Welcoming Josh Renouf: Leading Circular Design at Lamington Group

As part of our One Planet Living strategy and commitment to achieving zero waste to landfill, we are thrilled to welcome Josh Renouf to Lamington Group as our new Circular Design Manager. Josh is an award-winning British designer known for blending innovation, sustainability, and functionality, known for creating The Barisieur. 

At Lamington Group, Josh brings his creativity to a new challenge: reducing hospitality waste and transforming it into ‘new’ purposeful and functional products.

Investing in Closed-loop Systems

Josh’s appointment is a key milestone in our continued investment in circular design, closed-loop systems and the development of a more sustainable hospitality industry. His work complements our broader strategy of low embodied and operational carbon, embedding regenerative thinking into every stage of development and operations while proving that circular products are not just impactful but also commercially viable. 

As the world’s first hospitality brand to commit to achieving zero waste to landfill, we’ve had to think creatively across our operations – introducing bespoke bins to improve waste separation at the source, composting organic waste on-site or biodigestion offsite, and waste-to-energy recovery for unavoidable general waste.

Reimaging Waste Through Design

In 2021, we began experimenting with circular design, creating a welcome table from broken shampoo bottles at room2 Belfast, coasters from bottle caps, and procuring carpets made from recycled fishing nets and light fixtures from orange peels. We also started forming partnerships with like-minded brands like Spared. to create bespoke sustainable furniture. These initiatives proved the potential of circularity within our operations.

Now, opening a new circular design studio in West London, Josh is expanding this work, collaborating closely with our operations at room2 Chiswick, Southampton, Hammersmith and Belfast. From key cards made from recycled plastic to the manufacturing of bespoke finishings, we will be creating our own in-house products that bring circularity into the guest experience and are available to the public.

The mission: Close the loop on unavoidable waste by turning discarded materials into products guests can see, use, and connect with.

As we enter the next phase of our circularity journey, we will conduct a comprehensive waste audit to understand our discard patterns and identify opportunities to intercept and repurpose materials through design. 

We’re thrilled to have Josh on board and look forward to sharing what comes next.