Thousands of eco-conscious guests staying at Wyboston Lakes Resort have chosen to have a tree planted instead of having their room cleaned under Room2Grow, the new initiative offered to those staying more than one night. As a result, the Resorts Green Team is already nearing its tree-planting target for 2022.
The project, which aims to reduce energy usage and ultimately the carbon footprint of the resort, launched only four months ago with an ambitious target to plant 5,000 trees on the Resort’s 380 acres in 2022. With more than three months to go until the end of the year, Wyboston Lakes Resort will by far exceed its target as the total number of trees to be planted already stands at 4,681. The Resort is now on track for the Room2Grow total to reach around 8,000 trees this year.
What’s more, Room2Grow has become an award-winning sustainability initiative picking up the innovation award from the IACC (International Association of Conference Centres) at their ‘IACC Europe Knowledge Festival’ held in conference in Holland recently.
Room2Grow is just one part of Wyboston Lakes Resort’s approach to sustainability that makes the most of the resort’s extensive natural resources. The resort has also launched several more environmental and wildlife enhancements. For example, with the decline in the bee population, the site welcomed four bee colonies in August. These are being managed in an eco-friendly way by a keen beekeeper.
The Resort is also home to a nature reserve with all kinds of wildlife, fauna, and mammals, and this is now being enhanced with the addition of a large wildflower meadow.
Louisa Watson, Director of Marketing at Wyboston Lakes Resort, says: “We are delighted and a little overwhelmed with the success of our Room2Grow initiative. It’s a wonderful testament to the support we have received from our conference and training venue guests and really shows that consumers want businesses to do the right thing. We have many more plans for our sustainability journey, so watch this space!”
Wyboston Lakes Resort’s commitment to sustainability has been widely recognised with Platinum accreditation from Eco-Smart, a Gold Award from Green Tourism, and the IACC Gold Star. It is currently a finalist for the Sustainability Award in the Meetings Industry Association’s miaList 2022.
These have been earned through a vast range of energy and waste reduction initiatives. For the seventh consecutive year, zero waste was sent to landfill and currently, the aim is to ensure that no food waste goes off-site. All electricity used on the site is generated from renewable energy sources, saving more than 1,300 tonnes of Co2 emissions. The resort is also working towards a 2040 Net Zero Carbon Emission Goal.