Here at Carden Holiday Cottages we are committed to Going Green. We have a range of green policies in order to ensure the implementation of proactive measures to help protect and sustain the living environment for future generations.
We recognise the impact of our business on the living environment and aim to become more efficient and environmentally aware.
We consciously strive to minimise any detrimental effects as a result of offering holiday accommodation. In operating our accommodation business we will commit to:
- Comply with all relevant environmental legislation and commit to undertake improvements where required.
- The responsible use of water, energy and materials used in the operation of our business.
- Continued improvement by reducing, re-using and recycling in all areas including energy consumption, reduction of waste materials and water consumption.
- Seek out and work with suppliers and local service providers who also demonstrate a commitment to an environmental policy.
- Encourage all our suppliers and service providers to consider and develop an environmental policy of their own.
And through our ‘hands on’ approach to managing our business we will ensure that our efforts are continually reviewed and updated to ensure we stay aligned to the goals of our environmental policy.
Current actions in place
Energy
- Monitoring of all electricity and water systems on a monthly/quarterly basis.
- Replacement of all incandescent bulbs with low energy fluorescent, LED or halogen.
- Replacement of all ‘A’ and ‘AA’ rated appliances with ‘AAA’ rated
- Daily inspection of cottages heating systems in order to maintain sensible environmental temperatures.
- All heating switched off during times of cottage inactivity.
Recycling
- Paper, cardboard, glass and metal collected and deposited into local recycling centres.
- Reduction of waste packaging – buy bulk purchasing of materials and supplies.
- All surplus/end of ‘business’ life linen donated to local charity stores for reuse.
- Existing furnishings reupholstered with locally produced fabrics in order to raise quality and extend life.
Water
- Minimise toilet flush systems by the installation of water saving devices.
- Energy and water efficient showers used to replace existing systems when required.
- Removal of the garden sprinkler systems and watering by hand where necessary.
Transport
- Replacement of ‘fuel hungry’ large transport with more efficient small scaled vehicle.
- Use single vehicle to collect/drop off all weekend cleaning staff.
- Combine multiple shopping trips to single visit when possible.
Our Going Green Landscape
- Ensure our gardens are maintained to offer a range of diverse habitats suitable for birds, insect, invertebrates, mammals, reptiles etc.
- Maintain areas of ‘wildness’ to allow nature to expand into these ‘green corridors’.
- Ensure all new plantings are flowering/blossoming varieties that are both resilient to local climate as well as suitable for bee and butterfly feeding.
- Minimise the number of hedge pruning, tree lopping and grass cutting.
- Provide suitable food for birds during winter periods.
- Binoculars are provided for each cottage and information about the range of local birds on and around the settlement.
- Opened up our nature sanctuary around the Carden Lake with walkways and seating for guests to rest a while and observe the birds, swans, duck and if you’re luck deer in the evenings.
- Wild seed provided to feed the birds and to ensure they are not fed bread, biscuit and cakes which are all very harmful for them.
Action Plan
Energy
- Continue to replace all appliances with ‘AAA’ rated range.
- Replace outdoor lighting with solar powered LED system.
- Replace the last of the internal systems with LED systems.
Wildlife
- Consider erecting bird boxes onto the cottages walls to encourage nesting and breeding of local species.
- Hang ‘owl’ boxes in nearby trees.
Local Business
- Encourage guests to consider advance ordering of food and drink from local suppliers by using the connection on our website.
- Arrange ‘special deals’ with local providers for guests ordering in advance and via the internet.
- Provide guests information of the wide range of local cafés, restaurants and tea rooms.
- Continue to source and use local providers for all materials, goods and services.
