Bingham Riverhouse becomes first independent hotel to gain B Corp status

The Bingham Riverhouse in London’s Richmond has become the first independent hotel in the UK to gain B Corp status.

It means the boutique property has passed a rigorous audit of its ethical, social and environmental policies.

The Bingham is led by Sama Trinder and is one of the only black female-owned hotels in the UK.

It features 15 bedrooms with reclaimed furniture, a restaurant dedicated to using low-waste ingredients, a community members’ club and a wellbeing offering.

To gain the B Corp status, the hotel has relaunched its restaurant, changed energy provider, switched many of its suppliers across the business and updated all employee contracts.

Trinder said: “The process has enabled us to improve our environmental impact across all major criteria, including the health and welfare of all our stakeholders – both internal and external, and our entire supplier chain. 

"The world would be a much better place, if all corporations and organisations had to adhere to these guidelines.”

The Bingham’s restaurant is overseen by chef Vanessa Marx, who makes use of produce from the hotel’s garden and coffee-grown oyster mushrooms cultivated in the nearby urban Rooftop Farm in Wimbledon.

Marx said: “This is only the beginning, and we look forward to growing together, and have an even bigger positive impact on the environment.”

B Corp was founded in 2006 with the aim of inspiring people to use their businesses as a force for good.

It has grown to a network of 8,000 global businesses, including the Pig, Exclusive Collection, Pizza Pilgrims, Fallow and Houston and Hawkes.

Craft brewer and bar group BrewDog was certified as a B Corp in 2021 but pulled out of the scheme less than two years later.