Environmental Statement

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Environmental Statement

Last Reviewed : 15/01/2024
Next Review : 15/01/2025

Mission statement

Brightham House Boutique Bed & Breakfast recognises that it has a responsibility to the environment beyond legal and regulatory requirements. We are committed to reducing our environmental impact and continually improving our environmental performance as an integral part of our business strategy and operating methods, with regular review points. We will encourage guests, suppliers and others to do the same.

Responsibility

Alistair & Scott owners are responsible for ensuring that the environmental policy is implemented. Both have a responsibilities in their areas to ensure that the aims and objectives of the policy are met.

Policy aims

We endeavour to:

  • Comply with and exceed all relevant regulatory requirements.
  • Continually improve and monitor environmental performance.
  • Continually improve and reduce environmental impacts.
  • Incorporate environmental factors into business decisions.
  • Increase awareness and training.

Paper

  • We will minimise the use of paper in the office. All guest information, receipts, and parking information will be texted or emailed to reduce paper and ink.
  • We will reduce packaging as much as possible. We will aim to buy local produce without packaging and always separate and recycle all packaging.
  • We will seek to buy recycled and recyclable paper products. We currently use recycled toilet paper for our guest bathrooms.
  • We will reuse and recycle all paper where possible. All our paper and card is sent to be recycled.

Energy and water

  • We will seek to reduce the amount of energy used as much as possible. All of our lights bulbs in the house, garden and car park are LED energy affiant to help reduce energy. We only use ‘Devona’ glass bottled water for our guest rooms, which are all rewashed and reused by our supplier. We have a water dispenser for our guest to refill their water bottles, and encourage guests not to bring plastic bottles.
  • Lights and electrical equipment will be switched off when not in use. During the winter when we are closed all standby TV’s, Radio’s are disconnect too.
  • Heating will be adjusted with energy consumption in mind. Our guest rooms are only used from April – October, during the winter the rooms are not heated. During these months the rooms do not use very much heating. The houses heating is all monitored by a digital ‘Hive’ system that aims to reduce the heating energy we use.
  • The energy consumption and efficiency of new products will be taken into account when purchasing. We have a heat pump tumble dryer with reduces the energy use by over 50%. Our two water heating system tanks are energy efficient, that where installed February 2021. All our guest bathrooms toilets have options for short flush to reduce the water. Our digital showers are also set on a eco water setting to help reduce our water usage.

Business supplies

  • We will evaluate if the need can be met in another way. Approx. 80% of the furniture within the house is retro, vintage and therefore second hand. We up-cycle furniture to create interesting and unique pieces.
  • We will evaluate the environmental impact of any new products we intend to purchase. Careful consideration is taken on any new appliances, or items like beds to ensure they will wear well and last longer. We buy all our meats, eggs, and as much of our breakfast menu from local farmers. Our Tapas night food is also from local suppliers (Feast Kitchen) is the company that we work in partnership for the pop-up kitchen.
  • We will favour more environmentally friendly and efficient products wherever possible. We aim to use eco cleaning products where we can in the house, however with Covid we are using a disinfectant  that kills the virus. We use two local supplier for eco room fresheners and toilet diffusers.
  • We will reuse and recycle everything we are able to.

Transportation

  • We will reduce the need to travel, restricting to necessity trips only. We have two e-bikes that we and guest can use to take local trips to the shops or beaches, reducing the need to use a car.
  • We will promote the use of travel alternatives such as e-mail or video/phone conferencing.
  • We will make additional efforts to accommodate the needs of those using public transport or bicycles. We have storage sheds for bikes and encourage guest to use our local bus to Salcombe, Hope Cove and Kingsbridge which they do.
  • We will favour ‘green’ vehicles and maintain them rigorously to ensure ongoing efficiency.
  • We have an electric charge point for our car park that guests can use
  • We are currently a one car family, and use buses, trains where possible on long journeys.

Maintenance and cleaning

  • Cleaning materials used will be as environmentally friendly as possible.We aim to use eco cleaning products where we can in the house, however with Covid we are using a disinfectant  that kills the virus. We use two local supplier for eco room fresheners and toilet diffusers.
  • Our laundry will only be environmentally cleaned  by a registered company with strict energy saving equipment using  https://www.ecolaundry.co.uk/ 
  • Materials used in house refurbishment will be as environmentally friendly as possible.
  • We will only use licensed and appropriate organisations to dispose of waste. Currently this is South Hams waste.

Monitoring and improvement

  • We will comply with and exceed all relevant regulatory requirements.
  • We will continually improve and monitor environmental performance.
  • We will continually improve and reduce environmental impacts.
  • We will incorporate environmental factors into business decisions.
  • We will increase employee awareness through training.
  • We will review this policy and any related business issues at our monthly management meetings.

Culture

  • We are aware of implementation of this policy, for greater commitment and improved performance.
  • We will update this policy at least once annually.
  • We will provide ourselves with relevant environmental training.
  • We will work with suppliers, contractors and sub-contractors to improve their environmental performance.
  • We will use local labour and materials where available to reduce CO2 and help the community.