Sustainability Policy

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Sustainability Policy – Trewan Hall 2021

We are working to reduce our impact on Cornwall’s environment by working with the University of Exeter through Tevi, an EU-funded project that acts as an external consultancy for small to medium enterprises, enhancing their sustainability and resource management.

Trewan Hall Ltd is committed to protecting and growing the natural environment and proactively managing its environmental impacts.

We are committed to making continuous improvements in the management of our environmental impacts. We work in partnership with others to promote environmental stewardship across our value chain, increase understanding of environmental issues amongst our stakeholders and disseminate good practice with other companies.

Any developments to the site that are carried out are made sympathetically to the natural environment and the historical character of existing buildings.

As we move forward we will use the resources produced sustainably on site such as charcoal to bring more of our activities in-house, reducing our use of third party suppliers and grid energy and water. We will record our progress as we do so.

By providing a high-quality, sustainable alternative to foreign travel, we are helping UK-based holiday-makers to reduce their carbon footprint and benefit the local communities of Cornwall. We will continue to engage with our guests and educate them about the responsibility we all share in appreciating and maintaining Cornwall’s environment and natural beauty.

Phil Channon, Manager, is responsible for ensuring that the environmental policy is implemented. However, all employees have a role to play – this Sustainability Policy outlines our individual and shared responsibilities to ensure that the aims and objectives of the policy are met.

This Sustainability Policy commits us to

Embed environmental risks into our risk identification and mitigation processes
Regularly assess our areas of environmental impacts, which includes considering current and future environmental issues
Audit our compliance with legislation and investigate all environmental incidents in order to prevent recurrence
Set targets for continuous improvement

Materials

Where possible we will source materials and products for sale and manufacturing locally, thereby reducing emissions and positively influencing the local economy. We source;

Vegetables from a distributor in Newquay called Freshpoint
Meats from Peter Morris the local butcher in St Columb
Milk and Dairy from our local Milkman - Andrew Belcher
Bakery foods from Niles Bakery in Newquay
Cleaning and hygiene products from Nicholson’s in Redruth
Toys from Kayes of Cardiff
Camping Equipment from Caramarine in Axeminster
Packaged food from Bookers Wholesalers in Newquay.

We try where possible to reduce the frequency of orders from all suppliers but most notably Kayes and Caramarine due to the distance the products must travel.

The majority of the food trucks that set up on site are based locally, within 20 miles of Trewan Hall. We have also started our own food evenings in the Barnyard, the structure of which is made from the old doors of the Coach-house, the canopy sail is a re-purposed sail from a Cornish Crabber and the BBQ we had made locally by a skilled welder. Again we try our best to use local producers and vendors and will always use recyclable packaging and disposables.

We will work with the most ethical suppliers we can find, and will continue to promote environmental sustainability, including reduced use of single-use plastic. We do this by building relationships with other businesses, and asking them to embrace our values. Those that do not or cannot we stop purchasing from, even when they offer the greatest value for our money.

Our water is supplied entirely from on-site boreholes and monitored regularly by the council and our own testing for continued quality and safety.

We source chippings for use in planting/path creation, as well as our own charcoal, from fallen trees on site.

Toilet paper on site is produced from recycled paper pulp.

We aim to reduce our environmental impact through the use of less or non-hazardous cleaning chemicals:

Cleenol envirological citric toilet cleaner
Clean Pro+ Lemon Floor Gel - non bleach

Culture

We are a family business, and aim to always hire locally. Therefore we are able to encourage our staff to avoid travelling to work by (non-electric) car; where this is unavoidable we promote car-sharing. We are investigating provision of an electric vehicle charge point for both staff and guests.

All staff will be encouraged to promote the ideals and attitudes herein, and will be provided with the necessary training to do so.

We will avoid unnecessary travel by promoting video/phone conferencing where possible.

Energy, Waste and Water

The consumption of energy and water, and the creation of waste, to be reduced wherever possible through investment in more efficient technologies and through engaging users with the appropriate use of these resources (e.g. turning lights and electrical equipment off at the end of the day and when not in use and turning off taps):

Our toilet blocks have waterless urinals installed, which we estimate has saved upwards of 200,000 litres of water annually.
Our toilet blocks use low energy bulbs which are motion-activated, this has reduced our energy consumption both by switching from more traditional bulbs and by reducing the time the full lighting is used overnight.
We have provided a washing-up station on site to reduce dumping and loss of water.

Renewable energy technology has been installed:

An Air-source heat pump heats our holiday cottages.
Photovoltaic panels supply electricity to the site year-round. Out of season we are able to run the estate solely on these panels and in the summer we supplement them with power from the national grid. We are monitoring the split between energy we use and energy we need to buy with the goal of reducing the energy bought whenever possible.
The swimming pool is partially heated by a solar hot water system. During colder times we also use a plastic dome to reduce heat loss from the pool. We are monitoring the gas usage with the aim of reducing its consumption wherever possible.

Our sewage disposal system is primarily off-grid and only the excess which we cannot process is removed, this is done bi-annually by Pellow’s Disposal Services.

We have developed new practices to ensure the safety and cleanliness of the swimming pool while minimising our use of virgin materials.

We retain all miscellaneous waste in bulk and ensure that recyclable materials such as electronics and metals are recycled.

We are investigating the suitability of food waste composting on site. If it is determined to be viable, we will strive to engage with and educate our guests on the vital nature of waste reduction to the environment.

Ecology

We have been awarded the Gold Award by the David Bellamy Awards system for 2019/2020. In particular our woodland habitat management, hedgerows, wildflower planting and grassland management were all identified as excellent.

We will identify and protect wildlife (in particular species protected by European and UK legislation) on our premises/work sites, through the consultation of experts where necessary.

We will work to increase abundance of pollinators by enhancing the habitat they rely on and we will encourage our neighbours and customers to do the same.

Where physical works and installations are to be carried out, where possible we will use native plants to replace, screen or shelter the works. Before works are carried out we will seek appropriate advice in order to carry this out more effectively.

Where possible we will reduce noise and light pollution created due to our on-site activities. Our commitment to minimising intrusiveness was noted by the David Bellamy Award.

Where pest control is required, we will endeavour to use physical repellents and barriers to prevent access. Where this is not possible, we will seek independent advice and use poisons/kill traps that have the smallest/no known impact on non-target species.

We currently utilise Evergreen 4:1 fertiliser on site, as well as Roundup, Weedol and Gramoxone 100 as herbicides. Where the continued use of herbicides and fungicides are required, we aim to limit their application as much as possible, and take all appropriate safety measures.

Customers

We will use our website and social media to engage with, educate and inform our customers about the work we do to contribute to Cornwall’s environmental growth, and how customers can complement this. Our website will remain a hub for information on what we are doing to remain and become more environmentally friendly, and our blog will keep followers updated as we continue this journey.

We will use our website and social media to inform our customers about how important Cornwall’s natural environment is to businesses and people living and operating in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly.

We have designed and signposted a nature trail for children on site, including various educational spots.

Strategy and performance

We will review and update environmental objectives and targets on an annual basis.

We will meet any relevant regulatory requirements so that our visitors can be confident that they are supporting a business that is contributing positively to Cornwall’s environment.

NAME: Phil Channon

POSITION: Manager

DATE: 23/06/21

NEXT REVIEW DATE: 23/06/22