Eco-Tourism is the Business in Scotland!

11 January 2005

The UK environmental regulators – Scottish Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA), Environment Agency (England and Wales) and the Environment and Heritage Service (Northern Ireland) – are well aware of the difficulties small businesses within the hotels and restaurants sector can experience while trying to keep on top of environmental legislation.

Every day, it seems, a new piece of environmental legislation comes into force and with people in the hotels and restaurants sector working notoriously long hours, it often seems there's not enough time in the day.

In response to the difficulties identified, all three regulators have invested in Netregs , an online service providing free, plain language, practical guidance on how to comply with environmental legislation. Its aim is to help businesses stay within the law and cut costs in the process.

In Scotland, 200,000 people work in the hospitality industry, generating sales revenues in excess of £4 billion per year. (Figures from Tourism in Scotland 2003). The Hotels and Restaurants sector is an extremely competitive marketplace. A business's survival can depend on creating and maintaining a quality service and an impeccable reputation.

With modern day consumer attitudes turning increasingly towards sustainable tourism, the Scottish hotels and restaurants sector is in turn supporting this trend by providing a more environmentally sustainable experience for its guests.

According to NetRegs' team manager in Scotland, Claudette Hudes, Ashdene House – a guest house in Edinburgh – shows that a well thought through environmental policy not only enables a business to meet its environmental obligations, but also that it makes good business sense too.

She said: "Ashdene House has been running an environmentally-friendly programme for its guests since 1994 and has been awarded a Gold Award from VisitScotland's Green Tourism Business Scheme . Through water and energy-saving measures and the sensible handling of waste, the hotel has seen considerable economic and environmental benefits, which in turn have helped build the hotel's socially responsible image to its guests."

Ashdene House owner Caroline Daulby comments: "Some of the energy-saving features we have introduced include: a condensing boiler; showers in rooms instead of baths; small kettles; A and B rated energy efficient appliances; low energy light bulbs and adjustable valves on radiators and insulation.

"Waste is sorted into paper, cardboard, plastic and glass. Food scraps are composted and even at full capacity, we manage to limit waste to one domestic-sized wheelie bin, which reduces the need for business specific bins and pick-up.

"The combined energy-saving measures have resulted in a 30% reduction on gas and electricity bills – not to mention less damage to the earth’s atmosphere and a contribution to a reduction in global warming."

Mrs Daulby continues: "We are also committed, where possible, to using recycled, organic and locally-sourced products, and provide pamphlets with environmental advice for guests in each room. We are delighted to say that some of our visitors have chosen to stay at our guest house because of our green credentials, and it is one of the main reasons for repeat business."

But while Ashdene House is at the forefront of the increasing trend among hotels and restaurant owners to embrace environmentally-friendly measures, research commissioned by NetRegs has revealed that many smaller businesses have poor awareness of environmental legislation. The survey of more than 8600 small and medium-sized businesses throughout the UK found that:

Only 19% of those asked could name any environmental regulations affecting their activities
Only 18% had an environmental policy in place
32% wanted more help and advice on environmental matters

This clearly demonstrates that there is a real need for an understanding of the range of legislation that could affect so many aspects of the working day – and this is where NetRegs can help.

Andrea Nicholas, Manager of the Green Tourism Business Scheme agrees. She said: "There are now over 450 members of the scheme in Scotland and we are committed to advising them on all areas of the law, including environmental. In fact, it is part of the scheme’s code of conduct that all members have to sign. The guidelines on the NetRegs site are a comprehensive source of advice for us."

"NetRegs helps us ensure our members are working within the law and reaping the business benefits of being compliant. I would encourage all small businesses and associations to use NetRegs."

On its legislation pages, the NetRegs website has full details on the plans and the extent to which businesses have to be aware of their responsibilities.

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