Proactive against Climate Change
Argyll Holidays - Proactive against Climate Change
As the United Nations Climate Change Conference, known as COP26, is set to come to Glasgow in November, we are reminded of the importance of the responsibility of sustainability in business. COP 26 tag line is that we are at ‘A pivotal moment in the fight against climate change‘ which is true however, at Argyll Holidays we pride ourselves in our long standing environmental responsibility.
Since 1986 forward thinking on behalf of the Directors has seen numerous sustainable solutions put in place; the first being the installation of a small scale hydro scheme at Drimsynie Estate Holiday Village in Lochgoilhead. The scheme has successfully serviced Drimsynie Estate with electricity since and today, it continues to produce ‘green energy’ with excess production being fed back into the national grid.
Environmental responsibility doesn’t stop at one project. At Argyll Holidays we are constantly adapting to ensure that our emissions remain as low as possible; playing our small part in meeting the targets being discussed at the COP 26 conference in Glasgow.
While we only play a small part in fighting Climate Change, we can also encourage others to follow our lead.
As an alternative to fossil fuel heating, we installed high specification Froeling 320kw biomass boilers at our largest parks, Hunters Quay and Drimsynie Estate Holiday Villages. We also purchase our biomass fuel as local as possible in order to reduce road miles.
Some of our smaller projects that have reduced our CO2 are:
- Low energy lighting - we now benefit from an 80% reduction in energy costs and CO2
- Maxi-therm pool and hot tub covers at both Hunters Quay Holiday Village and Drimsynie Estate Holiday Village, reducing our heat-loss and dehumidification needs and a cost saving of about 25% which in turn reduced our CO2 emissions
- Each year we set aside more areas for pollinating insects and extend wildlife corridors. 322083 m2 of wildflower area in 2021 - savings in fuel use for lawn mowers which again, reduces our CO2 emissions
- Paperless billing and communication
- Shared mini bus transport for staff
- Implementation of a Carbon Management Plan for future CO2 reduction projects
Our latest investment is a phased switch to electric vehicles for our fleet where possible, in order to reduce reliance on fossil fuels.
As a company, we are very aware that delivering the target of reaching net zero by the middle of the century won’t be easy however; if we all ‘do our bit’ the targets won’t seem so distant.
Our mission statement states that Long-term, green and sustainable practice is essential if we are to rebuild our economy, improve our quality of life and protect our natural environment. Sustainability is at the heart of everything we do at Argyll Holidays - from the day to day running of our holiday parks to purchasing local goods and services - we aim to lead by example
