Green Policy Statement

GREEN TOURISM WITH ELDERBURN

Elderburn Lodges is a Member of the Green Tourism Business Scheme and has earned a Silver Award in recognition of our attempts to provide efficient and environmentally-friendly self-catering accommodation. We are committed to sustainability and to providing a high-quality service whilst minimising the environmental impact of our activities. The scheme provides accreditation and encouragement for tourism businesses to reduce the environmental impact of their activities. By encouraging sustainable practices the scheme ensures the continued enjoyment of the environment around us for future generations.

We are continuously looking for ways to improve how we do things.

As a very minimum, we comply with all relevant environmental legislation
We are committed to raising the awareness of our guests, cleaners, maintenance staff, suppliers and fellow industry professionals with regards to sustainability issues (and how they can help)
We monitor and review our environmental performance on a regular basis

ENERGY

All hot water and central heating is provided by heat generated by our biomass boiler on site. It uses wood pellets to heat water in a central buffer tank, before being piped underground to each house where it is then passed through a highly efficient heat exchange system. The heat is transferred from the boiler water system to the house water system and used to heat the radiators and clean hot tap water for showers, baths and sinks.

All of our houses are individually temperature controlled via digital thermostats.

All of our doors and windows are double glazed to reduce heat loss.

Our houses are very well insulated with rigid insulation boards behind plasterboard lining and added extra insulation in the loft spaces

We also have 2 sets of solar PV panels on the roofs of Lodges 1 and 3. These are used exclusively to power our lodges’ appliances.

We use as much natural light as possible and add to this by using low energy LED lighting where possible.

The exterior car park lighting is on a dusk/dawn timer and uses low energy bulbs.

All electrical appliances used in Elderburn Lodges are always the highest Energy Star Rating we can get.

WASTE / RECYCLING

Each house has clearly labelled recycling bins for glass, plastics, and paper/cardboard. There are also large recycling bins on site which we encourage guests to use when their smaller bins are full. These are then collected by fortnightly by Resource Efficient Solutions (A Fife Council Company).

WATER

Showers are fitted with eco settings to reduce the water usage, but not the shower experience.

Towels are renewed every 3/4 nights depending on length of stay, unless guests request a more frequent change.

Our soakaway is an efficient and low environmental-impact way of dealing with surface water (rain water or storm water). It is a hole dug into the ground, filled with rubble and coarse stone which allows surface water to percolate back into the earth close to where it falls. Our garden retains water, and we avoid directing excess water into the sewer system.

PURCHASING

Wherever possible we try to source products which are produced locally, supplied in bulk, and environmentally friendly

We use environmentally friendly cleaning products throughout.

We promote a local chef (Patrick Gilmour) to cook for a special occasion, as well some local cooks if budget is more of an issue. We also highly recommend the local farms shops which are in an abundance near us, as well as small local restaurants.

When constructing our lodges (finished in June 2014) we exclusively used local tradesmen and craftsmen. We are particularly pleased to have come across Dovetail Enterprises in Dundee who create excellent quality furniture and mattresses. They are an inspiring company who started out employing local men and women with visual impairment, and disabled ex-servicemen. They now employ a range of disabled people with a passion for traditional skills and state-of-the-art designs.

TRANSPORT

We can give our guests details of cycle hire, some tips on wonderful walks (including the Fife Coastal Trail) and details of train and bus routes & timetables (although our rural location does mean that there is not a bus stop on the main road.)

OUR NATURAL ENVIRONMENT

We have a large garden area for guests to enjoy, planted with native trees, bushes and flowers.

We encourage our visitors to tell us about any wildlife sighting they have so we can record it on our blogs, and write about it in our nature diaries for future guests to read.

All of our houses are disabled friendly with ground floor access to bedrooms, bathrooms, kitchens, living areas, and outdoor areas. Please see our Accessibility Statement for further details.