THE ENVIRONMENT

At HF Holidays we're passionate about doing our bit to reduce the environmental impact of our holidays. Here are just a few of our current initiatives, including replacing single-use plastics and improving the energy efficiency of our country houses.

Green Tourism Awards

Green Tourism is an organisation that HF Holidays have been working with since 2016 initially with our country house Derwent Bank in the Northern Lake District. This accreditation is designed for tourism businesses and looks at all aspects of sustainability including water efficiency, waste management, biodiversity and social and ethical choices. Following an assessment, either a Bronze, Silver or Gold grading is awarded.

All our Country House teams have been working towards their assessments - we have set ourselves the challenge of all our country houses achieving a Gold award within 3 years.

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Awarded to 2 Houses:

Freshwater Bay House, Isle of Wight
Monk Coniston, Lake District

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Awarded to 15 houses:

Alltshellach, Scottish Highlands
Abingworth Hall, South Downs
Chy Morvah, St Ives
Craflwyn Hall, Northern Snowdonia
Derwent Bank, Lake District
Dolserau Hall, Southern Snowdonia
Holnicote House, Exmoor
Larpool Hall, North York Moors
Longmynd House, Shropshire Hills
Nether Grange, Northumberland
Newfield Hall, Southern Yorkshire Dales
Nythfa House, Brecon Beacons
Peveril of the Peak, Peak District
Thorns Hall, Western Yorkshire Dales
West Lulworth House, Dorset Coast

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Awarded to 1 House:

Harrington House, Cotswolds

Single Use Plastics

Like many organisations, we are keen to substantially reduce our use of single use plastics. Over the next 3 years, we're aiming to remove these items from across our business.

2018

By the start of our 2019 main season, we will have removed all single-use plastics from our picnic lunches. We're currently working with a company called Vegware who provide a more sustainable alternative to our plastic sandwich boxes. They use a plastic substitute that can be composted; this is made entirely from plant material, mainly corn starch.

2018

2019

For the start of the main 2019 season, all houses will have an outdoor tap providing drinking water. This will enable all guests to top up their drinking vessels without having to buy bottled water.

2020

The 2020 edition of our Europe & Worldwide brochure has been bulk mailed in a wrapping made of potato starch which is fully biodegradable.

2020

Looking ahead, we're also planning to replace the disposable toiletries in our bedrooms with a more sustainable alternative. We're working with our current supplier to find a high-quality solution.

Energy Efficiency

Improving the energy efficiency of our buildings is one of the most effective ways that we can improve our sustainability. In 2018 we replaced all the lighting in the public areas of our country houses with LED bulbs - these use considerably less electricity than traditional bulbs.

When we refurbish buildings we aim to install better insulation and more modern boilers. We currently operate two large bio-mass boilers at Glen Coe and Church Stretton.

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Bees

Without bees, there’d be no honey, no fruit, and no vegetables! Bees are key to the survival of our fruit and vegetables as they pollinate them (carry pollen from one flower to another) to help them grow.

Here at HF Holidays, we’re doing our bit to help. Working with local beekeepers, we’ve set up hives in the grounds of our country houses at Selworthy, Freshwater Bay, Derwent Bank and Abingworth and now you can help too.

We are all really proud of the achievements to date, and the work that has been put in by our teams to protect the environment. If you would like any further information on the programme, please visit the website www.green-tourism.org