Auberge de Chabanettes has become the first hotel in the Livradois-Forez National Park to achieve the coveted "Gold" status in Tripadvisor's Green Leaders programme.
The accreditation recognises hotels and B&B's that engage in environmentally friendly practices and helps travellers make an informed choice about their future accommodation plans, based upon sound and also strict green-tourism practices.
The 3 levels of the programme, (Bronze, Silver & Gold) are awarded on a in-depth analysis of a business, its practices and also how it shares this information with its guests.
The Gold status is the highest standard and demands an enormous commitment to carbon reduction, promotion of developing and enhancing the environment as well as displaying innovative and effective approaches to reducing waste and emissions.
Since taking over the historic Auberge in May 2015, Tim and Ingrid have undertaken a number of key initiatives to help enforce one of their key initial business objectives - To operate in such a way that actually complements the region in which they live and play a pivotal role in significantly reducing their local environmental impact. Prior to moving to the Auvergne, Tim was a pioneering "Green Hotelier" and Charity fund-raiser in the North of England and helped raise thousands of pounds for local causes as well as steering various environmental initiatives that helped reduce his former hotel's carbon impact.
Among some of the main changes Tim and Ingrid made to the business included a significant upgrade to bedroom insulation, sourcing only storm-damaged wood for burning, installing water-flow restrictors, buying only electricity from 100% renewable sources as well as choosing small, local suppliers where possible for food and beverages. They are also the only business in the area to offer Fairtrade Tea and Coffee to their guests and have pledged their support to a local endangered bat protection programme and are also helping raise funds for a local charity which cares for physically and mentally handicapped children.
Despite all these new initiatives, Tim and Ingrid are still committed to doing more and as part of their on-going review, they intend to still seek out more ways to reduce their carbon emissions. They are currently looking into the possibility of converting their public-area heating to Bio-mass stoves and also developing a new composting programme which will hopefully help raise more funds for local projects.
For more information on Auberge de Chabanettes and it's commitments, please visit www.aubergedechabanettes.com
