Sustainability: it’s a big subject and a big headache and a big responsibility
Here at the Green Room and at
Cranmer Country Cottages we factored in sustainability and eco-responsibility
from the get-go of our business planning. Our vision was to “create a high
quality sustainable self-catering holiday destination while minimising the
impact of our business activities on the environment’.
Holidays don’t sit comfortably in
the ‘go green’ model. Transport is a major stumbling block if, like us you are
offering beautiful rural isolation as part of your appeal. Incentives to travel
‘green’ are never taken up (back to the drawing board there). Holidaymakers who regularly recycle at home
are less likely to want to bother on their holiday. We work hard to enable our
guests to ‘Go Green at Cranmer’ and have comprehensive recycling facilities but
if they want to dump all their rubbish in one bag, there is little we can do
about it. It’s OK to do a Rotweiller impression in the office but prowling
around the cottages checking into bins is an absolute no-no. However, we can pat ourselves on the back as
our supplier recycles over 90% of waste collected. So ‘A-’with some way still
to go.
Sustainable ü.
However, the swimming pool was always a stumbling block so this summer, with
much blood, sweat and tears and expense, we commissioned a 100kw biomass
boiler. Swimming pool ü.
Heating for the office and house ü.
Heating for the cottages previously running on calor
gas and oil ü.
We have no choice.
It’s been a steep learning curve
and we are happy to share our experiences with others, which we will do in this
blog. Please keep reading. And let us
have your comments.
Labels: bio-mass, eco-holidays, fossil fuels, green, recycling, solar thermal, sustainability, wind turbine