Spey Creek Sustainability
As our commitment to helping New Zealand remain a clean and green country, we make sure to preserve our native forests, plant and increase our forestry, maintain a pest and weed control system and continually monitor and aim to reduce our impact on the environment.
We know that Spey Creek, as part of the local and international community, may have impact on the environment and those around us. We are proud so far of our commitment to sustainability and are working towards attaining the Enviro Gold award from Qualmark for our commitment to being a sustainable luxury activity with accommodation amongst an area of natural beauty.
Spey Creek supports local suppliers and charities (as well as international charities) and utilise the skills of as many local craftsperson’s as possible. We produce our own electricity through a small hydro system, taking water from one of our own creeks and returning it to the natural waterways of Spey Creek. We used timber from our own farm to build our luxury accommodation thus minimizing the impact of transporting timber long distances.
We enjoy our staff and clients coming on the journey with us to ensure sustainability of all the natural resources available to us.
Procedure
Spey Creek sources locally grown produce and consciously purchases eco friendly products. Green waste (food scraps) are separated from non biodegradable items and put back onto the land.
Recycling barrels set up on the lodge porch include bottles, cans, soft/hard plastics, and aluminum. This allows the business to closely monitor the amount of waste produced and maintain clean recycling bins.
Having guests use permanent drink bottles to minimise plastic bottle use and covering food with beeswax cloth instead of glad wrap are examples of reducing waste and actively pursuing the business goal of zero waste.
These measures of reducing waste are outlined in the welcome letter given to guests when they arrive so everyone can contribute to reducing waste and maintaining a sustainable business operation.
We will continue our pest control programme
Carbon Footprint
We recommend our clients fly with Air New Zealand. Not only did they carry out the world's first commercial aviation test flight using a sustainable second-generation biofuel derived from the plant Jatropha curcas, they also have an active carbon offset program, which allows customers to make a donation to the Air New Zealand Environment Trust.
Our closed loop radiator system has significantly reduced the use of fuel.
Our Shuttle is fuel efficient and has reduced fuel consumption.
Our refurbishment plans incorporate environmentally certified products.
We encourage our guests to offset their carbon by purchasing “Trees for Travellers”.
We are joining the Governments Billion Trees programme and native regeneration of our own forest is underway.
Waste Reduction & Recycling
We recycle paper, cardboard, glass, cans, plastic, unusable polystyrene, garden waste, shells and batteries.
Recycling bins are offered to guests for waste separation.
We use sustainable paper for our printed collaterals.
We encourage our team to not print out emails unless necessary and also encourage others not to print out our emails.
We reuse printed paper for staff notes.
Food scraps are feed to the wild animals and not added to landfill.
We have significantly reduced our printed and paper marketing materials and our information is now on digital media.
We try not to purchase products with excessive packaging to reduce wastage.
We are implementing a paperless programme with invoicing etc.
Energy Management
We generate our own electricity with renewable hydro power.
We use energy saver bulbs wherever possible.
LED TV has been selected to replace an old TV as they consume less energy.
Our windows are double glazed to increase energy efficiency.
Lights are dimmed and turned off overnight.
Solar lighting is used for illuminating outdoor areas
Energy saving fittings have been used for lamps wherever possible.
Full rollout of LED light bulbs completed.
Purchasing
We purchase goods and services locally where ever possible to build local economy.
We buy in bulk to reduce package.
All of our wine is purchased locally or from within New Zealand.
When purchasing these points are to be considered by all staff:
- Upsize everyday non-perishables
- Switch from packaged to unpackaged
- Avoid multi-packs
- Thoroughly rinse all items.
- If in doubt, don’t add it to the recycling bin
- Recycling is only part of the solution. Reducing the amount of waste you create is best
- If it’s clear hard plastic packaging, look for “RPET” – this means a proportion is recycled content.
- Aluminium and glass containers have a high proportion of recycled content, even if it’s not mentioned
- Think about how long a product will last
- Look for energy-efficient products
- Consider the materials the product is made from
- Take reusable shopping bags/boxes
- Buy goods produced in New Zealand
- Have something repaired rather than replace it
- Try to avoid products with too much packaging
Pollution Prevention Initiatives
We have double glazed windows to minimize noise pollution.
We have purchased a new Mercedes Sprinter, which are fuel-efficient and have reduced fuel emissions.
We regularly service and maintain vehicles to maintain efficient running.
We use reuseable laundry baskets for guest laundry needs instead of individual plastic bags.
Water Conservation
We have installed dual flush toilets in the guest rooms.
Linen is replaced on guest demand cutting down on water and detergent wastage.
We have trained our staff to only use the dishwasher and washing machine when full thereby saving energy, water and detergent.
The water supply for the lodge is sourced from an elevated spring, located in amongst native forest. The supply runs through two filtration systems, a UV light and sediment filter.
