Hotelplan UK – the parent of Explore Worldwide, Inghams, Esprit Ski, Santa’s Lapland and Inntravel – has boosted its sustainability leadership team with two new hires.
Krissy Roe (pictured left) has been appointed to lead on sustainability for Inghams, Esprit Ski and Santa’s Lapland, with Ruth Woodall (pictured right) taking on the same responsibility at Inntravel.
Along with Hannah Methven at Explore, they will support Hotelplan UK’s director of sustainability, Prue Stone, with ambitious plans to reduce carbon emissions.
Roe joined this month, bringing 20 years of experience in travel and tourism, including 14 years at Responsible Travel.
As a sustainability and engagement consultant, she developed the sustainability strategy for Visit Kent; worked on a global social enterprise run by Unilever, FCDO and EY; and led the stakeholder engagement programme for a national review into the state of the social housing sector.
Woodall has worked in sustainability for more than 20 years across several sectors.
She joined Inntravel in May from Co-op, where she was social value and sustainability reporting manager.
Methven has been with Explore since 2010 and took on her sustainability role in 2021, while studying for a master’s in Responsible Tourism Management at Leeds Beckett University which she completed this year.
The team is supported by a network of 40 sustainability champions from across Hotelplan UK brands. These colleagues can commit 10% of their work time to helping the group’s people and planet initiatives.
Joe Ponte, chief executive of Hotelplan UK, said: “Sustainability is a huge field with a responsibility to create impact above and beyond our future viability as a travel company.
“To us, it’s a non-negotiable business function; which is why we are continuing to invest in strengthening our own resources and expertise as well as supporting and working with external partners to drive meaningful change.”
Stone added: “We are fiercely committed to delivering Hotelplan UK’s Climate Action Plan, so I’m delighted to welcome Krissy and Ruth to the business.
“Our expanded sustainability team will increase our efficiency in measurement and reporting, but even more importantly, it means more expert eyes within the business to scrutinise, challenge and relentlessly strive for continuous improvement.”