The Speech House has always had sustainability underpinning its business, for many reasons – because of its location, because of the building, because of global warming, the current situation around energy costs – but mainly because its at the epicentre of the Forest of Dean and so they have to take it seriously to futureproof the business.
The Forest of Dean’s Speech House Hotel is a 17th century hunting lodge that was built by King Charles II in 1669, it’s a Grade II-listed building that’s been an integral part of the Forest of Dean’s history — it means a lot of things to lots of different people in the local area. By the 1800s it gradually became more and more of a hotel. Director Naomi Hands’ family took it over in 2010, and over the years they have been working to develop and really change the reputation of it in the area.
It has long taken its commitment to the environment and sustainability seriously — upgrading to green infrastructure like a biomass boiler and EV charging points for guests over the years. Having already sought guidance on everything from marketing to IT training from The Growth Hub Gloucestershire, the family-run business reached out again recently for help taking its commitment further, by fulfilling its key aim of being powered by renewable energy.
“Solar panels were something that we’d wanted for a very long time, but weren’t able to get them because of the cost — also getting it through planning in the Forest of Dean was quite challenging, partly because we’re a listed building. Having access to the Big Solar Co-operative was game changing.”
The Growth Hub has also introduced the Hotel to cloud-based platforms that integrate with accounting software and various other things, to workout carbon emissions.
The Growth Hub has shown us that it doesn’t have to cost a fortune. Also understanding how to monitor our carbon footprint — there’s no way we would have even known where to begin without their support. Any areas you want to explore as a business, they’ll have resources and connections and people to talk to within those areas. It’s an untapped goldmine of knowledge — I’d advise anyone to go and have a chat with them.
The Speech House are in a really strong place at the moment — 97 per cent of all of their waste is recycled, so very little of it is going to landfill, but there’s always more they are looking to do to recycle and upcycle.
A huge piece of what they plan to work on is around the education of guests, and people visiting the area. This year there will be a big focus on how they communicate the work that they’re doing and share the knowledge to help other people do even the smallest things themselves.
To read the full story, in Naomi’s own words, check out her interview with SoGlos here: How the Forest of Dean’s oldest hotel is striving for a sustainable future with The Growth Hub
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