Is this the greenest hotel in the UK?

May 3, 2013 - PRLog -- Historic Country House Hotel, Nailcote Hall, has completed a major investment in green utilities to create one of the greenest Hotels in the country.

Owning and investing in a listed, historic Hotel in the Greenbelt has not been easy, especially in the current difficult economic and uncertain political climate.  But that hasn’t stopped the irrepressible Rick Cressman, owner of Nailcote Hall Hotel, who, over the last 3 years, has been determined to make what he calls ‘no brainer’ cost-saving investments in green utilities for his business.

The first green initiative, funded by the Hotel’s environmental waste management partners, ACM Environmental, saw the installation of a BioNova Digester; aimed at reducing the amount of food waste going to landfill from 6 tonnes per month to approximately 1 tonne per month.  Furthermore, the BioNova produces an ongoing supply of renewable fuel from food material which is now supplementing the wood pellet supply for a new 100KW biomass boiler. This is now dramatically reducing the Hotel’s gas consumption and has qualified them for the Government’s Renewable Heat Incentive programme.  Due to its success, future plans are to further utilise the waste to heat system for supplying heat to the proposed as new Golf Club House and 10 room extension block.

Additionally, some 700 light fittings in the Hotel have been with 7 watt LED light fittings to dramatically reduce the cost of electricity.

As Rick Cressman says of these innovative initiatives ‘None of this would have been possible without the support of organisations like ACM Environmental, BioNova and especially the Energy Efficiency Financing scheme jointly launched by Siemens Financial Services Limited and the Carbon Trust, to help fund some of these green investments.’

Not content to stop there, the hotel has also created several ponds and water features on its Championship 9 hole Golf Course where some 220 trees have been planted, as well as numerous shrubs and plants. The result is that there are now more than 65 species of birds on the estate where very few existed 20 years ago.  In addition, Rick has plans to link a previously dug borehole, already used to supply the sprinkler system on the golf course, to supply the Hotel’s water supply.  As the Hotel stands on marl and sandstone, the quality of the water has been tested and is superb.

As Rick proudly states ‘The Hotel is a prime example of how important it is to take care of green spaces.  This approach is much more important than being neurotic about Greenbelt boundaries and creates an environment which can be inspiring and enjoyed by all!’

“Nailcote Hall is certainly a very green lesson for all and I would like to thank my friends at ACM Environmental, the Energy Efficiency Financing scheme and Bio Nova who have all contributed to making it one of the greenest Hotels in the UK.”

Notes to Editors:

Nailcote Hall Hotel Nailcote Hall Hotel is a 17th Century Country House Hotel in Berkswell, Warwickshire set in 15 acres of parkland the hotel was rescued from receivership by the current owner Rick Cressman in 1991.

The 40 bedroom hotel has a variety of function facilities, leisure club and the No.1 Par 3 Golf course in the UK, which hosts the Farmfoods British Par 3 Championship.

ACM Environmental plc is a ‘one-stop-shop’ for total waste management. They offer a range of services to proactively reduce the impact businesses have on the environment while cutting costs.

ACM Environmental’s expertise can help businesses meeting their corporate, social, and environmental responsibilities; and achieve the triple 'bottom line' benefit of people, profit, and the planet.

ACM Environmental has gained ISO14001 outside of existing accreditations of ISO9001, ISO18001, FBS Health & Safety Gold Award, Safe Contractor, IIP Green Apple Awards for Environmental Best Practice.

The Energy Efficiency Financing scheme is a joint initiative launched by the Carbon Trust and Siemens Financial Services Limited (SFS). Designed to finance the acquisition of energy-efficient business equipment, the EEF enables British business to adopt low carbon, low energy consumption technologies, in a way that does not require up-front capital investment, and which aligns monthly outgoings with monthly energy cost savings.  SFS provides the financing; Carbon Trust expertise is harnessed to validate the solution vendor's assessment that energy cost savings will typically be equal to, or greater than, monthly financing payments, ensuring that the investment is zero cost - or even cash positive - for the customer. The EEF dedicated green financing scheme is open to applications from any business with at least three years of trading history. To date, more than a thousand financing applications have been approved by the EEF scheme, with values ranging from a few thousand pounds, to hundreds of thousands.

BioNova specialises in on-site food waste to energy systems, targetted at the SME sector.  These offer the ability to transform food and organic material into either heating or cooling for commercial clients, who are able to remove their waste cost, reduce their energy bill and can earn RHI incentive payments in operating the system on site.  

BioNova is based in the SW but has a growing national client base utilizing its unique technology.  The systems are particularly effective in the 5-50 tons/week waste range and are available with a range of funding options as appropriate