Sustainability

Committed To Continual Improvement

Our Environmental Performance

Our objective is to create a climate of environmental excellence in services and products provided for employees, volunteers and guests. Our activities will be managed to minimise their effect on the environment. We are committed to continual improvement at all levels and in all functions of the organisation. We aim to become the flagship for the Diocese of Carlisle of exemplary environmental practice and to lead by example. We recognise that this will only be achieved through regular monitoring of our environmental performance against objectives regulated by a committed management system. Hover over the boxes below to see our objectives.

Identify, control or eliminate the risk of pollution arising from any of our activities, products and services.

Meet and exceed all regulations relating to environmental matters and adopt safe and environmentally acceptable standards where none currently exist.

Reduce our waste to the lowest practical level by means of recycling, upcycling or other management systems and ensure responsible disposal of waste materials created or received, undertaking environmental audits and measure the results against established targets.

Reduce the use of materials, resources and energy minimising the environmental effects of all future developments and appraise the environmental effects when sourcing raw materials.

Reduce and maintain as low as possible, the consumption of electricity in all buildings, using more efficient methods of heating/lighting.

Advocate employee involvement in all environmental matters and provide suitable training and support for all employees and volunteers with regard to this environmental policy. Ensure that any person working on our behalf is made aware of and agrees to comply with this policy.

Address the environmental impact of travel related to the Hall by exploring ways of encouraging sustainable transport.

Endeavour to promote local, sustainable and fair-trade products where possible.

Continual removal and management of invasive species to help protect native species.

Inform staff, volunteers, guests and visitors of the importance of our work and publicise through information boards, media, events/activities, leaflets, word of mouth etc.

To To undertake a review of this policy in the light of any new knowledge, legislation or public concern.

Carefully & Mindfully Managed

Our Activities

Our activities are being carefully and mindfully managed to minimize their effect on the environment. We believe that taking small steps accumulatively can lead to significant change. You’ll find our twelve activities below:

Eco-Policy

We have a clear eco-policy statement and apply this ethos to all our actions on site. We also encourage our guests and visitors to share their thoughts and ideas to help us continue to achieve a reduction to our carbon footprint.

Turbine

Our hydro turbine installed in 2015 converts the potential energy from Rydal Beck into hydro power and provides us with up to 500 kw of green energy.

Water

The water cascading down from the summit of Fairfield mountain is filtered to supply fresh drinking water to our Campsite, Bunkhouse and Holiday Cottages.

Hall

The Hall shop stocks a selection of Fair Trade, organic, ethical and all-natural products for our guests. Our housekeeping team uses only environmentally friendly products and is constantly looking for ways to eliminate plastic and waste. We have an eco-deal for all our visitors travelling to Rydal Hall on any public transport. Any bookings for 7 nights on a Dinner, Bed & Breakfast basis will receive a free stagecoach bus pass, encouraging guests to use local public transport.

Gardens

Bruna, our award-winning gardener, manages the gardens using only green horticultural practices. She has established an organic vegetable garden in order to grow produce for the Hall and staff.

Estate

The Estate and Woodlands are managed using eco-forest practices. Horsepower is used for timber extraction, providing a sustainable fuel source and creating wildlife habitat stacks.

Wildlife Ponds

We have established several wildlife ponds, wetlands and bug hotels to encourage wildlife biodiversity. We are fostering links with local schools to encourage use of our site as an environmental education resource.

Red Squirrels

Rydal Hall and Estate is a designated conservation area and we are active and have been successful in the return to our site of the indigenous Red Squirrel population.

Textile Sculpture Path

Guests can visit our Textile Sculpture Path to experience art in the environment, all created from reused and recycled materials.

Food

We source our catering products from local suppliers only. This reduce the miles our food has to travel. Our chef is constantly looking at ways to reduce food packaging and introduce refillable dispensers. All kitchen waste is composted on site. Organic and ethically sourced wine and local beers are available in our bar.

Refillable Drinks Bottles

We have adopted the national Refill Water app to encourage our guests to refill their reusable bottles with our natural fell water. We have eliminated all plastic bottles from our Tea Shop and Hall shop and we are continually working to reduce all unnecessary packaging. Guests can purchase our not for profit, refillable and fully biodegradable take-away drinks bottles, which are manufactured from organic material and compostable.

Tea Shop

Guests who leave their car at home and cycle to Rydal receive a 10% discount on drinks. They can recharge their electric bikes for free. All guests bringing their own reusable drinks mug also receive a 10% drinks discount.

Harnessing Natural Power

Rydal Hall Hydro

Our hydro turbine installed in 2015 converts the potential energy from Rydal Beck into hydro power and provides us with up to 500 kw of green energy.

Watch our video for a behing the scenes look!

Bookings At Rydal

Looking For A Retreat Or Venue For A Large Group?

At Rydal we host a number of wonderful retreats and events throughout the year. We also cater for group bookings for friends and family, and leisure and business groups, all within the extraordinary surroundings and our beautiful estate.

Group Bookings

Visit The Chapel

Discover Retreats

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