Press Release Author: Hannah Lane- apt marketing and pr
Industry: Environment
Press Release Summary: The Hare and Hounds Hotel, near Tetbury, is the first Gloucestershire hotel to achieve a silver award from the Green Tourism Business Scheme (GTBS), for its ongoing commitment to sustainable tourism.
Press Release Body: To gain the prestigious certification, the hotel was assessed against a rigorous criteria, across many different business areas, including energy saving, water issues, purchasing, recycling, wildlife and landscape. The hotel has scored highly in all of these areas by taking gradual steps to create a successful 'green' business.
The GTBS recognised the hotel for its extremely high environmental standards, maintained across the entire business. All paper is recycled, along with cardboard, glass, cooking oil and garden waste. The majority of hotel stationery is printed on100% recycled stock, with all internal correspondence written or printed on scrap paper.
All the hotel's water is obtained from a well across the road and treated on site to make high-quality bottled water. This is then sold in the hotel restaurant and bar, where customers can also enjoy a Fairtrade coffee! Only environmentally friendly, chlorine free cleaning products are used and high efficiency boilers and hot water thermostats, set to 60 degrees.
The process of going green started in 2006, as hotel manager, Laura Price, recalls: "We started to look into how green our business was when we installed our water treatment plant in 2006. Previously we had discharged our sewage into a treatment plant across the road but some years ago, without our knowledge, the pipe was diverted into a neighbouring field and was polluting the watercourse. The land happened to be owned by HRH Prince Charles who reported it to the Environment Agency! As a result we installed a state of the art bio-disk system and this is working extremely well now."
The beautiful gardens and grounds surrounding the hotel are filled with an array of wildlife, which the hotel works hard to maintain and encourage by providing log stacks and bird and bat boxes. The hotel is also a valuable asset to the surrounding economy, with the restaurant using local, seasonal produce wherever possible.
Further information, pictures and interviews available on request
Ends 13 December 07
Notes to Editors
The Hare and Hounds Hotel The Hotel is located at Westonbirt, just outside Tetbury, Gloucestershire. The 45-bedroom hotel is a family-owned, privately run, top-end 3-star hotel. It has a number of function suites and public rooms, allowing catering for weddings and banqueting, dances, events, meetings, training, and leisure guests. www.hareandhoundshotel.com
The Green Tourism Business Scheme The GTBS is the leading sustainable tourism certification scheme in the UK, with over 1400 members. Businesses opting to join are assessed by a qualified grading advisor against a rigorous set of criteria, covering a range of areas, like energy and water efficiency, waste management, biodiversity and more.
Businesses that meet the required standard, receive a Bronze, Silver, or Gold award based on their level of achievement. The current network of members is comprised of a wide range of business types, including accommodation providers, visitor attractions, corporate offices and others.
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