We all have to do our bit. It’s no good waiting for others to act, especially if running a business. So, at the Lodge, we decided to find 10 ways to make our business more sustainable and to proactively work to save the planet and reduce our impact . . . . . . and surprisingly, it wasn’t difficult.
1. Local Produce
We have always been keen to support local suppliers and now we actively seek out all things Yorkshire. We approached and visited Crofters, the wholesale distributers of artisan Yorkshire Produce who now deliver Yorkshire Crisps, Yorkshire Flapjacks and Yorkshire Soups to us for our Packed Lunches.
We have linked with Coffee Care who supply our breakfast coffee and their fabulous coffee bags which we offer guests in their rooms, alongside the delicious Lottie Shaw Yorkshire Parkin biscuits. Coffee Care has been awarded a range of accolades including “Best Yorkshire Beverage” for their Three Peaks Coffee bags.
This year we met with the Award winning Two Dales Bakery team to arrange regular deliveries of their organic bread and delicious fresh pastries – both of which have gone down a treat with guests. Afternoon teas at the Lodge include a wonderful array of Grandma Wild’s cakes of west Yorkshire who recently celebrated 125 years of baking prowess!
We are supplied by Mags for her locally foraged and uniquely tasty Tomato Sauce and Brown Sauces as well as jams for breakfast. We also offer guests the fabulous, wholesome and delicious Granola, Muesli and Porridge from Yockenthwaite Farm where they use only the freshest and bestest ingredients!! As well as the local Yorkshire heather honey from Helwith farm, we always have on offer the Yorkshire Peanut Butter called “Proper Nutty!”
Our meat is cut, prepared and delivered by local Leyburn butcher, Kev. The fruit and vegetables from Carricks of Snape as well as any fresh fish and the Wensleydale Eggs we collect personally from the Finghall Egg Shed at the farm.
Any pre-ordered meals for hosted and self-catering groups are home cooked by Fairhursts of Swinthwaite, Halls Butchers or R. Campbells & Sons of Leyburn, who recently won the National acclaim of “Best Retailer of the Year!”
AND of course, we only serve Yorkshire Tea – why wouldn’t we? It’s the best!
2. Toilet Paper
As a busy Walking Lodge and Guesthouse, we go through a fair amount of the stuff so using Naked Sprout, Bamboo Toilet Paper, the UK’s most eco-friendly loo roll made a lot of sense! The company claims their toilet paper has 50% of the climate footprint of other similar products. It is free of bleach, chemicals and plastics and still feels good and soft on our delicate areas!!
3. Refillable Cleaning Products
Several years ago now, we switched from the standard bleach based products to the sustainable and more eco-friendly Method products throughout the house. However, these are still not available in 5 litre containers to refill the smaller reusuable bottles so we changed again to Bright Earth. This is a cruelty free, biodegradable, plant based product sold to us in large containers made from recycled materials. Happy Days!
4. Yorwaste contract
So for your Staff Christmas Outing, you might go to a restaurant or bar, an activity event such as an Escape Room but here, the Lodge team, visited the Tancred Yorwaste Transfer Station to watch the process our commercial waste goes through to ensure it is fully recycled or used to power lighting in local properties as bio-fuel. It was a surprisingly fun day out and very informative – not rubbish at all!!
5. Cushions and throws
During the refurbishment of the Lodge, all of the bedroom throws and cushions were chosen from a company in Devon called Weaver Green which make fabrics from 100% recycled plastic bottles. You would never know from the feel of the products which are soft, comfortable and attractive.
6. Touchstay App
During the pandemic, we had time to think about reducing our room folders and other written materials in the Lodge. Over several months, we compiled an online App with information for prospective and existing guests to answer questions, provide local knowledge and generally to make everyone’s stay simpler to plan and organise. We are delighted with the response to the Touchstay App, handy on your phone and even when offline - Give it a go!
7. No more plastic water bottles
Our Walking Break guests always leave well fed with the Yorkshire breakfasts, packed lunches, afternoon tea, prosecco and canapes, 3 course dinners . . . . . we’d have to walk a long way to burn this off! We used to give each guest a bottle of water with their lunch but, when we saw 5 plastic bottles in one room bin, we decided to stop doing this immediately and to simply get guests to bring their own or use the Lodge bottles instead. Not a problem!
8. Smart Energy
The new Nest heating system allows us to maintain a warm and welcoming temperature within the house but much more efficiently than in the past. We can operate the system remotely from our phones and react quickly to guests needs. Next we are investigating using the local sheep wool as a loft installation – Baaaarmy but true!
9. LED lights
Every bulb in the house is now a light-emitting diode (LED). This is today's most energy-efficient and rapidly developing lighting technology. These bulbs last longer, are more durable and much more sustainable. We always ask guests to turn off lights but now, if some are forgotten, the impact is far less.
10. Staff training
And it’s not just us that are passionate about being green. Our whole team are on board. Nothing goes to waste, Quartz Cleans and local legend, Jo are always looking for ways to improve what we do. In my absence, I still know the plants will be tended and watered and the bird table topped up. Henry and I are forever grateful to our fabulous team for their reliability, hard work and attention to detail.
We would love to hear of any further suggestions from you as to how we might improve further. Please help us to help our local community and the Yorkshire Dales, which we love so much.