Highlights
- Gold Green Tourism rating
- Converted all heating to district biomass system or air source heat pump
- Installed solar panels
- Planted 5,000 native trees
- Converted to organic management of grounds and vegetable/fruit production
- Ethical procurement policies
The owners of Kirkennan Estate run a small business renting out three self-catering holiday cottages. Since taking over the estate, in 2013, they have steadily improved the environmental sustainability of the buildings and grounds.
In the process, they have increased their income from the business and have simultaneously reduced its carbon footprint.
One of the main challenges facing the owners of the business, as they worked to reduce their environmental impacts, was the old stone buildings that originally relied on oil fired heating. They have tackled this in a number of ways:
- improving insulation to floors and walls,
- installing a biomass heating system that uses reject wood from the local sawmill,
- installing an air source heat pump,
- installing three sets of solar panels – one of which can also be used to trickle charge electric vehicles.
They have converted the estate to organic methods and are now largely self-sufficient in fruit and vegetables, and able to provide guests with a hamper of seasonal produce. Wildflowers are encouraged by limiting the mowed areas of the lawns; and they have planted 5,000 native trees across the estate.
They have developed an ethical sourcing policy that supports local businesses. They re-use and recycle, buy Fairtrade products and avoid single use plastics. With their biomass heating now supplied by the local sawmill, they have reduced the transport footprint of most supplies.
All their efforts have paid off, with a very high rate of direct repeat bookings and an increase in occupancy from 40% to 80%. This has tripled their business turnover over the past eight years whilst helping to keep costs down.