A five-star Devon hotel has landed a world-leading certification for its green credentials after a bumper year of sustainability successes – as it strives to become net zero by 2040.
Bovey Castle in Dartmoor has been recognised by Green Tourism – a certification that has been assessing travel, tourism and hospitality businesses’ approaches to sustainability for more than 27 years.
Expert assessors provide certification via bronze, silver and gold gradings, with Bovey Castle securing the highest grade.
Appointing “green champions” at the hotel to strive for a consistent approach to sustainability was key to landing the accreditation.
This has enabled Bovey Castle to engage in and evidence practices across wide-ranging areas such as community engagement, employee health and wellbeing, and customer experiences, through to energy usage, carbon reduction and waste management.
It also comes after the hotel also introduced a 1,400 square metre kitchen garden to grow produce on-site, as well as planting a new wildflower meadow to complement other popular offerings such as a beekeeping experience and getting up close to ferrets and chickens.
Bovey Castle is part of Eden Hotel Collection – which has five hotels across the Midlands and South West – all of which now operate on 100% renewable energy, while their collective waste last year saw 35.5% directly recycled; with 55% converted into renewable energy and 9.5% anaerobically digested.
Dean Gunston, General Manager at Bovey Castle, said: “We know that sustainability is increasingly becoming a key consideration for customers when they are booking a stay, so we’re delighted to be given a gold grading by sustainability experts.
“Investing in a new kitchen garden and introducing tours to educate our guests on fork-to-fork eating is something we are expecting to grow in popularity for families in the coming months, after a positive start last year.
“Our people have to buy in to our approach to sustainability in order for us to make projects such as the kitchen garden a success – so this gold grading symbolises their commitment.”
Jayne O’Malley, Group Operations Director at Eden Hotel Collection, has worked closely with each hotel and Green Tourism’s assessors to develop the organisation’s green credentials.
Jayne said: “Sustainability is much more than simply adopting environmentally friendly practices. It’s about creating a sustainable business in every sense – from our people and our local community, through to the growth of our own organisation and our supply chain.
“Some of the properties we own and operate date back as far as the 16th century, but through our commitment to invest in sustainability, they are at the forefront of modern approaches of green hospitality, whether that is through the use of renewable energy, utilising local suppliers, or utilising on-site kitchen gardens for produce or guest experiences.
“Each of our hotels were initially graded by Green Tourism in 2023 with silver or bronze gradings – so to see each hotel making that step up one year on is testament to the commitment that our people have shown to take on board advice from the assessors to make us one of the leading hotel groups in the UK not just for a luxurious stay, but for sustainability too.”
The Green Tourism accolades follow hot on the heels of the Eden Hotel Collection being named by the AA as Small Hotel Group of the Year.
For more information about Bovey Castle, visit www.boveycastle.com