Your organisation's purpose:
We are a four star luxury hotel in Essex with 98 bedrooms, a spa, conference space and 110 acres of grounds and woodlands. We are on a mission to become even more sustainable and have set some bold objectives we aim to achieve by the end of 2024.
What is your impact initiative?
From seed to plate
We have developed a two acre kitchen garden which provides an abundance of fruit, vegetables and salad which is used by our team of Chef’s. We change our menus as regularly as necessary in order to best utilise ingredients from the Kitchen Garden and work within the seasons. Any excess produce is given to team members to avoid waste.
Beehives
This year we welcomed the arrival of our own beehives and bee's to the Estate. Our bee’s have access to our 110 acre estate and beyond to collect a variety of pollen and nectar.
In the UK, around 70 different crops benefit from visits by bees, including the crops in our own Kitchen Garden.
Electric vehicle chargers
Down Hall now has six electric vehicle chargers available to our guests. With the amount of people moving to electric vehicles to help with their carbon footprint and contribute to a more sustainable future, the introduction of these chargers demonstrates our own commitment to sustainability.
Down Hall Gin and Vodka
2024 has seen the launch of our very own Down Hall Garden Gin and Vodka.
Both spirits have been delicately blended with botanicals, foraged from our very own Kitchen Garden and across our 110-acre estate. We are proud to have partnered with local and sustainable distillery, Essex Spirits Co, who have a zero-waste sustainability ethos and use cutting-edge modern distillation methods to get the most out of our ingredients.
Sourcing locally
We source as much of our ingredients as we can locally, using the very best produce from Essex, Hertfordshire and Cambridgeshire and Suffolk.
Facilities
Our facilities have been developed to ensure our guests don’t need to leave the resort. The estate benefits from padel tennis, tennis, short-tennis and badminton courts as well as a trim trail through the woodland, fully equipped gym, French boules, giant chess, and a play park.
110 Acres
We are set within 110 acres of woodland, parkland and formal gardens. We have developed a 5 year woodland management plan and are committed to stocking our grounds with additional trees, flora and fauna.
In-House Green Team
It all starts with the team. We have implemented a dedicated team to explore and actively implement CSR within the hotel. The green team meets on a regular basis to work on initiatives and schemes to ensure the hotel keeps moving forward with being sustainable, environmentally aware, community driven and charitable.
Water
We use recycled glass water bottles for our conferences and in-house guests, filled from our own in-house water plant. These are sanitised and refilled onsite.
Recycling of Materials
We are zero to landfill. All waste materials including food, glass, paper and cardboard, metal are recycled or composted.
Single use plastics
We are removing all single use plastics from the estate. We are currently converting all our bedroom toiletries into a refillable more environmentally friendly solution.
LED Lighting
All lighting has been converted to LED bulbs which are up to 80% more efficient than traditional lighting. 95% of the energy in LED's are converted into light and only 5% is wasted as heat. Lights are switched off in meeting rooms, bedrooms and back of house areas when not required.
Charity
It’s not all about us, we want to make a difference in the community too.
We actively fund-raise to support our chosen charity, St Clare Hospice.
What category/categories does your initiative fall under?
- Reducing energy use
- Food for Good – reducing food miles, local seasonal produce, plant-based & organic
- Reducing waste
- Nature positive initiatives – conserving, preserving or restoring landscapes, habitats & wildlife
- Minimising water use & water pollution
- Wellbeing
Address:
Matching Road, Hatfield Heath, Essex, CM22 7AS
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