Sustainability - Ashorne Hill

Sustainability is one of our key strategic objectives and as such we pay constant attention to reducing our impact on the environment through our day-to-day activities. This commitment has been recognised by achieving a Platinum Venue Awarded from Greengage Solutions. We are always open to suggestions from our guests on how to improve further, so we welcome your ideas and feedback.

Meeting Rooms & Bedrooms

Ashorne bottled water is available in all the meeting rooms. Guests are encouraged to bring their own refillable water bottles, which reduces water wasted from discarded bottles and chemicals from cleaning. We have also removed plastic cups.
SmartKapp electronic flipcharts are used in some of our meeting rooms to reduce the use of flipchart paper.
We have replaced A4 writing pads with A5 ones, and rooms are only provided with a few of these with recycled pencils. We encourage guests to use their own devices and stationery to record notes.
All guest rooms have thermostatically controlled radiators and eco-friendly toiletries.
Water-reducing shower heads.
‘Plant a tree’ option instead of room servicing.
Recycled toilet paper in the main toilets

What we have achieved so far

Food and Beverage

Cutting down the waste – The team here are very keen on reduce food waste:
Juiced lemons – we preserve juiced lemons in salt & sugar to be served with tagines or fish dishes.
Egg shells – are dried, crushed and bagged for guests to use on their gardens at home.
Coffee grinds – great for adding nutrients to soil both at Ashorne and for your own gardens.
Too Good To Waste – after the lunch service, any spare meals are portioned and made available to our staff at minimal pricing. This saves around 60 meals a week going to waste!
Supplier screening – working in partnership to ensure delivery options and supplier practices align with our best practice. We work with over ten local suppliers and aim to keep our menus seasonal.
An automated beer line system in the bar cellar is cleaner and more efficient to manage.
Our deliveries come in reusable crates.
We have invested in energy efficient catering equipment.
Healthy food options – over 40% of our main meals are either vegetarian or vegan.
Our takeaway food containers are compostable.

Our Building and Site

EV Charging points – 8 double charging points
Electric vehicle for onsite transportation
Hot water is thermostatically controlled and managed to ensure maximum efficiency (within H&S guidelines).
6 Solar panels, with further installations planned.
Around 85% of the business uses LED lighting, with motion sensor lighting in guest room corridors, public toilets, and the main kitchen.
Our sewage system makes water suitable for discharge into water courses.
Rainwater collected for irrigation, toilets, and/or recovery of grey water.
Recycling bins available in or nearby all offices, meeting spaces and guest rooms.
Electricity 100% backed with renewable energy certificates.
Zero waste to landfill.
Unwanted or outdated furniture is upcycled, offered to staff, or given to charity.
Fruit orchard and rewilding scheme.
Bug hotels, wildlife walks, bat boxes and beehives.

A full water audit.
Replacing more items from boilers to kitchen equipment with improved energy efficient ratings.
Green meetings – the optional extras to make events even greener.
Shower timers to help reduce water consumption.
Volunteering days for staff, and more community activities.
Developing a tree walk.
Greater customer engagement on Reduce, Reuse and Recycle, including a ‘Switch it off’ campaign.
Reducing paper use by digitalising more of our internal processes.

Look out for these initiatives