, attention is now increasingly shifting towards Scope 3 emissions and the role supply chains play in overall sustainability performance.

For hotels, restaurants, spas and leisure venues, this represents both a challenge and an opportunity…

Firstly, what are Scope 3 Emissions?

Scope 3 emissions refer to the indirect greenhouse gas emissions generated across a company’s wider value chain. Unlike Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions, which relate to emissions produced directly by a business or through purchased energy, Scope 3 covers activities outside of a company’s immediate control.

In hospitality, this can include:

• Food and beverage sourcing

• Transport and logistics

• Waste management

• Outsourced operational services

• Commercial laundry and linen processing

• Supplier energy and water consumption

In many cases, Scope 3 emissions account for the largest proportion of a company’s overall carbon footprint.

Why is Scope 3 becoming increasingly important?

In 2026, Scope 3 emissions are no longer viewed solely as a reporting exercise. They are becoming an increasingly important commercial and operational priority for businesses across the hospitality industry.

This shift is being driven by several factors:

• Increasing sustainability regulations and reporting expectations: Governments and regulatory bodies are introducing stricter sustainability reporting requirements, placing greater pressure on businesses to understand and disclose emissions across their entire value chain. Hospitality operators are increasingly expected to demonstrate transparency around environmental impact, including the performance of their suppliers and operational partners.

• Greater investor and stakeholder scrutiny: Investors and stakeholders are paying closer attention to Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) performance when assessing business resilience and value. Companies that can demonstrate clear sustainability strategies and measurable progress are often viewed more favourably, while those lacking visibility over Scope 3 emissions may face increased scrutiny.

• Supply chain transparency requirements: Businesses are under pressure to improve visibility across their supply chains. Procurement teams are increasingly requesting sustainability data from suppliers to better understand environmental impact, operational efficiency and compliance with wider ESG objectives. This is encouraging stronger collaboration between hospitality businesses and their service providers.

• ESG commitments and Net Zero targets: Many hospitality brands have introduced ambitious ESG strategies and Net Zero commitments, but achieving these goals requires action beyond direct operations. Because Scope 3 emissions often represent the largest share of a company’s carbon footprint, reducing supply chain impact has become essential to meeting long-term sustainability targets.

• Growing customer expectations around environmental responsibility: Consumers are becoming more environmentally conscious and increasingly expect businesses to demonstrate genuine sustainability efforts. Guests are paying closer attention to how hotels, restaurants and leisure venues operate.

  
  

As a result, hospitality businesses are placing greater importance on understanding the sustainability performance of the suppliers and partners they work with. Operational services that were once viewed primarily through the lens of cost and reliability are now also being assessed on environmental impact and transparency.

The hidden risks within Supply Chains

For many businesses, Scope 3 emissions can be difficult to measure and manage because they sit outside of direct operations. However, overlooking supply chain sustainability can create several hidden risks over time.

Poor environmental practices, inefficient operations and a lack of transparency across the supply chain all carry real consequences, from reputational risk and rising costs, to difficulty in meeting ESG reporting requirements. As investors, clients and procurement teams demand greater accountability, the sustainability credentials of every supplier are coming under closer scrutiny.

This is particularly relevant within hospitality, where guest expectations and brand standards continue to evolve alongside sustainability priorities. Businesses are increasingly looking for suppliers who can demonstrate measurable environmental progress while continuing to deliver high levels of service and operational consistency.

How TDS Commercial can help Hospitality Businesses reduce their Scope 3 footprint

At TDS Commercial, we understand the pressure our clients are under. Meeting sustainability targets, satisfying procurement audits and satisfying the expectations of guests and investors are all part of the reality for modern hospitality operations. Our role as a laundry partner goes well beyond simply collecting and returning clean linen. We see it as our responsibility to ensure that what happens in our facility actively supports your environmental goals.

Here's how we do that:

• Advanced water management: In partnership with Christeyns UK, we have designed and installed a bespoke water management and filtration system that significantly reduces fresh water consumption through optimised water recovery. Saving millions of litres of fresh water annually, this system lowers both environmental impact and operational costs, with benefits that flow directly through to our clients' Scope 3 footprint.

• Ozone technology: Our wash process incorporates Ozone technology - a natural, oxygen-based process that cleans and disinfects fabrics at lower temperatures, reducing energy consumption and the need for harsh chemicals. It also keeps linens brighter and softer for longer, meaning textiles last more washes and need replacing less frequently. Our linen is carefully maintained to last at least 200 washes, which reduces textile waste and the upstream manufacturing emissions associated with replacement.

• Reusable cotton hampers: All deliveries are made using durable, reusable cotton hampers rather than single-use packaging. We actively encourage the return and reuse of plastic hangers.

  
  

• Independent quality assessment: Our processes are independently assessed by LTC Worldwide to verify fabric quality and durability. And in March 2026, following the latest independent LTC audit, TDS Commercial achieved 2^nd place with a 97% score in the latest National Laundry Group league table.

• Independent sustainability recognition: In April 2026, TDS Commercial was awarded an EcoVadis Platinum rating, placing us in the top 1% of companies assessed globally for sustainability performance, reflecting our ongoing commitment to responsible and transparent operations. For our clients, it offers independent reassurance of our sustainability credentials.

• Collaborative working: We understand that for many of our clients, being able to evidence their supply chain's environmental performance is increasingly important. We're committed to working collaboratively with clients on their sustainability reporting needs and providing the operational data that supports their own ESG commitments.

Choosing the right partners makes a measurable difference

Reducing Scope 3 emissions requires looking beyond your own four walls. It means asking the right questions of every supplier: How do you consume water and energy? How do you manage waste? What are your emissions, and how are you reducing them?

Choosing partners not just on price and service, but on verifiable environmental performance.

If you'd like to understand how working with TDS Commercial can support your sustainability goals and contribute to reducing your Scope 3 emissions, we'd love to have that conversation.