The Moat House is Becoming an Eco Friendly Hotel
At The Moat House, we are incredibly blessed to have so much nature around us. We are surrounded by lush green countryside which is a haven for wildlife. It’s our mission to leave as little a footprint as possible so that the green stays lush and the wildlife and our guests can continue to enjoy it!
We’re incredibly proud to say we are doing all we can to become an eco-friendly hotel. We want to share our inspired efforts, the challenges we have faced, and why we believe other hotels, businesses, and the wider population should become more green too.
The questions every hotel or business should ask themselves is: “What can we do? What can be achieved with the current resources available?”. We believe this is what is important and is a true act of intent that can lead to becoming a more sustainable business.
Even if for now such efforts to be more sustainable may not be recognised by a wider audience, or perhaps feel so small that they’d may not make a difference; what we have come to realise is that if everyone acts collectively, even with small changes, we can instigate bigger change.
We’ve added 3 Pod Points for electric cars
There is a strong indication from the Government that by 2030, petrol and diesel cars will no longer be manufactured for sale. There are doubts among experts that this is possible. But regardless of how soon such a change is commissioned, electric cars are becoming increasingly popular which is fantastic news for the environment!
As an eco-friendly hotel, we’re delighted to announce we’ve added 3 Pod Point electric car chargers at The Moat House that provide 15 minutes of free charge & additional minutes are available to purchase via the pod point app.
We’ve installed 92 Solar Panels on The Moat House roof
Solar energy is a renewable source of power and at this stage in its lifecycle, has a fundamental role in reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Solar has the capacity to make a massive contribution in mitigating climate change which in turn, will protect wildlife and ecosystems. Currently, 8% of our electricity use is powered by the 92 solar panels we have on the roof of our hotel.
We believe this is a huge step in the right direction to become an eco-friendly hotel.
We use refillable toiletries in our bathrooms
As mentioned previously, it is not always the shiny and glamourous changes that make the difference. It is also the small internal shifts in eco-friendly initiatives that compound into something greater. This is why we decided to use refillable toiletries in our bathrooms and in doing so, supporting local campaigns and businesses. All our toiletries are from Noble Isle and are British-made, vegan products.
Swapping plastic for aluminium
We have swapped many of our bottled products over to cans due to the lower energy levels required to recycle aluminium. Aluminium has some astonishing benefits that outweigh the use and re-use of plastic. For example, aluminium can be infinitely recycled. It’s suggested that as much as 75% of aluminium ever produced is still in use today.
Our pillows and duvets are made out of recycled materials
As an eco-friendly hotel, you can only imagine the number of pillows and duvets we must purchase to ensure a quality experience for our guests. A very simple yet highly impactful investment we made, is only using pillows and duvets made from recycled materials. We can sleep more soundly knowing we are more sustainable and so can our guests.
Perhaps one of the most insightful reflections after taking an eco-friendly stance is how many amazing companies there are out there that can provide more eco-friendly products.
Reducing single use plastic
For any hotel owner who wants to become an eco-friendly hotel, this could very well be the best first step to take. Again it doesn’t have to be perfect the first time, that's something to work towards, it just has to be better than before.
We’ve replaced plastic straws at the restaurant and bar with paper straws. We’ve also replaced plastic in our amenity kits with bamboo toothbrushes and bamboo cotton buds. And of course, replacing our plastic bottles with aluminium.
We’ve been planting trees!
In the last 12 months we’ve planted over 300 native woodland trees on the grounds of the hotel. If you have ever been to The Moat House you will have seen the stunning countryside and the large amount of greenery around the hotel. It’s important to plant trees native to the area for the local wildlife. One of the hardest things about planting trees is that it is an initiative that will only come to fruition in years to come. And yet, that is also what is so amazing. You’ll have the pleasure of knowing something you did now will benefit future populations and guests to your eco-friendly hotel or business – essentially the whole essence of becoming more sustainable.
What we plan on doing in the future.
In the immediate future, we're excited to be implementing a new waste management system. This will allow us to recycle plastics, aluminium, paper, glass, cardboard and food waste.
We are hopeful that in the long term, our efforts will be impactful enough to be awarded Green Accreditation! But we won’t stop there, we will continually explore other areas we can improve upon and do what we can to help and inspire others to start or continue with their eco-friendly journey!
If you’re not sure where to start
It’s a tough year for everyone and you may be thinking you don’t have the finances available.
Equally, you may be in a position to make more dramatic changes. In either case this is an opportunity to be creative, an eco-friendly campaign can be incredibly rewarding. Think of creative solutions to eco-friendly problems. Make it fun because that’s when the most amazing results are generated.
So if you don’t know where to start, this is the time to start small, keep it simple and something that you can sustain. Any change, large or small, is still a change for the better!