Are you keen to learn more about our efforts to become a sustainable hotel?
At Bowood, we understand the impact hotels can have on the environment; that’s why we’re continuously working to reduce our carbon footprint and become more environmentally-friendly.
Read on to discover how we’re achieving our sustainable hotel status:
Nestled in a 4,000 acre estate in the beautiful Wiltshire countryside, our hotel is an iconic landmark in the local area. Owned by the Lansdowne family since 1754, it’s now under the management of the 9th Marquis of Lansdowne — who’s future plans for the estate centre around sustainability.
Setting objectives for between now and 2030, he’s already been working hard to achieve a sustainable hotel status.
In the last 50 years, he’s spearheaded the planting of over 1.2 million trees, and it’s estimated that the woodlands offset more than 1,500 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent per year.
In the next 7 years, the plan is to purchase 50% of our services and consumable supplies from within 50 miles, generate renewable energy on the estate, and reduce direct fossil fuel consumption by 50% — as well as continue phasing out single-use plastics and improve the comprehensive recycling facilities.
At Bowood, we’ve installed a 500kw biomass boiler, which is fuelled by sustainably sourced wood chips from within our estate.
This provides heating and hot water throughout the resort, reducing our reliance on fossil fuels and contributing to a cleaner environment.
We’ve also installed four rapid electric vehicle charging stations on-site, to help reduce unnecessary emissions and encourage greener transport solutions.
Reducing our water consumption is an important aspect in our sustainable hotel plans. To help us do this, we’ve introduced a primary water supply for the PGA Golf Course irrigation system, that comes from our estate’s private water supply.
This reduces our use of treated mains water, whilst promoting sustainable water management practices.
During the development of our PGA Golf Course, we dedicated 60 acres of grassland to wildflowers.
Designed to encourage diverse floral species and support local wildlife, this demonstrates our commitment to balancing recreational activities with the preservation of nature.
We’re also committed to minimising our reliance on external sourcing. So, we’ve made a bountiful fruit and vegetable patch in the Walled Gardens, using the produce to create a range of exquisite dishes in our Shelburne Restaurant.
We also collect our own flowers to create floral displays for the hotel, adding a personal, sustainable touch to our decor.
We’ve reduced single-use plastics in our hotel bedrooms by over 90% — and our imminent plans are to eliminate them completely.
Additionally, we’ve introduced a digital guest app in order to reduce paper waste. This provides key information for our guests, minimising the need for printed materials.
Whilst at present our membership cards are printed on 100% recycled paper, we’ll be transitioning these to become entirely digital, too, further supporting our efforts to become a fully-sustainable hotel.
At Bowood, we’re fortunate to have over 700 acres of permanent pasture, which is predominantly grazed by sheep.
This ensures our farmland practices are low or zero, helping to preserve the landscape and reduce our reliance on fossil-fuelled machinery.
Having come so far already in becoming a sustainable hotel, we’re excited for our future plans and further implementations of greener solutions.
To find out more about our estate, please contact a member of our team.
Alternatively, why not read our previous blog to discover more about our beautiful grounds and gardens?
