Use green products
One of the easiest things you can do is to change the products you use in your property. A number of household cleaning products that you can pick up in the supermarket will contain chemicals that are harmful to the environment. By switching to more natural products, you are avoiding adding toxic substances to sewage systems which eventually end up in our oceans. We’ve partnered with Big Green Smile to give our owners 15% off their eco products; find everything from natural shampoos and soaps to washing up liquid, dishwasher tablets and cleaning sprays. Just use the code ECOOFFER15 at checkout before 31 August 2021.
Re-use!
Historically, it’s been very common to find single-use beauty products in holiday cottages. However, an eco-friendly alternative is to provide your guests with refillable bottles of hair shampoo, conditioner, shower gel and soap that can be topped up after each stay. Brands such as Bramley and Faith in Nature provide this service, or you could find a local company near to you.
If you are unable to offer reusable products to your guests, why not work with an initiative who collect and recycle used soaps instead? CleanConscience works alongside hotels and toiletry manufacturers to ensure that the maximum amount of partially used hotel soap and toiletries are recovered, repurposed and redistributed for the benefit of those most in need of hygiene. So far, 70 million bars of soap have been collected and redistributed in Sierra Leone.
Encourage guests to recycle
Recycling is one of the most important things we can do to ensure plastic does not end up in landfill sites and the ocean. So it’s important to encourage guests to recycle when they are staying at your space. To make it as simple for them as possible, you might want to put some instructions in your arrival guide or pop some signs up. Some regions in the UK don’t currently take recycling, but you can organise for a private company to come collect this rubbish instead. It’s always worth going the extra mile if you can.
Green electricity
Switching to a renewable energy company not only reduces your carbon footprint, it encourages renewable generation & a cleaner future. Companies such as Ecotricity use 100% renewable electricity from solar, wind and hydro and their gas is 100% carbon neutral too. Keep your eyes peeled as their discounted rates for Sawday’s owners will be back in March!
Go local
When it comes to food production, the most eco-friendly thing you can do is grow your own fruit and vegetables on site, but we know this isn’t always realistic. If this isn’t an option for you, we’d recommend you shop as locally as possible. Whether it’s getting fruit from the local green grocer, meat from the farm shop or eggs from down the road. Not only is it good for your carbon footprint, it’s brilliant supporting other small, independent businesses.
Get off-grid
Some of our most eco-friendly spaces have gone the whole way to ensure they are making the least impact on the environment as possible. This may include building a cabin from locally-sourced wood, adding solar panels, running off their own water supply or using geothermal heating. Some have even swapped their hot tub for one that’s wood-fired! More and more people are looking to get off grid so making small changes to your space wherever possible will not only make a long-lasting impact on the environment, it could entice more guests too.
If you have any questions regarding your membership, please do not hesitate to get in touch with your Account Manager or via members@sawdays.co.uk.