Environmental Policy
We have had the fortunate opportunity to live and work at Bonawe House in Taynuilt, and be an occupant of this 265 year old building. We see our responsibility to allow the next generations to enjoy this place and its surroundings as much as us. That responsibility means acting and making purchasing and marketing decisions taking the environment into account every step of the way.
We have the facility for charging electric vehicles during your stay, please ask us about the arrangements. We operate an electric vehicle ourselves.
Since 2010 we have embarked on an ambitious scheme to completely refurbish our properties, all of our cottages have now been stripped back to bare walls insulated to a very high standard and double glazed where permitted. We have also installed a district wood-chip boiler that provides the heat for radiators everywhere and instant hot water. There are PV panels on the roof to provide some of the electricity. We have invested in many energy saving schemes, such as installing loft insulation, draught proofing, LED lightbulbs, energy efficient appliances and sophisticated controllers for the heating.
We introduced showers into the properties, dual low flush toilets, etc. We defrost the fridges every week to ensure they run efficiently and clean the condensors at the end of every season to optimise their operation. The outside lights are all energy efficient lights, controlled by a daylight sensor, and most are additionally controlled on Passive Infra Red (PIR) or timeclocks. We minimise the light pollution by angling the light downwards where appropriate. We turn off all appliances, and leave nothing on standby when the properties are not occupied.
We minimise Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC) by using natural materials for cleaning, and steam cleaning for thorough cleaning, instead of using bleach. We use water based paints for our walls and also for our windows and doors to minimise VOCs.
Our purchasing has always included buying recycled paper for our printers and brochures, even when they were difficult to source; recycled cartridges; recycled toilet paper, recycled bin bags. We provide liquid hand soaps to minimise the waste of soap bars only used by 1 guest. We buy Ecover products as a recognised standard for environmental cleaning products. We buy these in bulk and fill up the small containers.
Where ever possible we renovate furniture, using traditional techniques when appropriate, such as beeswax (from our own bees) and Renate does extensive re-upholstering.
The Council picks up our general waste and paper, and we pay to uplift the glass for recycling. We also have 2 compost bins for fruit and vegetable peelings. During refurbishment we always look at what can be re-used, and have donated many pieces of furniture to Charity. Our sofa’s were donated to the Rose’s project on the Island of Mull. We donate microwaves, toasters and kettles that don’t look up to the standards we are after, to the local teenagers leaving home.
We garden organically as much as possible. We landscape our gardens according to the historical significance, maintaining the magnificent beech trees and rhododendron gardens. The area around the pond is left for wildlife. The wildlife in our gardens is very diverse, including some rare species such as red squirrels, pine martens and several species of bats.
The walled garden is part of our private gardens and we have a small organic fruit orchard and vegetable plot here. All our garden waste is either composted or used to provide heating for our own house.
We are actively engaged in the local community, Damon is a member of Oban Mountain Rescue, and volunteers as chairman of Scottish Mountain Rescue. Renate is a voluntary leader for the local Duke of Edinburgh scheme on expeditions. We also support the local Community Council whenever needed, and have advised on local windfarms and the local transport plans to encourage walking and cycling. We love the outdoor activities, and encourage our children and their friends to take part in the outdoor life, such as walking in the mountains, swimming and kayaking in the loch, cycling, orienteering, etc.
We like to encourage our guests to minimise their carbon footprint, and therefore make it easy to stay with us without a car. We will usually be able to pick up anyone from the station with your luggage (just a mile away), and of course you can hire a bike locally to be ready for you when you arrive. Our local grocers will drop off your grocery order, both before you come, and whenever you do a big shop while you are with us. Public transport timetables are in the folders.
Our carbon footprint for the business is 8.95 tCO2 (down from 80tCO2 before our works). So for a week’s stay your accommodation footprint is exceptionally low at 0.03 tCO2. If you are travelling 300 miles by car for your holiday (36 miles per gallon) then you need to add 0.1 tCO2 to this for your holiday’s carbon impact.
The energy consumption per m2 is 103 kWh per annum, which compares to a typical house of 200 kWh p.a.