The Suaeda Cottage footprint
Great news! Sawday’s have recently introduced carbon footprinting for the properties they market, so we now have a footprint for Suaeda Cottage. The figure is 3.0 kg CO2e per booking per night, compared to the national average for hotels of 10.4 kg CO2e. Read more about Sawday’s owner footprinting here.
Polypodium Fern, Martin Smith
Here are some of the things we do to try to be green, with the help of guests and providers.
Reducing energy consumption
With the exception of four original sash windows and a small round window retained for their character, all windows and doors are double-glazed. The roof was insulated in 2018.
Except for special sizes or shapes, the light-bulbs are low-energy, and the fridge and washing-machine are recent and have good ratings. An unvented cylinder system ensures good hot water pressure, making it easy and enjoyable to have a shower instead of a bath.
Responsible energy sourcing
Most of the heating is electric (mainly storage heaters), but the electricity provider is Good Energy, which sources from renewables. The open fire was replaced by a small woodburner in 2019 to be safer and more efficient but still be cosy when the weather is chilly.
Buying local and/or eco-friendly
We buy organic linen and bedding as far as is practicable (and washable).
We use eco-friendly cleaning products such as sodium bicarbonate and vinegar and help guests keep waste to a minimum by providing composting facilities and solid shampoo as well as locally-made soap.
Gardening for wildlife
We garden naturally and encourage wildlife with pollinator-friendly plants and piles of twigs.
Dragonfly in garden, own photo
Laundry
The laundry for Suaeda Cottage holiday lets is done by Michelle Howard of Brancaster Cleaning Services. Here’s what Michelle says about her processes:
“I have got the highest rating washing machine and tumble dryer i can get. I line dry as much as possible in the summer months, on my indoor lines (never towels though as i feel they go crisp and scratchy when line dried). in the winter, i only half dry linens in tumble dryer and line dry to finish off. I do this because it takes longer to line dry things in the winter.
I don’t use fabric softener, as this is bad for the environment and linens. However, I do use vinegar as needed, as this does the same thing as softener, as well as helping to eliminate odours. I use soda crystals and vinegar for machine tub clean, as it’s better for the environment. I try to keep the use of bleaching products to the bare minimum, again for environmental reasons. I try to make sure the machine is full when washing, as this is more efficient.”
Over to you
Guests can help by reducing waste, using water responsibly, not having barbecues, and so on – and by suggesting ways we can improve!
Foxglove (own photo)