The Combe Grove hotel in Bath has achieved a Bronze Award from Green Tourism, the world’s largest sustainable certification programme.
Since becoming a member of the Green Tourism Programme in July 2017, the team at Combe Grove have been working hard to minimise their impact on the environment, starting with four important projects; switching to a 100% renewable energy tariff, replacing inefficient boilers, introducing an entirely electric kitchen and committing to building relationships with local suppliers.
Businesses that meet the required standard receive a Bronze, Silver or Gold award based on their level of achievement.
To achieve accreditation, Combe Grove was graded by a qualified Assessor against a rigorous set of criteria, covering a range of areas such as energy and water efficiency, waste management, biodiversity and social involvement and communication.
Combe Grove have begun their green journey by committing to sourcing seasonal and sustainable ingredients from local suppliers and showcasing the great tastes of the South West.
Switching to Good Energy, who are champions of clean, green, local energy, means that the electricity used at Combe Grove is matched with renewable energy generated from wind, solar, hydro and biofuels in the UK and sent back to the National Grid.
Combe Grove also worked with WS Swift, a local, family-run, mechanical and electrical company committed to training apprentices, to replace old boilers with state of the art Worcester Bosch GB162 boilers, the most efficient in their category.
A recent refurbishment has seen a fully electric kitchen, complete with induction hobs, installed in the manor house, meaning gas is no longer used to power the kitchen.
Helen Aylward-Smith, Director of Combe Grove said: “We are delighted to have made such significant progress in this short space of time and consider it an important element of Combe Grove’s apprenticeships, to understand businesses’ social responsibility to protect the environment.
“We’re looking forward to starting the next phase and ‘going for gold’.”
Stuart Park, Green Tourism Assessor said: “Combe Grove already has a number of positive green measures in place and should have no trouble increasing [their] award level over the next few months.”
