UK: A hotel in Bournemouth has claimed it is the most eco friendly hotel in the UK.
The Green House Hotel has announced it is the greenest hotel in the UK because it produces “52 per cent less carbon emissions than the average hotel.”
The Green House Hotel opened in 2010 after a £5 million refurbishment of the Grade II listed building. During the refit the environmental impact of every decision was considered and principles of sustainability were at the core of the decision making process in the hotel’s commitment to achieving BREEAM accreditation.
The hotel has a long history of sustainable practices – In 2012 it introduced beehives to its rooftop and has since used the honey produced in its restaurant.
In 2019 Expedia named the hotel as one of the top 10 eco-hotels in the world. The hotel is a member of the Green Tourism Business Scheme and was awarded GOLD level at its first attempt at the environmental status. The Green House Hotel is currently undergoing ISO14001 accreditation.
Neil Carter, general manager The Green House Hotel, said: “We’ve always strived to be the greenest hotel in the UK, every decision we make is carefully scrutinised to make sure it has minimal impact on the environment. The hotel’s carbon calculation is based on our 2019 activity, pre-Covid, when we were running normally. This will set our baseline now for us to make reductions against for this year, 2022, the first full year of trading after the pandemic.”
The hotel’s website has a sustainability section where you can read about all the ways it strives to be as green as possible. For example, it produces its own electricity on-site using solar panels and a Combined Heat and Power unit (CHP).
CHP is a highly efficient way to use fuels and can make a significant contribution to the UK’s sustainable energy goals. The hotel also exports any excess electricity to the National Grid, and imports any extra it might need through its agreement with Ecotricity, a green electricity company building new renewable energy sources.
Other green initiatives and operations include The hotel’s furniture, which is made from fallen trees, beehives on the roof and EV charging points for guests to use (A dedicated Tesla charging point and a Type 2 charger for other electric cars).
There is a wildlife-friendly garden with bug hotels, native plants and bird and bat boxes.
Waste oil from the kitchen is made into fuel and coffee beans are composted for our community veg garden on site.
The hotel restaurant, Arbor, offers local, fresh, where possible organic food sourced from producers with high animal welfare standards. It features locally-brewed beer and spirits at the bar, and the wine list has been selected according to the carbon footprint of every bottle.
Staff are trained on sustainability, and suppliers are assessed against recognised environmental standards. The hotel is a member of Considerate Hoteliers, whose objective is to adopt sustainable environmentally friendly and socially responsible policies and practices.
Carter added: “We’re delighted with these results, to be producing less than half the carbon emissions of the average UK hotel is excellent news. We have been working tirelessly since we opened, and throughout the pandemic, to assess all that we do, to research new technologies and products, it’s a constantly evolving process, and these results are a testament to our team’s hard work”.
Considerate Hoteliers was recently in the news as it partnered with The Sustainable Hospitality Alliance on making the industry net positive.
Image: The Green House Hotel