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Green Audit Kit
Investing in your business and the environment
Green Audit Kit website: www.greenauditkit.org
Distributed by:
Countryside Agency Publications
PO Box 125
Wetherby
West Yorkshire LS23 7EP
Telephone
Fax
Website
Minicom
0870 120 6466
0870 120 6467
www.countryside.gov.uk
0870 120 7405 (for the hard of hearing)
© Countryside Agency 2000
ISBN 0 86170 625 0
CA 25
£7.50
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Green Audit Kit
Contents
Introduction
Tourism and the local environment – together they
make good business
The Green Audit Kit
How to use the kit
Involving your staff
Creating an environmental policy
3
3
4
5
6
6
Marketing – your business and your local environment 10
Background information
Step A – review your current activities
Step B – actions you can take
Step C – your checklist
Quality products – meeting market expectations
through environmental improvements
10
12
13
19
20
Energy and water
Background information
Step A – review your current activities
Step B – actions you can take
Step C – your checklist
21
22
24
28
Purchasing
Background information
Step A – review your current activities
Step B – actions you can take
Step C – your checklist
29
29
30
36
Waste
Background information
Step A – review your current activities
Step B – actions you can take
Step C – your checklist
37
37
38
41
Customer experience – maximising visitor enjoyment 42
Background information
Step A – review your current activities
Step B – actions you can take
Step C – your checklist
Further help
Other contacts
Regional tourist boards
Case studies
2
42
43
44
54
56
56
57
58
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Introduction
Tourism and the local environment – together they
make good business
Your tourism business consists of two key assets – the business itself
and the environment in which it operates.
The business asset includes all of the items in your balance sheet; it
also includes you, your staff and how the business is managed.
The environmental asset is integral to your business; it includes air
quality, scenery and landscapes, wildlife, the farmed and built heritage,
culture and the local community.
Your customers rely on both assets to deliver their leisure
expectations.
Countryside Agency/A Tryner
Your local environment is a key
tourism asset ....
Countryside Agency/M Boulton
.... however, it can suffer from overpopularity.
It is in your interest to do as much as you can to reduce the impact
of your business and that of your visitors on the environment. If your
surrounding environment is damaged it will affect your business, as
visitors will seek alternative places that better meet their expectations.
3
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Introduction
The Green Audit Kit will help
you reap the rewards of
investing in your environment.
This kit introduces a range of easy to follow actions that tourism
enterprises can take to invest in their business and in the environment.
The Green Audit Kit
The Green Audit Kit is designed to be used by all types of tourism
businesses, such as:
• tourism service providers (eg restaurants/cafes, transport/tour
operators, retail/gift shops);
• attractions;
• caravan parks;
• serviced accommodation; and
• other accommodation.
The kit contains tried and tested practical ideas to help tourism
businesses to:
• benefit from the attraction of the countryside;
• appeal to a new and/or growing market and ensure that existing
customers return;
• benefit from good publicity opportunities;
• find ways to cut costs;
• contribute to the local community and local economy;
• invest in the future of the local environment; and
• invest in their long-term future.
The Green Audit Kit will assist in making your tourism business more
competitive and more environmentally responsible. Adopting the ideas
in the kit:
• could bring you extra business – visitors from the UK and overseas
are becoming more environmentally aware and this influences their
spending decisions;
• can save you money – by reducing your running costs, such as
energy consumption and waste disposal;
• need not cost a lot – many of the suggestions here require
enthusiasm and a little extra time, but not a great deal more capital.
In 1997 a survey of Green
Audit Kit users showed that
an average saving of £1,525
was made by those who had
followed the kit and
recorded the savings made.
4
This is a new edition of the Green Audit Kit. Since its original launch in
1996, the kit has been used by hundreds of small tourism businesses
across England, many of them reporting substantial cost savings and
increased business.
As more and more businesses follow the advice in the kit, so the
opportunities for exchanging ideas will grow. To help this process, a
notice board on our website (www.greenauditkit.org) allows you to
share your experiences with others.
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Case study
Countryside Agency/T Burrows
Your customers are likely to share
your concern for the environment.
Nigel Way, owner of the Royal
Castle Hotel in Dartmouth, has
used the kit for several years
and continues to follow its
guidance. His operation benefits
from reduced costs and return
visits from guests who value his
concern for the environment.
“The early steps we took saved us
£2,000 in the first year. Guests really
appreciate the care we show and the
information we give them. I believe that
visitors are more concerned about the
effect they have on the environment
than many businesses give them credit
for. In short, the whole image of the
hotel has benefited from the approach
we have taken.”
The English Tourism Council, the Countryside Agency and Milton
Keynes College have developed a one day training course, entitled Green
Advantage, to complement the guidance in the Green Audit Kit. Green
Advantage courses will be run through a combination of providers
including colleges, tourist boards and local business networks. Further
information about the course is available from the English Tourism
Council on telephone 020 8563 3327.
For further help and contacts, refer to page 56.
How to use the kit
The kit covers three elements that are essential to any business, but
which are particularly relevant to the tourism industry:
• marketing – your business and your local environment;
• quality products – meeting or exceeding market expectations
through environmental improvements;
• the customer experience – maximising visitor enjoyment.
The aim is that each of these three elements should directly inform
and be influenced by the others.
The kit looks at each of these elements, identifies the important
issues and suggests a three step approach for action:
5
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Introduction
• Step A – review your current activities (so that you understand
where you are starting from). The checklists at Step C provide
a guide.
• Step B – look at possible actions you might take.
• Step C – use the checklists to decide what action you think is
appropriate for your business (both in the short and longer term).
The checklists present ideas that are easiest to implement first. The
further down the list you go, the more commitment is required from
you, but the greater the potential benefits. When using the checklist, try
to set clear and realistic targets, so that you can identify what you are
trying to achieve and can monitor progress. It is a good idea to set your
targets in percentage or monetary terms.
Case studies illustrating how others have put ideas into action are
included throughout the kit.
You can use the flap at the back of the kit to file local information,
interesting articles and leaflets that are particularly relevant to your
business and local environment.
Involving your staff
Involve your staff – they are a
good source of ideas and
suggestions for environmental
actions.
At the outset, you should consider appointing one person from within
your organisation to act as the Green Audit Kit ‘co-ordinator’. Better
results are often achieved if one individual has been made responsible
for monitoring and ensuring progress.
As well as appointing a co-ordinator, you should also try to make
sure that all other staff feel able to contribute to the process. They will
be able to come up with many new suggestions about how they might
carry out their tasks in a more environmentally friendly way.
Creating an environmental policy
Drawing up an environmental policy will ensure that you remain
committed to the Green Audit Kit approach.
The first step when preparing such a policy is to write a short
paragraph describing your overall reasons for becoming more
environmentally responsible. This will act as your ‘mission statement’
and will help focus your subsequent thoughts.
Then write down the actions you have already taken and will take
to achieve this end. One way to do this is to plan for three periods:
the next six months, the next year and longer term (perhaps the next
five years).
6
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Take pride in sharing your
environmental policy with
your customers.
It is useful to set a target date for achieving each goal. The more
precise you are, the less easy it is to put things off.
It is important to inform your visitors of your commitment to the
environment. Take pride in making your environmental policy available
to your customers.
To get you started, an ‘Investing in the environment’ notice is
included with this kit which you could display once you have carried
out some improvements.
Do not be surprised if your customers offer their own ideas or
identify areas where you are not meeting the commitments set out in
the notice or policy. Use their feedback to try to make improvements in
areas which are important to them and appropriate to your business.
Investing in the environment
We are committed to the care of the environment and have undertaken the following
Green Audit Kit suggestions for operating our business.
1. We have appointed
to be responsible for our programme of environmental improvement.
2. We have identified all of the light bulbs that are suitable for changing
to low energy, and have changed at least 25% of them.
3. We have checked our heating thermostats to ensure that they are not
set too high.
4. We have checked for dripping taps and replaced washers as necessary.
5. We invite visitors/guests to save water.
6. We buy recycled paper where possible.
7. Where facilities are available, we recycle glass and plastic.
8. We have maps and timetables for visitors, to encourage walking and
use of public transport.
9. We have started a programme to reduce waste.
10. We have a green notice board or bedroom browser.
We encourage our visitors to consider the importance of improving and protecting the
environment for future generations and invite you to make suggestions about how we
might improve our environmental performance.
Thank you.
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Introduction
This case study shows how a business has used its environmental
policy to involve its visitors.
Case study
Ord House Country Park is a large touring and static caravan park
situated in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. It is a David
Bellamy Gold Award winner for its commitment to conservation and
the environment. All visitors receive a copy of the Park’s environmental
policy on arrival.
Countryside Agency/G Skipper
Countryside Agency/G Skipper
The design of this new block, which fits in with the surrounding
buildings, helped the Park to win the David Bellamy award.
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Environmental policy and code for visitors
Ord House Country Park, Nr Berwick-upon-Tweed
We believe we have a duty to care
for the environment. You can help
by reading the code and following
the suggestions.
Energy conservation
We are gradually replacing all of our
light bulbs with low energy, longlife bulbs. We have renewed our old,
inefficient boiler with a new,
efficient one. Please try to conserve
energy whenever possible.
Thoughtful purchasing
We use recycled paper where
possible at present. We aim to use
totally chlorine free paper which is
either recycled or from a properly
managed source in future. We use
local producers or suppliers
whenever possible. Please think of
the environment before making
any purchases. Tourers should think
about using formaldehyde-free
toilet fluid.
Recycling
We recycle all of our waste paper,
bottles and tins. Garden refuse and
food scraps are composted. Please
use the bins we provide at the
main toilet block for recycling
bottles, cans and paper. Please
leave garden refuse that has not
been treated with weedkiller nor
contains seed heads, and uncooked
vegetable scraps that do not
contain meat or fish, in the bags
provided for composting –
available at reception.
Transport
Local environment
We use lead-free petrol or diesel for
all of our vehicles. The best way to
cut down on pollution is, of course,
to walk, cycle or use public
transport. Bus timetables and
details of our local paths and cycle
ways are available from our
reception office. Try to use public
transport whenever possible.
We are in an ‘Area of Outstanding
Natural Beauty’ and the Tweed
Estuary is a ‘Site of Special
Scientific Interest’, and supports
one of the biggest colonies of mute
swans in Britain. Many beautiful
places of enormous environmental
importance are a short distance
away – St Abb’s Head, Holy Island,
the Cheviots, the Farne Islands, to
name but a few. We care for our
local environment and are members
of the Berwick Swan & Wildlife
Trust, Northumberland Wildlife
Trust and the RSPB.
Flora and fauna
Caravan parks are becoming
environmental ‘safe havens’. In
urban areas, this is obvious, but in
rural areas it is also true. Many
farms use pesticides, insecticides,
herbicides, etc and have fewer
places for wildlife to live, such as
hedgerows, wild areas, old buildings
etc. They can therefore no longer
support the same amount of
wildlife that they used to.
We have planted hedgerows, trees
and bushes to complement the
existing mature trees and bushes.
We have uncut areas, dead wood is
left in places and bird, bat and owl
boxes have been built.
Details of many interesting local
places to visit are available at the
reception office. Please take the
time and effort to experience our
local environment to the full and
we are sure that it will make your
holiday even more rewarding and
fulfilling.
As a result, we are able to support a
large number of wild plants, birds
and animals.
Please respect the trees, bushes
and flowers – instruct your children
not to damage them.
Please respect the wildlife –
instruct your children not to chase,
harm, frighten or kill it.
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Marketing – your business and your local environment
Marketing – your business and your
local environment
Background information
There is a growing market for
leisure activities with an
environmental interest.
In order to market your business successfully, you must understand
your customers’ needs and develop your product to satisfy those needs.
Here are a few facts about the general public that indicate their
increasing interest in the environment.
• Research carried out by the English Tourism Council shows that
overseas and domestic consumers consider the tranquillity of the
countryside and England’s well-preserved heritage as two of the key
features that make England a unique holiday destination.
• Walking has become the nation’s favourite holiday pastime, with
four out of five holiday makers having walked for leisure while on
holidays or short breaks in the last three years.
Countryside Agency/A Tryner
Many people look for holidays that provide self-enrichment.
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Countryside Agency/D Burton
• The National Trust and the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds
have more than 2.6 million and 1 million members respectively.
• One in three adults owns a bicycle.
• According to the Soil Association, the UK market for organic food
grew by 40% during 1998.
• The Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions
reports that around 8% more train passenger journeys were taken
during the summer months of 1999 than in 1998.
Countryside Agency/C Bentley
Countryside Agency/G Parish
Your target market is already likely to have accepted many
environmental improvements in their day-to-day activities, such as
recycling household waste and the use of recycled paper.Your
customers are also likely to be aware of concerns about global warming
and climate change.
Leisure activities that include an environmental interest are now
mainstream and tourism businesses can capitalise on this. However,
those who encourage tourism must at the same time be aware of
their responsibilities.
Environmental interests are now
mainstream.
Do not damage the backdrop on
which your business depends.
Promote careful use of the
environment – your future
business depends on it.
In all of your marketing activities you should encourage careful use
of the environment, so you do not damage the backdrop on which the
success of your business depends. Indeed, your marketing activities can
help to offset existing and potential damage to the local environment
that visitors might cause. Promoting off-peak visits, encouraging
walking and cycling holidays and the use of public transport where
available, can all be presented as ‘added value’ rather than ‘second best’.
Green accreditation schemes, such as the David Bellamy awards for
caravan parks, operate in some tourism sectors. In 2000, the English
Tourism Council included an award for best sustainable tourism product
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Marketing – your business and your local environment
as part of its national ‘England for Excellence’ Awards. This national
award is based on criteria related to:
• relationship with host community,
• energy conservation,
• waste management,
• contribution to environmental improvements,
• encouraging sustainable transport, and
• visitor management programmes.
Contact the ‘England for Excellence’ co-ordinator at the English Tourism
Council on telephone 020 8563 3293 for further information.
Such schemes provide independent confirmation of a business’s
commitment to environmental improvement.
Countryside Agency/D Burton
If you’ve got it .... market it!
Step A – review your current activities
Review your current marketing activities. How successful are they? In
particular, are there opportunities for you to market your environmental
credentials? Can you adapt your product so that it will appeal to those
with a green lifestyle?
12
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Step B – actions you can take
Countryside Agency/G Skipper
Use your local tourist information
centre ....
Get to know your area
Visitors to your area may well assume that you and your staff know
all about the locality. There are many sources of free local information
available from tourist information centres. These should serve to inform
your basic knowledge of the area. There is also no better way to get to
know your area than to play the part of the tourist and get out in
quieter trading periods, especially to the less well known places.
Make sure that your staff are proud of where they work and know
about the area. Consider with them opportunities for attending relevant
customer care programmes, such as ‘Welcome Host’, which is run by
the regional tourist boards.
Advertise and promote
Countryside Agency/T Burrows
In order to be a successful marketing tool, your advertising and other
promotional material should show the quality and attractiveness of both
your business and its environment.
Staying guests are most likely to choose the area they wish to visit
and then go on to select their accommodation. Customers to pubs and
restaurants look for a mix of good food and attractive surroundings.
Many visitors seek distinctive local products that are not available at
home.
Add opportunities for careful enjoyment of the environment, such as
walking and cycling, and you create your own individual product and
Countryside Agency/T Burrows
.... and share the information with
your customers ....
.... to help them to get more from
their visit.
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Marketing – your business and your local environment
Countryside Agency/J Bayne
Countryside Agency/J Bayne
Countryside Agency/J Bayne
image that can be featured in your promotional material. Make use of
the seasons to create reasons for visits to the countryside all year round.
For example, flowers and gardens in the spring, butterflies in the
summer, fungi in the autumn and birds in the winter.
Countryside Agency/J Bayne
Case study
An innovative way to link with the local environment:
Opportunities to enjoy the
environment around Sandy Balls
Holiday Centre.
Try to envisage what your
customers might want and
enjoy. Make sure you can offer
them this – then publicise it.
MOUNTAINS
of delicious food
LAKES
of fine wines & beers
SPACE
to spread out, relax & unwind
and just outside there are mountains & lakes
and lots & lots of space
Bridge House Hotel, Grasmere 015394 35425
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Countryside Agency/S Warner
Let your customers know if they can
reach you by public transport.
Publicise your environmental
credentials when they are
established, they will add
value to your business.
If it is relatively easy to arrive at your establishment using public
transport, make this known in any promotional material. Give clear
directions and include timetable details and contact numbers of
transport providers. If you can offer lifts to or from the station, include
this too.
Once you are confident that your business has strong environmental
credentials that appeal to potential customers, publicise the fact in your
promotional material.
Consider targeting specialist markets, such as walking and cycling
groups. There is a growing sector of eco-tourists who consciously seek
to purchase from committed tourism businesses. Northern Europeans
lead this market, but the UK market is also growing.
Get involved in consortia and associations
There are a number of successful groupings of tourism businesses that
focus on the local environment and the opportunities it provides for
tourism and leisure activities.
Many of these groups use the environmental status of their location
to theme their association. National Parks, Areas of Outstanding Natural
Beauty, national and regional trails and Sustrans cycle routes provide
good opportunities.
Case study
Countryside Agency/G Skipper
Lake District Tourism and
Conservation Partnership,
‘Invest in the Lakes’:
“The Lake District National Park is
one of the most beautiful and unspoilt
places in Britain.We want to keep it
that way.The guardians of this living
landscape, the Lake District National
Park Authority and the National Trust,
work with private landowners and the
tourism industry to safeguard the
character of the Lake District for
future generations”.
This partnership has raised more than £100,000 since 1995 for practical conservation work in the Lake District.
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Marketing – your business and your local environment
Getting together in this way to pool ideas and resources enables
members to generate more marketing clout and a more cohesive
product than can be achieved individually.
Most countryside-based consortia promote the enjoyment that can
be had from walking or cycling in their area. Where public transport is
available, this is also integrated into the ‘package’.
If you offer short-stay accommodation and your area has a good
network of footpaths and bridleways or quiet roads, you might consider
linking up with another provider that is a day’s walk or cycle from you.
By working with five or six other businesses on a linear or circular
route, visitors can follow a trail knowing that there is accommodation
waiting for them each evening.Your group might also offer a luggage
carrying service, so that walkers and cyclists only take the minimum
with them and their main luggage is delivered to their accommodation.
Events and activities that are mainly for local people can also provide
opportunities for visitors to participate and contribute. This helps to
overcome possible conflict between tourists and those residents who
do not always recognise the benefits that tourism spending brings to
their communities.
Countryside Agency/D Warren
Increase the money raised at local events by encouraging visitors to come along.
Invest in your future by
contributing to a local
conservation or heritage
project.
16
You may also choose to subscribe to an environmental consortium
to further reinforce your commitment to the environment. Making a
donation to a local conservation/heritage trust, or sponsoring a project,
is a chance to put something back into your local area. This can be
considered as an investment in your future, as well as good PR. If you
want to find out more about current activity in your area, your county
wildlife trust, a local Groundwork Trust, English Nature or the
environment department of your local authority should be able to help.
Contact details for these organisations are available through your
regional tourist board.
....
All local voluntary organisations welcome people who can offer time
or skills. Helping a local environmental and conservation group would
make a direct contribution to the environment that you and your
visitors enjoy, and would show your business’s commitment to the local
community.You could offer your own time or that of one of your staff
members. How much time you can offer will depend on the size and
nature of your business.You may find it easier to get involved in your
quiet season/time – for example, a lot of environmental work needs to
be done outside of the summer months.
Countryside Agency/D Byers
Case study
As a millennium project, The
Norton Priory Museum Trust
undertook to grow 2,000 trees
from seed collected in its
gardens. Local schools,
community groups and
individuals were involved as
part of the national ‘Trees of
Time and Place’ project. The
trees will be planted in various
sites within the local area,
including some schools and in
new woodland being created
as part of the Mersey Forest.
Children planting trees for the ‘Trees of Time and Place’ project.
Use the Internet
The Internet is now widely used by tourism businesses to attract visitors
and to sell goods and services. Some businesses have used the Internet
to great effect. For example, one cottage letting agency achieves around
40% of its bookings through this medium.
However, using the Internet does not guarantee success and there is
a lot of competition from similar businesses.You should take specialist
advice about how you might best use the Internet as a marketing tool.
A search of the Internet for ‘walking holidays UK’ produced more than
4,200 sites to consider and even when narrowed down to a single
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Marketing – your business and your local environment
English county, Norfolk, more than 500 sites were offered by the
search engine.
Should you decide to proceed, make sure that your website address
appears on your printed literature. Subscribe to a service that enables
you to use e-mail, so that enquiries and bookings from customers can
be received and dealt with on-line.
Most regional tourist boards, some local authorities, the Farm
Holiday Bureau and other tourist associations have their own website.
Before committing yourself to one or more of them, it is worthwhile
making a comparison by logging on to them as if you were a visitor.
You should also consider the potential for links from your web
page to complementary web pages.
Case study
Hindon Farm, near Minehead,
use the Internet creatively to
promote their business and
the environment.
You are warmly invited to stay at Hindon Farm, The Webbers have farmed here for three generations. We are a 500 acre Exmoor hill farm in organic
conversion with many sheep, an Aberdeen Angus beef herd, and rare breed pigs. Home to S-O-D-S - Special Order Delivery Service, farming and
marketing our own products. Situated nestling between Minehead – the Gateway to Exmoor – (3 miles) and Selworthy Village (1 mile) – for scrummy
cream teas, on the National Trust Estate, in our own peaceful valley adjacent to the heather moor that goes up to Selworthy Beacon overlooking the sea;
the farm is within the Exmoor National Park, and in caring for our farm and this environment we have been granted an award for commitment to quality
‘green’ principles by the Park, helping keep Exmoor – ‘where the countryside meets the sea’ – a special place.
Glorious walks and bridleways (maps available) – with wild deer often spotted. Primroses grow in the lanes, bluebells and badgers in the woods, bird
watchers’ heaven, either wander our waymarked farm trail stopping with a picnic at the site in a small wood called ‘Tom Cat Brake’, or take the South
West coast path with breathtaking views of the rugged hills dropping to Porlock Bay and beyond along the Bristol Channel, or one of the many other
routes. In fact we think we have the best of both worlds – secluded but with easy access to amenities and Exmoor attractions including Dunster Castle
and Water Mill, Gardens, West Somerset Steam Railway, Wimbleball Lake with fishing and water sports, local Country Crafts and Fairs, Outdoor
Theatre and many more, we have brochures to browse through, or relax by the stream with a cup of tea or a glass of cider and read while the ducks
dabble and the peacocks ponder! We arrange at nearby stables, horses for riding (all abilities), or bring your own, DIY stabling/grazing available. “Hugs”
and “Kisses” – the donkeys – our dogs, cats and poultry which roam free, welcome well behaved visiting dogs – enclosed kennel runs if required.
Mountain bikers also welcome.
Lovely 18thC farmhouse with 20thC hospitality, we pride ourselves on our relaxed, friendly atmosphere, and as do
the swallows & skylarks return, so do our guests also return saying “this is a real farm with a true taste of country
living”!
We are recommended by “Which” Guide, and were featured in Country Living Magazine and on TV’s Getaway
Holiday Programme. Accommodation in Self-Catering or Bed and Breakfast both sleeping six, and available to
both, the “Farmer’s Breakfast”, our own bacon, sausages, home made bread, honey on the comb from our bees,
free range eggs and other quality local and organic produce, or pain au chocolat and croissants, fresh fruit and
yoghurt. Breakfast may be taken outdoors on sunny days.
18
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Step C – your checklist
Tick when complete.
First steps
■
■
■
■
Get to know your area, including details of public transport services.
Identify what makes your local environment especially attractive.
Draw up a visitor profile and consider your target market.
Select media (including possibly the Internet), pictures and messages
that will attract the target market.
■ Advertise and promote to the target market. Include local transport
options, where relevant.
Next steps
■ Monitor the response from each advertisement.
■ Develop your visitor profile information by ascertaining your regular
■
■
■
■
■
visitors’ commitment to environmental matters.
Get involved in consortia and associations.
Contribute your own time or that of a staff member towards an
environmental project.
Add your own business contribution (financial or ‘in kind’) to an
environmental project.
Consider joining with other businesses to make a bigger
contribution to environmental projects.
Promote your environmental credentials.
19
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Quality products – meeting market expectations through environmental improvements
Quality products – meeting market
expectations through environmental
improvements
This section puts the spotlight on your own premises and the way in
which you operate. The sorts of environmental improvements that you
can make are considered under three headings:
• energy and water,
• purchasing,
• waste.
Undertaking environmental
improvements will improve
the quality of your business
and the environment and can
also save you money.
Countryside Agency/T Burrows
Reduce, reuse and recycle.
20
There are many opportunities for saving money and resources in
ways which will improve the quality of both your business and
the environment.
The actions you take here form the basis for demonstrating your
green credentials to your customers. The more actions you undertake,
the more environmentally friendly you can claim to be.
Much can be achieved by working on your own, but more can be
done together. Enterprises working as a group can encourage each
other, compare results, lobby for environmental improvements and
make savings, for example by bulk buying.
Your local authority may have set up a waste minimisation club, or
there may be a business partnership in your area focusing on
sustainability issues, that you could get involved in.You can also obtain
information on all types of environmental issues (including energy
efficiency and green travel plans) at the following sources:
• the Environment and Energy Helpline on telephone 0800 585794
• ‘Are you doing your bit?’ at www.doingyourbit.org.uk
....
Energy and water
Background information
Countryside Agency/D Burton
Renewable energy sources reduce the
demand for fossil fuels.
Steps to save energy and water are often the first actions taken by those
committed to environmental improvement in their business operations.
These actions will not only save you money but will also, in
their small way, help to minimise the impact of your use of the
world’s resources.
• Energy comes primarily from fossil fuels (coal, gas and oil) which
you burn directly or are burnt to create electricity. Burning fossil
fuels is the biggest man-made contributor to global warming and
air pollution.
• Road traffic is responsible for 4% of the UK’s sulphur dioxide
(the major cause of acid rain) and 22% of our carbon dioxide (the
principal cause of global warming).
• Individual water consumption has risen by some 70% over the past
30 years.
• A dripping tap in an establishment with a water meter could cost at
least £20 a year in supply and disposal charges.
Countryside Agency/T Burrows
Reducing your energy
consumption will contribute
to reducing the environmental
impact of burning fossil fuels.
Vehicle emissions are a major contributor to climate change.
21
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Quality products – meeting market expectations through environmental improvements
Reducing energy consumption has two important effects. It will cut
your electricity and fuel bills and it will also make a contribution to
reducing the environmental impact of burning fossil fuels. Every
1 degree Celsius above recommended thermostat settings for winter
central heating (18–210C) tends to result in a 10% increase in fuel use.
Estimates by the Building Research Establishment suggest that,
starting from scratch, most businesses would save between 10% and
40% of their energy consumption (as much as £400 per room) by
becoming more energy efficient – starting with no-cost and low-cost
measures, which can save up to 15–20%, and ending with capital
investment in plant and equipment at the time of refurbishment or
new building.
Step A – review your current activities
By careful evaluation of
your energy and water use
you can make savings without
affecting the comfort of
your customers.
22
Before identifying what actions you can take, you need to evaluate
how much energy and water you are using and where it is being used.
You will then be in a position to consider where you might make
savings without affecting the comfort of your customers or guests.
Some of the steps you can take are very simple, others will need more
careful planning.
Consider setting up a monitoring scheme for your energy
consumption, rather than only relying on records from bills. Simply
check from meters the number of units used each month. This is a
useful discipline and it helps you to track savings and identify any
sudden surges in energy use. Taking readings on the same day each
month will allow you to make more consistent comparisons. It is also
wise to make a note of the weather (temperature/conditions) and
occupancy levels, so that you can spot any odd results.
To review your water use, the first step is to identify how you
currently use water and where it is wasted. Those with water meters
have a ready check of their usage. Those who are not metered should
use this ready reckoner to estimate the total amount of water they
presently use:
• toilet flush uses 7–10 litres (1.5 to 3 gallons),
• shower uses 35 litres (8 gallons),
• bath uses 80 litres (18 gallons),
• non-commercial washing machine uses 80 litres (18 gallons),
• non-commercial dishwasher uses 22 litres (5 gallons).
Source: Water UK
....
Case study
Countryside Agency/T Burrows
The Old Bakehouse restaurant and B&B made an annual saving of £750
on electricity by changing 20 light bulbs to low energy models, using
economy programmes on the dishwasher and two washing machines
and converting five bathrooms into showers. The owners, Colin & Holly
Burls, say:
“The Green Audit Kit has been very useful to us in making us aware of environmental
waste and has resulted in positive savings to our business – in the region of £1,450
per annum.”
Countryside Agency/T Burrows
Countryside Agency/T Burrows
The owners of the Old Bakehouse, Chulmleigh, saved £750 a year by reducing
energy consumption.
For most small businesses a car or van is essential for collecting stock,
staff and supplies. However, limiting its use not only cuts costs but also
helps the environment by reducing emissions and traffic congestion.
Make a list of the frequency, length and destination of regular (daily,
weekly, monthly) car journeys and their purpose.
Advice on energy efficiency
Free and impartial advice is available from independently operated
Energy Efficiency Advice Centres. Telephone Freefone 0800 512012
for details of your nearest advice centre. Hotel and catering
businesses can also benefit from a new free service offered by
HCIMA (the Hotel and Catering International Management
Association), which offers guidance on improving energy efficiency.
Telephone 020 8672 4251 or visit their website: www.hcima.org.uk
23
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Quality products – meeting market expectations through environmental improvements
Step B – actions you can take
Standard bulb
Fit low energy light bulbs
Equivalent energy
efficient bulb
100 watt
20–23 watt
75 watt
15–18 watt
60 watt
11–13 watt
40 watt
9 watt
Low energy light bulbs (often called ‘compact fluorescent’) are now
readily available from supermarkets, DIY shops and electrical shops.
These bulbs use around 80% less energy than traditional ones –
enough to make a real saving in your electricity bills.
Only a few years ago the cost of a bulb was around £10. Demand
has grown to such an extent that they can now be purchased for
around half that price. A wide range of different shapes is now available
– including candle bulbs.
The following calculation shows the total cost to produce the same
amount of light over 8,000 hours using an energy efficient light bulb
compared with a standard bulb.
From this you can work out the potential savings you can make by
installing energy efficient bulbs. Assume that the average life of an
energy efficient bulb is 8,000 hours, the average life of a tungsten bulb
1,000 hours and the tariff is 7.54 pence per kilowatt hour.
Install low energy light bulbs,
which are now available in a
wide range of different shapes.
One 20 watt energy efficient bulb
(8,000 hours x 20) ÷ 1,000 (1kw)
=
160 x 7.54 pence
Cost of bulb
=
£12.06
=
£6.00
Total cost
£18.06
100 watt standard bulb
(8,000 hours x 100) ÷ 1,000 (1kw)
Cost of 8 bulbs
Total cost
=
800 x 7.54 pence
=
£60.32
=
£5.60
£65.92
1. Savings for lower brightness bulbs are more modest, but they are still worth installing.
2. Low energy candle bulbs last less time than normal energy efficient bulbs. Assume an
average life of 5,000 hours.
Countryside Agency/D Byers
Install energy efficient light bulbs in
areas of highest use.
24
Over the average life of a 20-watt energy efficient bulb, a saving
of over £47 is made.
Put your first bulbs in places where the existing bulbs are on for
more than an hour at a time – landings, the bar, restaurant, and
overnight security lights.
Put your last replacement bulbs in bedrooms. Because they take a
second to warm up, your customers are likely to be more aware of
them and the potential savings are less because they are on for only
a short time.
....
For external bulbs, particularly where low energy types are not
practicable, consider daylight sensing light apparatus. These can save a
great deal of wasted light, while maintaining safety levels, particularly
during winter when light levels are variable (ie sunny days are followed
by gloomy ones).
Reproduced by kind permission of North Devon Marketing Bureau
Consider daylight sensing apparatus for external lighting.
Review your energy supplier
Evaluate whether it would be worth changing to another energy
supplier who may offer you a more competitive rate than your existing
supplier. There are also many which supply energy from renewable
sources. This could give you an added advantage both towards
decreasing your CO2 emissions and in advertising your green
credentials to your visitors.
Insulate your building
In some cases, 20% of heating costs can be saved by more effective
insulation. Top priority should be given to ensuring that loft insulation
is sufficiently deep. The minimum efficient depth is 6 inches
(150 mm). Also consider double glazing and wall insulation. These
measures can be expensive and you will also need to consider their
impact on the appearance of your buildings. Properly lined curtains can
provide very effective insulation and on cold days you should try to
ensure that all curtains are closed early to keep rooms warm.
Businesses with immersion heaters that have no regulator should try
switching off the heater for an extra half an hour at suitable times.
Buy energy efficient appliances
When you come to replace appliances, compare their energy use as well
as their price. Over the lifetime of most appliances the amount of
energy they use will be a substantial part of the overall cost.
25
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Quality products – meeting market expectations through environmental improvements
Many manufacturers now display comparative energy information
on their models – and any supplier should be able to give you written
information. Compulsory energy labelling is currently being
introduced throughout the EU for all domestic appliances.
The following calculations show the estimated potential savings you
can make from purchasing a more efficient appliance.
Assuming tariff costs are 7p/kWh and life expectancy of the appliances is (on average) 12 years.
Energy Rating A (more efficient)
Washing machine
Energy Rating E (less efficient)
Energy consumption: 1 kWh/wash
Energy consumption: 4.6 kWh/wash
Cost of appliance: £290
Cost of appliance: £150
No. of loads per week: 5
No. of loads per week: 5
Energy cost over life: £218
Energy cost over life: £1,005
Total cost: £508
Total cost: £1,155
SAVINGS MADE = £647
Dishwasher
Energy consumption: 0.8 kWh/wash
Energy consumption: 2.1 kWh/wash
Cost of appliance: £270
Cost of appliance: £189
No. of loads per week: 10
No. of loads per week: 10
Energy cost over life: £349
Energy cost over life: £917
Total cost: £619
Total cost: £1,106
SAVINGS MADE = £487
Fridge
Energy consumption: 60 kWh/year
Energy consumption: 380 kWh/year
Cost of appliance: £310
Cost of appliance: £190
Energy cost over life: £50
Energy cost over life: £319
Total cost: £360
Total cost: £509
SAVINGS MADE = £149
Freezers
Energy consumption: 100 kWh/year
Energy consumption: 600 kWh/year
Cost of appliance: £320
Cost of appliance: £160
Energy cost over life: £84
Energy cost over life: £504
Total cost: £404
Total cost: £664
SAVINGS MADE = £260
Use water wisely
Taking steps to conserve water
makes good environmental
and economic sense.
It is good environmental and economic sense to conserve as much
water as you can. Businesses with water meters will already recognise
the benefits of using water wisely. If your premises are not metered,
there is even greater onus upon you to use water responsibly.
If everyone in the UK turned off the tap while brushing their teeth
they would collectively save as much water in a week as it would
take to fill the Millennium Dome! (source: Going for Green).
26
....
Most of England’s water
companies offer devices for
WC cisterns that reduce the
amount of water when
flushed. They enjoy names
such as ‘Hippo’, ‘Soggy
Doggy’ and ‘Save a Flush’.
Although customer demands and some accommodation quality
grading schemes still require baths to be available, a shower uses less
than half the amount of water (35 litres) normally used in a bath.
A waterproof notice in bathrooms or a note in the welcome pack could
remind customers about how much water they could save by taking a
shower. Remember, however, that some power showers can actually use
as much water as a bath.
When you replace facilities such as toilets, consider the merits of
dual flush systems. In the meantime, most water companies supply
water saving devices such as the ‘Hippo’, a plastic bag which is placed
in the toilet cistern. These devices, or even a filled plastic bottle, save
approximately three-quarters of a gallon of water on each flush and are
therefore a practical, cheap and very effective way of saving water.
Similarly, if you upgrade your toilets, install spray taps and flow
restrictors for the basins and presence detectors for flushing urinals.
Businesses with gardens can reduce tap water consumption by
installing rain water butts and minimising the use of sprinklers.
Countryside Agency/J Bayne
Case study
Sandy Balls Holiday Centre is an English Tourism Council 5 star
graded holiday park. Sandy Balls has established an excellent
reputation for its environmental operations, which are evident
throughout the park. Great attention has been paid to
environmental improvements, including the installation of a watersaving microbore irrigation system to water some 100 hanging
baskets in the summer months.
Collect rainwater to use on your plants.
Cut down on use of the business vehicle
Where possible, order goods by telephone or the Internet and enjoy
free delivery from suppliers. A 20-mile round trip to a cash and carry or
supplier costs between £8–£10 in fuel and depreciation, depending on
the age and size of your vehicle. Cutting out one such trip per week
will save your business around £400–£500 per annum. If you do have
to use the car, try to combine trips to suppliers or collecting/dropping
off staff with other necessary visits.
Incentives to encourage staff to walk or cycle to and from work
(where possible), or to use public transport or car-share, will also
reduce car usage.
27
....
Quality products – meeting market expectations through environmental improvements
Step C – your checklist
Tick when complete.
First steps
■ Change 25% of your light bulbs to the equivalent low energy bulbs.
■
■
■
■
■
■
■
■
■
■
■
■
■
Concentrate on areas where lighting is on for longer than two hours
per day.
Consider changing your energy supplier.
Consider daylight sensing apparatus for external bulbs.
Check the setting on your central heating thermostat and turn it
down by 1º Celsius (unless it is already at 18ºC).
Identify any draughty areas and draught-proof those doors and
windows that need it.
Line your curtains and try to close them earlier on cold days.
Insulate your loft/roof space to a minimum 6 inches (150 mm)
depth.
When you renew equipment, use its lifetime energy efficiency as
a selection criterion.
Review how you use water and set annual targets to reduce use to
a minimum.
Check for dripping taps and replace washers as necessary.
Promote the use of showers rather than baths.
Install water butts in the garden and try to cut down on
sprinkler use.
Combine journeys and car-share whenever possible.
Review your targets.
Next steps
■
■
■
■
28
Set up a monitoring scheme for your energy consumption.
Set a target to reduce energy consumption by 5–10% per year.
Consider double glazing and wall insulation.
Provide incentives to staff to walk or cycle to and from work (where
possible) or, alternatively, to use public transport or car-share.
....
Purchasing
Background information
After investment in marketing, what you purchase and how much it
costs provide you with a significant opportunity for gaining a
competitive edge over your rivals.
Enhance your environmental
image through the products
and services you purchase.
Careful consideration of how you use your buying power can enable
you to:
• make savings,
• support the local economy,
• cut down on waste,
• reduce environmental damage,
• demonstrate a professional image,
• add value in your service to customers.
Step A – review your current activities
Start by compiling a list of your regular business purchases. For each
item ask yourself, or your supplier, the following questions and write
down the answers. Is the item:
• energy efficient? Will you save on running costs?
• over-packaged? Will you have to pay to dispose of unnecessary
packaging? Is the item available in bulk at a lower cost? Can the
containers be returned?
• damaging to the environment? When you use it? When you dispose of it?
Is it available made from recycled or renewable materials?
• available locally? Can you contribute more to the local economy? Are
locally produced foods grown, and goods produced, with minimum
environmental damage?
• enhancing your professional image? Does it add value to your service?
Ask your suppliers to work with you to enhance your environmental
image in the products and services they supply to you – if necessary by
sourcing new products. If you are not satisfied, look for other suppliers
who can provide you with what you want.Your environmental product
list will change over time, so it needs to be regularly monitored and
reviewed by you or a member of your staff.
29
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Quality products – meeting market expectations through environmental improvements
Step B – actions you can take
Cut down on packaging
It is important to share
with your guests the reasons
behind the steps you are
taking to care for the
environment .... it will add
value to your customer
service.
Packaging is one of the biggest contributors to waste. Plastics are
particularly damaging because they are not normally biodegradable and
are mainly derived from non-renewable resources, such as oil.You can
cut down on packaging through your purchasing decisions.
Consider both:
• how you receive items from suppliers,
• how you present them to your customers.
Avoid small plastic packages and containers. By buying items in bulk,
you will make good cost and waste savings and you can demonstrate
your quality image by dispensing them in attractive refillable containers.
This can be applied to both food and toiletries.
Case study
Strattons Hotel, recently honoured with ‘The Queen’s Award for Enterprise’ for environmental achievement,
reduced its expenditure on guest bathroom toiletries from over £1,000 to £180 a year by changing from
individual miniatures to Body Shop dispenser systems. Derwentwater Hotel has the same policy and saves
£1,300 each year by using one litre containers from the Body Shop – their size deters theft.
Countryside Agency/D Burton
A Orr/reproduced by kind permission of Strattons Hotel
30
....
Countryside Agency/T Burrows
Where items are delivered to you regularly by the same supplier,
use a container that can be returned to them and reused when they
make their next delivery.
If you sell directly to visitors, try to cut down on wrapping or
carrier bags. Use paper rather than plastic where possible. Many
customers appreciate being asked whether they actually want a bag.
Some of the main supermarkets have taken a lead in this and encourage
regular customers either to use their special reusable boxes or to bring
back their carrier bags on future visits.
Choose environmentally friendly paper
Have your goods delivered in reusable
containers.
Select recycled paper
wherever possible for your
stationery needs; this can
be one of your most visible
actions.
Your business will need paper for a variety of uses: headed notepaper,
brochures, invoices, sales tickets, menu cards, stock lists, and in kitchens
and bathrooms. In each case, try to choose the most environmentally
friendly option available for the quality you need. Remember that many
visitors will applaud you for using recycled paper and this is one of
your most visible actions.
If you choose new paper (virgin pulp), look for paper that is known
to have come from a properly managed source and is totally chlorine
free (TCF).
A wide range of recycled paper is available. When making your
choice, you should check on its previous use and grade.
• ‘Pre-consumer waste’ refers to paper made largely from off-cuts
from the paper mill, recycled during the papermaking process.
Using this has little effect on the amount of paper being dumped.
• ‘Post-consumer waste’ means the paper has actually been used
before for something. Using this makes the biggest difference to the
amount of paper actually dumped.
Quality varies according to the grade of waste in the recycled product.
High-grade waste, such as pre-used computer paper, can give a highquality recycled paper that may or may not be de-inked. Low-grade
waste, such as recycled newspapers, is suitable for making kitchen and
toilet rolls, but not appropriate for most letterhead paper.
When creating letterheads, brochures and other quality printed
items, select a printer who is aware of environmental issues and
eco-labelling schemes and can help you to make your choice. Ask to
see a range of papers. Check whether the printers have their own
environmental policy.
This kit is printed on Greencoat comprising 80% recycled fibre
(60% post-consumer waste, 20% converted waste) and 20% virgin fibre.
Totally chlorine free (TCF).
31
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Quality products – meeting market expectations through environmental improvements
Use local suppliers
When choosing between suppliers, consider whether it is a local
company or one where the profits are taken out of the area. Using local
producers and services to supply your business has many advantages.
It will:
• add to the local distinctiveness of your business,
• help the local economy in your area,
• cut down on unnecessary transport in delivery.
Using local suppliers of goods
and services helps keep your
community thriving and
attractive to your customers.
Try to use local producers or suppliers who are based within a 50-mile
radius of your business. A growing number of areas have local groups of
craftmakers or food producers with whom you could work.
When carrying out building work, use a local firm. Not only are
you securing employment in your community but, in the event of an
emergency, the builder is also more likely to respond quickly if you are
an existing customer. Similarly, if you are planning to refit or refurnish
your premises, try to find a local supplier who can give it an
individual look.
Reproduced by kind permission of The National Trust
Case study
The National Trust-owned
Brancaster Millennium Activity
Centre has recently been
converted from a residential
property. Local artists and
craftspeople were commissioned
to produce the fixtures and
fittings along local themes,
using recycled or natural
materials.
This fish mobile was made from
aluminium cans by a local artist.
If you operate in a rural area, your trade might be important for
some of your suppliers. If there is a village post office, for example,
consider how you and your visitors can help to keep it open. Look at
the whole range of services offered and consider whether your business
might be helped by their proximity. Even if you do not bank
commercially with the village post office, you may choose to open an
account, so that you always have access to a cash supply without having
to travel for miles.
32
....
Countryside Agency/R Pilgrim
Support local businesses ....
.... they also provide facilities for your
customers ....
Countryside Agency/R Pilgrim
.... use it or lose it!
Countryside Agency/T Bunney
Add local flavour to your menu.
Buy fuel from your local filling station, even if it costs slightly more.
The short-term gain of buying from your supermarket will be more
than negated if the local facility has to close.
You may be a member of a tourism association that could consider
joint purchasing of local products.
Remember that, whichever business you are in, reciprocal trading is
far more likely if you deal with a local supplier.
Source local food and drink
Mainland European countries are very skilled at using local produce in
their marketing to create a quality image for their catering. Equally good
opportunities exist in England for individual catering operators to build
a reputation for offering good local food. There are several local food
groups and some regional groups that can provide a source for a range
of distinctive products.
33
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Quality products – meeting market expectations through environmental improvements
Countryside Agency/M Osborne
If your establishment is in the countryside, there is a direct link
between the farming community and your business. Beautiful
countryside is often visitors’ main reason for choosing your location.
Farming activities shape the scenery your visitors enjoy. By buying local
or regional farm products you can help the viability of those farms and,
in so doing, help secure the working future of the countryside.
Case study
The Taste of Wayland Food Forum, based at Watton in Norfolk, is
providing a new promotional tool for tourism businesses, while
helping to protect the future of the landscape and the local economy.
The partnership of producers, the hospitality industry and retailers
helps to promote local food. At a recent event, ‘The Taste of Wayland
Late Breakfast’, all ingredients except the tea and coffee were
sourced locally.
Farmers’ markets offer a good source
of fresh, local produce.
Go organic
Offering local, farm-produced
food can create a marketing
opportunity for you and help
farmers maintain the local
landscape.
Countryside Agency/D Burton
Organic food is becoming much more popular and, hence, more widely
available. Customers’ concerns about food additives and genetic
modification provide caterers with opportunities to gain a competitive
advantage by offering organic food. Bear in mind, though, that there is
sometimes a premium to be paid and not all food products are available
in the quantity and quality you might need to maintain standards.
34
Countryside Agency/D Burton
Lynford Hall hotel and
conference centre decided to
make organic food their unique
selling point. The grounds are
used to grow a large
proportion of the restaurant’s
needs, the bar sells organic
beers and the wine list
contains a range of organic
wines and champagnes.
Customers have reacted so
positively that the owners now
plan to convert a Victorian
kitchen into a presentation
kitchen for tasting organic
produce.
Countryside Agency/D Burton
Case study
Organic food and drink is a major attraction of
Lynford Hall Hotel.
....
Case study
Ord House Country Park is a
large caravan park within an
Area of Outstanding Natural
Beauty. It uses
environmentally friendly
cleaning materials where
possible and encourages its
visitors to use formaldehydefree toilet fluid.
Even though it may not be commercially possible to offer a totally
organic menu all of the time, you may choose a policy of ‘organic first’
and this should be communicated to your customers. If organic food is
offered as an option, you should seek to ensure that your non-organic
food is GM-free – visitors who are attracted by organic food also tend
to want GM-free food.
Organic produce is also increasingly available locally, direct from the
farm or at farmers’ markets, and many suppliers offer boxed deliveries
or mail order. There are some confusing labelling methods, but one to
trust is the mark of the Soil Association.
Local support for organic farming methods has a direct effect on the
quality of your local environment and may also encourage new interest
from other growers in your area.
Buy green cleaning products
Choosing environmentally responsible products is difficult in the
absence of a properly regulated labelling system. However, common
sense is the best guide. Some companies produce green versions of their
mainstream products. Ask your suppliers for details and, ideally, choose
a company that only produces environmentally responsible products,
such as ‘Ecover’.
Buy and run a greener vehicle
When it comes to changing your vehicle, use the following guide to
help you make a decision.
• Fuel efficiency – should be your first criterion. Small cars are usually
more fuel efficient than large ones.
• Fuel type – electric and compressed natural gas fuels combine
efficiency and low emissions. Unleaded petrol with a car with a
catalytic converter decreases your car’s pollution. Diesel engines offer
higher fuel economy, but emit smoke that is carcinogenic and toxic,
so green diesel alternatives should be used.
• Disposal – should your current vehicle need to be broken up, rather
than sold for further use, select a reputable scrap dealer who will see
to it that parts are properly disposed of or resold.
In terms of ongoing vehicle maintenance:
• ensure that your car is serviced at the intervals recommended by the
manufacturer, as a poor-running engine will be fuel inefficient and
create more emissions;
• increasing numbers of reconditioned parts can now be purchased at
a considerable saving compared with the price for new.
35
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Quality products – meeting market expectations through environmental improvements
Step C – your checklist
Tick when complete.
First steps
■ Make a list of your regular purchases for the business.
■ Try to cut down on packaging for three items (shops handling a
■
■
■
■
■
■
large range of stock might start with ten items). For example, can
you buy the product in bulk or in more efficient packaging?
Identify two products or services that could be sourced from a local
supplier, rather than a distant one.
Buy recycled paper products – start with one business item and one
that your visitors will use.
Set yourself a target that all your cleaning products should be
environmentally friendly by the end of six months.
If you are in catering:
• identify two items that you might source from a local or
regional supplier;
• use organic meat and vegetables whenever possible;
• minimise the use of chemicals on your land if you grow your
own produce;
• if the products you grow or buy are local or organic, tell your
customers.
If you provide self-catering accommodation:
• give your customers information about where they can buy local
or organic produce.
Review your targets.
Next steps
■ Continue to review any new products chosen. Assess them on cost,
performance and customer response. If you are satisfied with the
changes you have made, try changing two or three other products.
■ Source a printer who is aware of environmental issues and
ecolabelling schemes.
■ When buying a replacement vehicle, spend time comparing
environmental performance before deciding.
36
....
Waste
Background information
Reuse and recycle whatever
you can and reduce the cost
of trade waste collection.
Waste disposal is a major challenge. Ever increasing amounts of waste
are going into landfill sites, or into the sea.You can help by reducing
the amounts you throw away.
Cutting down on waste starts at the point of purchase. Unnecessary
packaging costs twice – you pay to buy it in the first place and then for
it to be taken away.
Many good catering and accommodation providers deliberately avoid
packaged items, such as individually wrapped soaps and portions of
butter. This helps to demonstrate their environmental credentials.
Waste collection can be a substantial cost for many businesses and
all trading will generate some waste. By removing from your refuse
what you can deal with yourself, the cost of trade waste collection can
be reduced.
Remember that waste products also include those discharged into
the water system, such as cleaning products carried by wastewater or
chemicals washed from your land into a watercourse.
Question whether or not you can reuse some items rather than
throwing them away. Consider giving household items to a local charity
shop, so that they can continue to be used.
Step A – review your current activities
The cost of waste is not easy to identify, yet the amount of waste you
produce is one of your most reliable environmental indicators. Look at
what you throw away – can it be reduced, reused or recycled?
As a first step, measure the amount of waste you put out for
collection. While this may seem time-consuming, it is important to have
a record of how much waste is leaving the premises.You can then set a
target to reduce the waste that leaves your premises by, say, 5% per year.
Staff often find this an interesting challenge and it can generate many
good ideas. Some businesses use prepaid refuse sacks and bins for their
trade waste collections, so reducing the amount of waste they produce
makes visible savings.
37
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Quality products – meeting market expectations through environmental improvements
Step B – actions you can take
Countryside Agency/D Byers
Establish a recycling culture –
Boardmans recycle all plastic, glass
and aluminium.
Recycle what you can
Your ability to do this successfully will largely depend on the facilities
provided locally.
Small and seasonal business-rated premises may be unable to use the
recycling facilities for households and cannot afford the commercial
tariffs for separated trade waste services. Where this occurs, you should
discuss the problem with the Local Agenda 21 officer at your local
council to see whether a compromise solution can be worked out.
Glass – first make sure that you have reused as many of the glass
items as you can. Separate them by colour for disposal at a bottle bank
or for collection; blue glass can rarely be recycled, clear glass is the best
for recycling.
Paper – before sending your newspapers, magazines and scrap paper
for recycling, consider whether they can be reused. Paper with text on
only one side can be reversed for use as scrap paper or stapled to make
memo or jotter pads. Best quality paper can be reused for printing out
draft letters. Reusing envelopes with adhesive address labels is cost
effective and very acceptable for many purposes.
Metal – for most businesses this relates to food and drink can
disposal. Where your separated waste is costed on the number of bags
or containers that are disposed of, it makes sense to consider investing
in a can crusher to keep the bulk to a minimum.
Plastic – plastic bottles should be compressed to reduce their
volume before disposal. At present, plastic recycling is offered in very
few places.
Case study
The Gibbon Bridge Hotel has adopted several recycling practices –
bottles are recycled, kitchen cooking oil is taken away by a specialist
company for recycling, and the owner is discussing opportunities for
recycling paper with the local school.
Case study
Fax paper at Strattons Hotel is used four times! Following its
original use as a faxed message, the telephone log is printed on the
reverse side (printer set at ‘faint’). The paper is then cut up into
scrap to form restaurant pads and finally it is composted before
being used on the garden.
38
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Compost vegetable matter
Countryside Agency/D Byers
Local horse manure provides good
organic fertiliser for the walled garden
at Norton Priory Museum.
Convert your organic waste
into free compost for your
garden.
Vegetable matter or garden cuttings can be composted rather than
thrown away. Even paper can be composted, although some methods are
not suitable for this (see below). When dumped in landfill sites this sort
of waste rots. It could become explosive, emit a greenhouse gas and
develop unpleasant discharges that can affect water supplies.
Properly compacted organic waste provides free and useful garden
compost and cuts the volume of your rubbish.
There are several types of composter and it is important to
distinguish between them. Properly run composters do not attract
vermin nor smell unpleasant.Your local authority should have lists of
suppliers or may provide composters themselves.
• Wormeries – These are enclosed bins that have their own worms to
do the job of digesting vegetable waste. However, they do not take
meat or paper. They are fascinating to children and, because of this,
make a good choice for a self-catering site where youngsters can be
encouraged to ‘help feed the worms’. They are not suitable for large
quantities of waste (ie over two kilos per day).
• Digesters – The ‘Green Cone’ is the most common of these. They use
solar heat to help compost organic waste directly into the soil. Very
simple to set up and maintain, they will take most organic waste
except paper. As with wormeries, their capacity is limited to
approximately two kilos per day – so a large business might need
several. They are, however, especially useful to place next to caravan
or camping pitches, so waste can be dropped in just outside
the door.
• Intensive composters – There are a wide range designed to promote
the composting of organic wastes. Usually needing the input of
some amount of garden waste, they need to be fed regularly and
properly maintained. They have lids or doors that shut off access,
which is most important if you are composting food wastes.
• Traditional compost heaps – These are fine for most domestic
volumes of vegetable wastes but, because they are usually easily
accessible, should not be used for cooked food waste.
39
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Quality products – meeting market expectations through environmental improvements
Case study
Lincombe Hall, a Georgian mansion with extensive grounds, is a
three star hotel. It has a comprehensive composting scheme. It started with a pilot scheme
using three composters: a wormery, a Green Cone and a traditional composter. The kitchen staff were
encouraged to use and monitor the progress of each type. The combination of a Green Cone digester and the
bigger compost heap was found to be most effective. The resulting compost is used around the grounds and in the
small organic garden where vegetables are grown for the kitchen.
Countryside Agency/T Burrows
Countryside Agency/T Burrows
Countryside Agency/T Burrows
Countryside Agency/T Burrows
Lincombe Hall Hotel uses its organic waste to make fertiliser for its plants.
40
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Step C – your checklist
Tick when complete.
First steps
■ Record the weight of the rubbish sacks generated by your business
each week for four weeks to get a reliable average weight.
■ Set up systems for recycling:
• glass;
• paper;
• metal; and, where possible,
• plastic.
Larger businesses could try to get the local authority to site a glass
recycling bin or bins nearby.
■ Begin to reuse paper and envelopes for office tasks.
■ Set up a compost heap or wormery for part of your organic waste.
Next steps
■ Weigh your rubbish sacks again and note how the weight
■
■
■
■
has changed.
Seek the views of your staff on the steps already taken. Listen to what
they have to say. They are not likely to use systems unless it is easy to
do so and they may come up with new and very practical ideas.
Find a productive use for the compost you are making. Increase the
capacity of your composting system, if necessary, to cope with all
organic waste.
Consider ways to involve your visitors (see next section on
customer experience).
Check which persistent chemicals and substances are being put into
the water supply from your business and consider how these could
be reduced or replaced.
41
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Customer experience – maximising visitor enjoyment
Customer experience – maximising
visitor enjoyment
We have shown in the previous section how your environmental
decisions can provide the foundation for developing a better business.
This section shows how those decisions can increase your
customers’ enjoyment.
Background information
Your business is judged on the standard of the goods and services you
sell, as well as the welcome you provide to your visitors.
Countryside Agency/T Burrows
Staff at the Royal Castle Hotel talk to
guests about the hotel’s
environmental policies.
42
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Make sure your customers
understand that you are
taking actions to invest in the
environment – not because
you wish to save money.
This kit does not advocate compromise of the standards you set
for your establishment. By undertaking steps to become more
environmentally friendly, you are demonstrating a high standard of care
that will add to the customer’s experience.
If you have taken steps to manage your business in an
environmentally responsible way, tell your visitors. It is important that
they understand that you have taken these steps as an investment in the
environment, not simply because you wish to save money. Many will
be delighted and impressed. In fact some may have chosen your
establishment before others because of this.
Your staff are the front line of contact with your customers. How
well staff care for guests is often the basis on which people judge the
business. Make sure that staff and members of your family are
completely familiar with, and involved in, your environmental policies.
They should be able to talk to customers and guests about these and be
able to give information with confidence.
Step A – review your current activities
Countryside Agency/J Bayne
Talk to customers about what they
enjoy.
The ETC/AA/RAC quality standards for accommodation, and other
national and regional awards for catering and attractions, provide a
benchmark against which you and your customers can judge your
product. In any tourism business, the customer experience is enhanced
by additional ‘touches’ that give your establishment a competitive edge
over others that achieve the same grading or sell the same product.
The best review of your customers’ experience is to look at your
business through their eyes. If you have encouraged business by
including the attractiveness of your environment and your green
credentials in promotional material, you must be confident that you
can deliver the promise.
Ask your customers for feedback. Developing a questionnaire can
help, but it is better to take time to talk to customers about what they
enjoyed and what they think needs improving.
Re-consider your checklist for delivering a quality product and be
sure that even simple things (such as dripping taps, small packaged milk
and toiletries, and over-heated rooms) do not let down the caring
image that you have sought to create.
43
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Customer experience – maximising visitor enjoyment
Step B – actions you can take
Keep warmth in
Closing all curtains early on cold days to keep rooms warm
demonstrates excellent customer service. Visitors returning to their
bedrooms after dark will appreciate finding their curtains closed and
the warmth kept in.
Regulate thermostats
The comfort level for most
people is 18 degrees, not the
23 degrees commonly called
room temperature.
Many people find hotels, shops and restaurants much too hot.
Experiment with a lower temperature setting, resetting your thermostat
at a higher level as and when necessary.
Bedroom and radiator thermostats should be checked to ensure that
they are working. They should also be set at a modest level, permitting
guests to raise them, if they wish.
If you manage a shop remember that, when it is cold outside, many
customers will enter wearing warm clothing and might find the heat
unbearable, thereby shortening their visit. Careful monitoring of
customers’ comfort could save on bills and increase browsing time.
Ask guests to use water with care
A tap or overflow pipe
dripping once a second can
waste 13 litres of water a day
or around 4,750 litres every
year (source: Northumbrian
Water). This is the equivalent
of filling around 60 baths.
Encourage your guests to
report dripping taps and
overflow pipes.
If you have taken steps to reduce water consumption, explain the
reasons for this to visitors.
Some people do not like showers and they may not respond to
requests that they should shower rather than bathe. However, many
people are happy to do either and they may be persuaded to select a
shower when they stay with you.
The water saved by having showers rather than baths can be clearly
explained to guests using some statistics. In the average hotel bathroom
around 300 full baths of water are used each year; if everyone used
a shower instead, this figure would drop to around 170 full baths.
Involve customers in recycling
Where your customers are responsible for disposing of some of their
waste, you can set up excellent recycling systems. These systems work
best when you explain your recycling policy and enlist support from
your customers.
Self-catering accommodation and camping/caravan parks often
provide disposal points to separate recyclable products and some visitor
attractions provide separate litter bins for recyclable products, such as
aluminium cans.
Make sure that recycling information for your customers is
prominently displayed or included in a welcome pack, with clear
instructions about what you would like them to do.
44
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Countryside Agency/J Bayne
Case study
Sandy Balls, a 25-acre holiday centre for touring vans, static holiday
homes and pinelog chalets, has over 20 recycling ‘hides’ and a policy to
encourage source separation of recyclable materials from refuse
generated by visitors. The volume of non-recyclable waste has been
reduced by 28% from 1996 levels and the visibility of the project has
increased visitor awareness of the environmental work of the company.
Encourage your guests to recycle.
Make the most of your grounds
Countryside Agency/D Byers
Visitors often choose their accommodation or place to eat because it
has a garden or area for relaxing in. Make the most of your outdoor
space to contribute to the environment and to add to the image of
your business.
Home-grown food is always appreciated and can give you a
marketing advantage. An organic kitchen garden is an excellent use of
even a small plot of land, although it may not be able to supply all of
your catering needs. Even growing a few pots of fresh herbs can make
a difference.
Tree planting can add to the quality of your landscape. If you have
room, plant native trees on your property. Advice and practical help,
such as tree-kits, may be available from your local authority.
Careful management of a suitable piece of land can create wildlife
areas.You can add interest for your visitors by selecting plants to attract
birds, butterflies or perhaps particular animals. A natural water feature
might lend itself to this, but with good advice any piece of ground
could be used.
Tree planting is an integral part of
Boardmans’ commitment to its
environment.
Case study
Thornlea Mews Self-Catering Cottages enlisted the help of the
county wildlife trust to enhance their customers’ experience. The
trust showed how to make the gardens more attractive to badgers
from nearby fields. The cottages gained a new nightly attraction, as
the animals forage in view of the guests. Local people have heard
how successful the badger watch is, and are welcomed by the
owners to enjoy the ‘entertainment’.
45
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Customer experience – maximising visitor enjoyment
Countryside Agency/D Burton
Use your grounds to
contribute to the environment
and add to your customers’
enjoyment.
The herb garden at Strattons Hotel.
Countryside Agency/D Burton
Case study
Countryside Agency/D Burton
Kelling Heath Holiday Park is
situated in an Area of Outstanding
Natural Beauty and employs a
full-time countryside manager
responsible for managing the
estate in an environmentally
friendly way. This includes all new
planting being based on
indigenous rather than
ornamental species (which provide
a better food source for animals
and insects and maintain the
park’s Norfolk woodland
character), participating in a red
squirrel breeding programme, and
the introduction of six Hebridean
sheep to graze the heathland.
The grounds provide
opportunities for a range of
activities for guests, including
guided night-time walks looking
for bats.
The grounds at Kelling Heath Holiday Park provide many opportunities for
visitors to enjoy themselves.
46
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Countryside Agency/A Miles
Encourage your customers to try local
foods.
Offer local foods
Local food and drink provide a good opportunity for developing a
niche market, as does the offer of organic food. Customers enjoy eating
and drinking items that they cannot obtain at home and most English
regions have distinctive products that visitors want to enjoy. Retailers,
caterers and accommodation providers can enhance the customer
experience by encouraging interest in such products and the traditions
associated with them.
If you serve prepared food, include dishes on your menus that really
show off the local produce. Ideas for menus can be obtained from
regional food groups or from the suppliers themselves. Make sure that
the added value provided by offering local products is maximised by
highlighting it on your menus and promotional material.
Case study
The Regent Hotel in the Lake District is noted for its use of ‘local
fayre’. Cumbrian fell-bred lamb and beef from farms awarded the
RSPCA Freedom Food Award are among the many high-quality local
products used.
You may be able to supply your visitors with products to take away
that they have enjoyed from your menu. This provides you with an
income opportunity.
For self-catering, provide some recipes in your welcome pack based
on local food and traditions to encourage guests to try for themselves.
Give information on where the ingredients may be obtained.
Offer vegetarian menus
There are around 3 million vegetarians in the UK and interest in
vegetarian food is increasing, even among meat eaters. Offering
interesting vegetarian choices, including at breakfast time, may be
important to some customers. It only needs one member of a party
to be vegetarian for this to dictate the choice of accommodation or
eating out.
Introduce smoke-free zones
Providing areas free from cigarette smoke, and no-smoking rooms, is
now considered good practice and most smokers consider such
restrictions to be acceptable. Parents with children and pregnant women
in particular appreciate smoke-free places. An area free from smoke is
one that is genuinely separated by a door or other barrier. On balance,
you are more likely to gain customers than to lose them by introducing
smoke-free zones. Accommodation providers that restrict all smoking
are now commonplace.
47
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Customer experience – maximising visitor enjoyment
Give your visitors information
Carefully select information
for your green notice board or
bedroom browser to make
your customers’ experience
enjoyable and memorable.
Providing visitors with clear information to guide their choice of
activity is an important way to show customer care. A bedroom browser
in accommodation businesses, or prominent ‘green’ notice board in
shops and restaurants, demonstrates that you are seeking to make the
whole customer experience a memorable one.
Information about large visitor attractions is widely available. But
many people also want to find out about what is available to them to
experience the distinctiveness of the area.
Selecting information for your green notice board or bedroom
browser is an important task. The information you give will influence
how your customers spend their time during a visit.
Countryside Agency/D Byers
Develop a green notice board or folder – Boardmans also display their vision
statement.
Get to know your area and actively promote more environmentally
responsible businesses, destinations and activities. Local enterprise can
be supported by promoting special events with nearby pubs and
restaurants that specialise in locally produced food and shops that sell
local products. Craft businesses and markets may offer the opportunity
to see products being made.
The notice board or bedroom browser should promote walking,
cycling and public transport, by giving clear information about how to
get around the area without a car.You should also include leaflets or
your own notes about wildlife and scenery and about historical
buildings in the area and their opening hours.
48
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Case study
Countryside Agency/D Burton
Breckland Treasure Chest is a
novel approach to encouraging
self-catering guests to enjoy
the local area. Promoted by the
district council, the chests are
placed in self-catering units
and contain information on the
area, local shops and pubs, and
walking and cycling
opportunities. They also
contain a pair of binoculars,
Ordnance Survey maps, a day
bag and various nature books.
Mentioned in publicity
material, visitors are able to
pre-book a treasure chest.
Be innovative in how you encourage your guests to enjoy the local area.
Involve your visitors
Make sure that you inform your visitors about your environmental
policy. Involve them in the steps you are taking by, for example, asking
them to turn off lights when not required, turn down heating if
necessary, use water responsibly and show which towels they wish to
have laundered (by leaving them in the bath).
Make sure that these requests are not presented as a set of rules but
as examples of your approach to investment in the environment and
commitment to your guests.
A short report of your achievements, current actions and targets for
the future will tell your customers about what you are doing and
attract their interest.
Encourage visitors to use public transport
Visitors should be encouraged to travel to and from their destination
using public transport, although in practice this is not always feasible.
Where visitors take the trouble to arrive by bus, coach or rail,
accommodation providers can demonstrate their commitment to
customer care by arranging to collect them from the station.
One of the reasons why visitors use their car on holiday is that they
are not aware of public transport alternatives. Ensure that you have
timetables and itineraries worked out so that visitors can take advantage
of at least one car-free day when they are on holiday. Make these
timetables easily accessible. Some businesses further encourage guests
49
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Customer experience – maximising visitor enjoyment
Countryside Agency/T Burrows
Encourage your guests to give their car a holiday!
Provide your customers with
easy to use information about
how to get around without
a car.
to leave their cars for the day by, for example, arranging a free car wash,
or pointing out the cost savings in fuel and car parking fees.
Where people intend to walk one way and take the bus or train
back, suggest that they use the transport first and then walk back. This
removes any anxiety about having to get back using public transport at
the end of the day.
It is helpful to provide information to visitors before they arrive, so
they can plan in advance and maximise their enjoyment of the places
they visit.
Case study
Mountain Goat provides “off the beaten track” tours throughout the
Lake District, with complimentary pick up and return from the
customer’s accommodation. In addition, they offer luxury minicoach
touring holidays. Customers are collected from rail and bus stations
and provided with quality accommodation, a full itinerary for a
detailed exploration of the area, and a return service back to the rail
or coach station for the journey home.
Encourage visitors to walk or cycle
Four out of five holiday makers went walking for leisure while on
holidays or short breaks in the last three years. Add to their holiday
experience by working out a small number of walks direct from your
establishment.
The countryside/environment department of your local authority
may be able to help you put together selected routes that take in special
wildlife features. Check the routes that you recommend yourself and get
feedback from those visitors that follow the routes.You could also
encourage them to suggest new routes.
50
....
Countryside Agency/A Tryner
Your customers will appreciate having
information about local walks ....
.... and cycling opportunities.
Countryside Agency/J Bayne
A service that some establishments now offer is the free loan of
maps showing rights of way. Some also develop walking holidays by
providing packed lunches, drying facilities and even dropping off or
collecting walkers.
Bike-hire businesses can now be found in most areas. Not all visitors
will bring a bike on a visit, yet would enjoy a trip on a bike. If you are
an accommodation provider, make sure that you are aware of the hire
costs and availability of bicycles from such outlets. If you can arrange
a discount for your guests, this will encourage them to consider a
car-free day.
Some businesses now have their own bicycles or facilities for secure
cycle parking and feature this in their marketing material.
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Customer experience – maximising visitor enjoyment
Set up a voluntary payback scheme
Visitors are often willing to contribute financially to the conservation
of the places they visit.Your business can provide a channel for them
to do so.
The key to success is for the visitor to be able to see the beneficial
effect of their contribution. This can be achieved by:
• supporting an existing environmental organisation or by suggesting
a particular project that your visitors will engage with;
• giving good publicity to any local environmental initiatives that the
money supports, perhaps on your green notice board or welcome
pack.
Your business can provide
ways for visitors to contribute
to local conservation projects.
Some businesses ask for donations or have a collection box. Another
way of enabling visitors to give money is to add a voluntary supplement
to their bill, explaining what the money would be used for and
suggesting a sum appropriate to the size of the bill.You could offer to
match the customer’s contribution with a similar amount from your
business. For any of these schemes, proper accountancy procedures for
the donations will ensure that you do not become inadvertently liable
for tax.
Case study
Along with several other businesses in the Lake District,
including Langdale Leisure and Mountain Goat, the Heart of the
Lakes & Cottage Life Self-Catering Letting Agency is supporting
conservation projects in the area. ‘Our Man at the Top’ is a scheme
to help fund a person to maintain the miles of footpaths on National
Trust land. The agency operates a ‘voluntary levy’ scheme whereby
customers donate £1 for every week booked. The invitation to
contribute is presented as “a deduction will be made unless notified
to the contrary”. The agency match funds the donation with 50p for
every £1 raised. By the end of 2000, Heart of the Lakes will have
given over £45,000 for footpath repairs.
Small enterprises might prefer to collect money in partnership with
other tourism businesses in the area. A local tourism heritage trust
could be established, involving tourism enterprises and conservation
interests, which can act as a body for co-ordinating the collection and
distribution of money.
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Involve staff
Your staff have day-to-day contact with visitors. Make sure that they
are involved in your environmental actions and understand your policy.
They are in the best position to communicate feedback and ideas
from customers.
Countryside Agency/T Burrows
Countryside Agency/T Burrows
Staff at Lincombe Hall Hotel
encourage feedback from customers.
The member of staff who has been made responsible as coordinator for the environmental policy should be the environmental
eyes and ears of the business and should encourage feedback from all
members of staff.
Case study
The Royal Castle Hotel recognises the importance of involving staff
in its delivery of environmental improvement. For example, staff are
encouraged to use their knowledge of local places of interest and
public transport to contribute to visitors’ enjoyment and
demonstrate good service. They are also encouraged to make
suggestions about how the hotel’s operations might be improved in
terms of its environmental approach. Staff are rewarded for their
contributions. The hotel has Investors in People status.
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Customer experience – maximising visitor enjoyment
Step C – your checklist
Tick when complete.
First steps
■ Explain to visitors that you are taking steps to manage your business
■
■
■
■
■
■
■
■
■
in an environmentally responsible way.
Ensure that your ‘Investing in the environment’ notice or
environmental policy is displayed, so that visitors understand and are
involved in the steps you are taking.
Explain to visitors how the choices they make to save energy and
water will benefit the environment.
Ensure that family and staff understand and are involved with your
policy. Take time to explain the details to them.
Set up a green notice board or bedroom browser that promotes
opportunities for visitors to enjoy the local environment, local
products and the area’s distinctiveness – using public transport,
walking and cycling.
Consider promoting car-free days as special events for visitors.
Plan three days out from your establishment which do not require
the car – one using public transport, one on foot and one by cycle.
Give information about these to your guests.
Keep warmth in by closing curtains early on cold days.
Check the thermostat settings on your heating appliances and
experiment with lower settings, starting with 18ºC.
Ensure that you have areas and/or rooms available for non-smokers.
Where your customers are responsible for disposing of their own
waste, consider ways to involve them:
• Set up systems which they themselves can use for recycling
or composting.
• Draw up clear directions for visitors explaining how you wish
them to dispose of their waste, and display these prominently.
• Provide adequate litter bins which allow visitors to separate
various recyclable products (such as aluminium cans), especially
where there is a high volume of litter disposed.
Next steps
■ Plant a native tree or trees in your grounds or a nearby place. Tell
your visitors what you have done.
■ Consider introducing, or increasing, home production of fruit and
vegetables to use in your kitchen.
■ Feature local foods on your menu and tell visitors where they have
come from. Consider providing vegetarian options on your menu
or provide details of local suppliers for those in self-catering
accommodation.
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....
■ Encourage wildlife by setting aside a piece of land and seek advice in
drawing up a management plan for it.
■ Set up a simple system for collecting money from your customers in
a visitor payback scheme. Support an existing local environmental
project or organisation.
■ Go one step further and seek support for establishing an area-wide
local tourism heritage trust to act as a conduit for visitor income
into conservation projects.
Countryside Agency/R Kay
By following the steps in the
Green Audit Kit you will have
invested in your business and
the environment.
55
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Further help
Further help
Green Advantage training course
Tel: 020 8563 3327
Green Audit Kit website:
www.greenauditkit.org
Other contacts
‘Are you doing your bit?’
Website: www.doingyourbit.org.uk
‘England for Excellence’ co-ordinator
Tel: 020 8563 3293
Energy Efficiency Advice Centres
Tel freefone: 0800 512012
Environment and Energy Helpline
Tel: 0800 585794
European Ecolabelling Scheme
Website: www.europa.eu.int/comm/environment/ecolabel/
The Hotel and Catering International
Management Association
Tel: 020 8672 4251
Website: www.hcima.org.uk
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Regional tourist boards
Contact the Regional Development Managers at the following regional tourist boards:
Cumbria Tourist Board
Ashleigh
Holly Road
Windermere
Cumbria
LA23 2AQ
Tel: 015394 44444
Fax: 015394 44041
East of England Tourist Board
Toppesfield Hall
Hadleigh
Suffolk
IP7 5DN
Tel: 01473 822922
Fax: 01473 823063
Heart of England Tourist Board
Woodside
Larkhill Road
Worcester
Worcestershire
WR5 2EZ
Tel: 01905 763436
Fax: 01905 763450
Northumbria Tourist Board
Aykley Heads
Durham
DH1 5UX
Tel: 0191 375 3000
Fax: 0191 386 0899
North West Tourist Board
Swan House
Swan Meadow Road
Wigan Pier
Wigan
Lancashire
WN3 5BB
Tel: 01942 821222
Fax: 01942 820002
South East England Tourist
Board
The Old Brew House
Warwick Park
Tunbridge Wells
Kent
TN2 5TU
Tel: 01892 540766
Fax: 01892 511008
Southern Tourist Board
40 Chamberlayne Road
Eastleigh
Hampshire
SO5 5JH
Tel: 01703 620006
Fax: 01703 620010
South West Tourism
Woodwater Park
Exeter
EX2 5WT
Tel: 0870 4420830
Fax: 0870 4420840
Yorkshire Tourist Board
312 Tadcaster Road
York
YO2 2HF
Tel: 01904 707961
Fax: 01904 701414
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Further help
Case studies
We acknowledge and thank the featured case studies for their help in the preparation of the kit.
Boardmans
Bury
Contact name: Jan Barnes
Tel/Fax: 01204 882844
E-mail: cep.boardmans@good.co.uk
Website: www.good.co.uk/cep.boardmans
Brancaster Millennium Activity Centre
Nr Kings Lynn
Contact name: Joanna Johnson
Tel: 01485 210719
E-mail: abrsfl@smtp.ntrust.org.uk
Website: www.nationaltrust.org.uk/brancaster
Breckland Treasure Chest
Contact name: Pam Sayle
Tel: 01362 656349
Fax: 01362 851184
Bridge House Hotel
Grasmere
Contact name: Martin Rushton
Tel: 015394 35425
Derwentwater Hotel
Keswick
Contact name: Ian Aston
Tel: 0176 877 2538
Gibbon Bridge Hotel
Nr Clitheroe
Contact name: Janet Simpson
Tel: 01995 61456
Fax: 01995 61277
E-mail: reception@gibbon-bridge.co.uk
Website: www.gibbon-bridge.co.uk
58
Heart of the Lakes & Cottage Life Self-Catering
Letting Agency
Ambleside
Contact name: Susan Jackson
Tel: 015394 32321
Fax: 015394 33251
E-mail: info@heartofthelakes.co.uk
Website: www.heartofthelakes.co.uk
Hindon Farm
Nr Minehead
Contact name: Penny Webber
Tel/Fax: 01643 705244
Website: www.hindonfarm.co.uk
Kelling Heath Holiday Park
Weybourne
Contact name: Kevin Hart
Tel: 01263 588181
Fax: 01263 588599
E-mail: info@kellingheath.co.uk
Website: www.kellingheath.co.uk
Lake District Tourism and Conservation
Partnership
Ambleside
Contact name: Kirstie Royce
Tel: 015394 34630
Fax: 015394 33251
E-mail: partnership@lakesnet.co.uk
Website: www.partnership.lakesnet.co.uk
Lincombe Hall Hotel
Torquay
Contact name: Colin Worsey
Tel: 01803 213361
Fax: 01803 211485
E-mail: lincombe.hall@lineone.net
Website: www.lincombe-hall.co.uk
....
Lynford Hall
Nr Mundford
Contact name: Tad Zlotek and Peter Scopes
Tel: 01842 878351
Mountain Goat Tours and Holidays
Windermere
Contact name: Peter Nattrass
Tel: 01539 445759
Norton Priory Museum and Gardens
Runcorn
Contact name: Margaret Warhurst and Marcus Chase
Tel: 01928 569895
The Old Bakehouse
Chulmleigh
Contact name: Colin and Holly Burls
Tel: 01769 580137
Fax: 01769 580074
E-mail: the_old_bakehouse@talk21.com
Website: www.theaa.co.uk/region13/79183.html
Ord House Country Park
Nr Berwick-upon-Tweed
Contact name: Howard Marshall
Tel: 01289 305288
Fax: 01289 330832
E-mail: enquiries@ordhouse.co.uk
Website: www.ordhouse.co.uk
Sandy Balls Holiday Centre
Godshill
Contact name: Vincent Stammers
Tel: 01425 653042
Fax: 01425 653067
E-mail: vincent@sandy-balls.co.uk
Website: www.sandy-balls.co.uk
Strattons Hotel
Swaffham
Contact name: Vanessa and Les Scott
Tel: 01760 723845
The Taste of Wayland Food Forum
Watton
Contact name: Jan Godfrey
Tel/Fax: 01953 881709
E-mail: WPDT@btinternet.com
Website: www.wayland.org.uk
Thornlea Mews Self-Catering Cottages
Kingsbridge
Contact name: John and Ann Wilton
Tel/Fax: 01548 561319
Regent Hotel
Ambleside
Contact name: Andrew Hewitt
Tel: 015394 32254
Fax: 015394 31474
E-mail: info@regentlakes.co.uk
Website: www.regentlakes.co.uk
Royal Castle Hotel
Dartmouth
Contact name: Nigel Way and Chris Jones
Tel: 01803 833033
Fax: 01803 835455
Website: www.royalcastle.co.uk
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