Family-owned hotel scoops BCE environmental award

Pool House in Poolewe, Wester Ross has been named as one of the winners of the 2001 Business Commitment to the Environment Awards.

The award was presented by Rt. Hon Margaret Beckett, Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs at a ceremony in London on 29th January. The BCE Awards have offered recognition to businesses and organisations, which have shown exceptional commitment to the environment since 1975.

In her speech Rt. Hon Beckett mentioned that she was delighted to see Pool House, a small company in the service sector being amongst the Premier Award Winners. Nine years ago, the Harrison family bought a two-star hotel and transformed it into the internationally renowned 4-star hotel, which is one of the most environmentally friendly hotels in the UK.

Commenting on the 2001 winners, Sir Anthony Cleaver, Chairman of the Medical Research Council and BCE President said: “The standard of entries demonstrates how many organisations are determined to work to improve the environment. The winners are those of us who can enjoy a better quality of life as a result of their efforts.”

Other 2001 Award winners were:
Eden Project, Bodelva, Cornwall
Wessex Water’s New Operations Centre, Bath
Diageo’s Water of Life, London
The Co-operative Bank, Manchester
University of Cambridge Programme for Industry

The BCE Awards are run in association with the national environmental charity, Groundwork.

Notes:

About BCE
Business Commitment to the Environment Awards is an independent awards scheme that aims to encourage and recognise good environmental practice within businesses and authorities. BCE is sponsored by a number of leading companies and has been supported by prominent business people and politicians. It works closely with other bodies interested in business and the environment.

The awards are presented annually to companies and organisations that are able to demonstrate to the BCE panel of assessors outstanding commitment to environmental excellence over and above statutory requirements. BCE was founded by Sir Peter Parker in 1975, making this the longest established environmental awards scheme for business. www.bceawards.org

Premier Award Winner:
POOL HOUSE, Poolewe, Wester Ross
Pool House is a family-owned and family-run business which the Harrison family have developed from a two-star establishment into an internationally renowned 4-star hotel. It is and will remain one of the most environmentally friendly hotels in the UK, having been awarded VisitScotland’s Gold Award in the Green Tourism Business Scheme, with a score of 99%.

Located in the beautiful and rugged North West Highlands, Pool House is small (with just 4 suites) and operates at the luxury end of the market, but proves that quality need not equate with wastefulness and that being ‘green’ can enhance the enjoyment experienced by their guests. Among the measures which they undertake are wind-up radios in the rooms, recycling of paper by making fire-bricks and their own soap, all of which make a real saving in energy consumption; they also have their own ‘worm farm’ thus ensuring that everything which can be added to the compost heap is!

In the pipeline are several new developments which will add to Pool House’s reputation, including grey-water recycling, use of solar panels and – further down the line – an expansion with a particular focus on the disabled. Planned for this year is a scheme to reward environmentally conscious guests by giving a discount for future stays to those who close windows, turn off the lights and television when they leave their bedroom. The hotel demonstrates a major contribution to the life – and sustainability – of the local community, which much impressed the BCE Assessors.

Pool House recently won another major award when it was named AA Hotel of the Year for Scotland 2001-2002.

For further information contact: Pool House Tel: (01445) 781272