Green places to stay

Photos of Battlesteads Hotel in Hexham Northumberland

Battlesteads Hotel and Restaurant, Northumberland

Treshnish & Haunn Cottages, Isle of Mull

Evergreen - nestling in the woods at Inverfarigaig, South Loch Ness

Evergreen, Loch Ness, Highlands, Scotland

Yr Hen Stablau east exterior in the south of Snowdonia National Park

Yr Hen Stablau, Mid Wales, UK

A beautiful patio area to make the most of the weather and scenery

Coombe Farm & Woodlands Trust, Devon England

Tordown with labyrinth in the front garden and the Tor on the hill

Tordown, Somerset, England

Lovely clean white exterior of Bryn Bella

Bryn Bella Guest House, Snowdonia, Wales

Wheal Towan Lodge with the lush greenery surrounding it

Rosehill Lodges, Cornwall, England

Part of the Linhay garden and sundeck overlooking the wildlife pond.

Beeson Farm Holiday Cottages, S. Devon, England

Greentraveller gets involved in Green Tourism Week

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Features Green Travel News

Posted by Tobias Chapple at 08:57 on Monday 06 June 2011

Photo: GTBS

>> UPDATE ON 10 JUNE: See who the winners were: Green Tourism Award Winners.

For the UK’s first Green Tourism Week, greentraveller will be teaming up with the Green Tourism Business Scheme to award the best eco-friendly tourism businesses across the country. Around half of the shortlisted businesses are featured on greentraveller.

The Green Tourism Week, starting today and running until the 12th (June 6-12), is an initative launched by the leading eco-label Green Tourism Business Scheme (GTBS) to highlight the link between green tourism and profitability in tourism. This initiative was launched at Chester Zoo in March by leading environmental campaigner and Green Tourism Week patron, Tony Juniper.

greentraveller’s founder, Richard Hammond, will be part of a Green Tourism Weekpanel that will reward businesses who have shown a real commitment to sustainability. From a shortlist of 22 a total of ten GoldStar Awards, the GTBS’s most exacting grade, will be presented to companies who have demonstrated the highest levels of green ambassadorship, innovation and cost savings over the last year. 11 of the shortlisted businesses are already featured on greentraveller (see the full list below); more than half the shortlist.

The award ceremony will take place this Thursday (9th June) at the Royal Thames Yacht Club in London, sponsored by Triodos Bank and sustainable procurement business Beacon Purchasing, with catering provided by green contract catering company Bartlett Mitchell.

To Green Tourism! Photo: Green Tourism Week

Not only will there be Green Tourism Week events around the country and participation in 50 green things to do for Green Tourism Week, but there will be an award ceremony in London this Thursday (9th June).

Greentraveller’s founder, Richard Hammond, is part of the Green Tourism Week panel that will award businesses who have shown a real commitment to sustainability.

From a shortlist of 22, a total of ten GoldStar Awards, the GTBS’s most exacting grade, will be presented to companies who have demonstrated the highest levels of green ambassadorship, innovation and cost savings over the last year. 11 of the shortlisted businesses are already featured on greentraveller (see the full list below); more than half the shortlist.

The award ceremony will take place at the Royal Thames Yacht Club in London, sponsored by Triodos Bank and sustainable procurement business Beacon Purchasing, with catering provided by green contract catering company Bartlett Mitchell.

A Best Carbon Footprint award is also to be given to the company with the lowest carbon emissions and is sponsored by Ecover environmentally-friendly cleaning products. Out of the ten shortlisted, four are listed on greentraveller.

A Best Performance for Carbon Reduction Award will be presented to the hotel chain, either Radisson Edwardian or Ramada Jarvis, which has achieved greatest carbon savings. This award is being sponsored by BSI one of the UK’s leading Hotel Booking Agency.

greentraveller's founder Richard Hammond will be putting his expertise to the test for Green Tourism Week. Photo: Richard HammondAdditionally there will be a Greentraveller Award for an environmentally-conscious celebrity traveller.

The judging panel will include Richard Hammond of greentraveller.co.uk, leading environmental campaigner Tony Juniper who is patron of the Green Tourism Week, and John Firrell, Director of the Considerate Hoteliers Association.

Says Jason Freezer of VisitEngland, ‘Sustainability is fast becoming an essential part of competitive positioning in the tourism industry, and VisitEngland is delighted to support a campaign which will help showcase to the industry the superb work already being done in this area and which demonstrates that green is increasingly not just a ‘nice to have’ but rather an essential strategic driver for business growth.’

Says Andrea Nicholas, Managing Director of GTBS, ‘We wanted an opportunity to highlight some of the exemplary practices undertaken by GTBS members and the cost savings they have made and to help educate and inform those businesses who have not yet made a green commitment. Holding a focused Green Week with an awards ceremony for some of our greenest members will be a great platform to get out the message that being green can benefit your bottom-line.’