Environmental Policy 2010

The Directors of Escape Lodges recognise that the company has a responsibility to the environment, customers, suppliers and staff and are therefore committed to the best possible environmental practices in all aspects of our business, including design, marketing, manufacturing, product sourcing and waste disposal. This commitment is echoed throughout all levels of our business and together we will continue to improve our environmental policy.

As part of our continual endeavour to improve our environmental policy we have introduced:

Cuts down on paper printing as well as transport.

As standard we email all our designs and presentations to clients prior to any amendments and changes to the design to reduce paper waste. Only when the client is satisfied with the design do we send hard copies.

 
We have introduced a surveyor to cover our Treehouse surveys in England to reduce our carbon footprint, this location was specifically chosen as a good central point to cover the country. Our aim is to have a London based surveyor within the next few months.

As a business that travels all over the country and is aware of continual environmental development, we are looking into carbon offsetting as well as tree planting. Please note this is currently not in place, however we are researching carbon offsetting at present and aim to have it in place as soon as possible.

Our head office is currently a rented property and is outside our control, however the building will be going through a refurbishment within the next few months, and this will include better insulation and well as a more energy efficient heating system and draft exclusion.

As a company, we maintain and ensure the highest level of quality in all of our contracts by employing skilled craftsmen. The construction team travel to location and prior to construction we source our material from local sources where appropriate. We use local tradesmen in the installation of all services including heating, electricity and plumbing.

The Directors of Escape Lodges recognise that the company has a responsibility to the environment,
customers, suppliers and staff to source both its domestic and commercial supplies from well-managed and
sustainable forests.

We are committed to purchasing all timber from legal sources and seek evidence of compliance from
suppliers that they are operating in accordance with the laws of their country. Treasured Dreams
unreservedly condemns illegal logging practices and keeps informed of processes and changes in
international legislation.

If it is established that Escape Lodges has received materials from illegal sources, it will promptly take the
appropriate action(s), including ceasing purchasing from such sources for products covered by this policy.

Timber is the most environmentally friendly construction material. When trees are developing and growing,
the world we live in is assisted by the production of oxygen and absorption of carbon dioxide. The use
of timber in manufacturing helps slow the growth of global warming as timber uses less energy in
production and building than other materials. Homes built with timber are more thermally efficient and
therefore need less energy to heat.

As a business we are always looking for new ways to improve our environmental policy. As such we have recently changed our insulation from a man-made oil based insulation to natural wool insulation where possible.

 
 
Natural wool is 100% biodegradable, or if reusable wool's active life reaches hundreds of years without losing its flexibility or moisture retention properties, and even when that active life comes to an end, it is biodegradable in soil. Man-made insulation cannot be effectively recycled and instead accumulates in landfill space.
 
Lower embodied energy is the key idea behind all sustainable products in the use of as little energy as possible in production. Wool insulation uses only 15% of the energy of a comparable man made material.
 
Low carbon impact. Thanks to the drastically reduced energy requirement of manufacturing wool insulation, the carbon dioxide that emission generates is very low. Better still, wool locks up 6kgs of carbon dioxide per m2 of loft insulation. Man-made insulation – in stark contrast – generates sizable amounts of carbon dioxide in its manufacturing processes, raising the level of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.
 
Security of supply. As wool is the natural by-product of sheep farming, wool is sheared annually. With the only limit to supply being the number of sheep farmed on the hills, wool is one of the earth’s most sustainable resources.
 
A zero waste production process During the production of wool insulation, all off-cuts are recycled to ensure there is no net waste from the production process.

Cedar shingles are a natural and tactile material, which looks stunning in any environment. Cedar is simply the best timber for roofs as it contains natural oils, which protect it from the elements and is guaranteed for 40 years. They are an environmentally responsible choice; renewable, recyclable and sustainable for future generations.
 Recyclable.Manufactured from renewable resources.Product stores carbon, helping our air.Resource cleans our air through photosynthesis.Does not consume resources such as petrochemicals and ores being mined or pumped from the earth.

All our commercial windows and doors are energy efficient and manufactured in red wood from sustainable sources.
 Argon filled double glazing.Manufactured in pine.Extremely easy and smooth sliding mechanism.High security locking system.

With all of our commercial buildings we install under floor heating as the preferred choice of heating. The use of under floor heating reduces desired room temperatures by 1°C -2°C when compared with radiators yet still providing the same level of comfort. Each 1°C reduction in room temperature reduces fuel consumption by 6%. With less fuel used, less pollution is created and costs are lowered.

We aim to encourage all our clients to use low energy lighting whenever possible. Dedicated low energy light fittings will cut your energy consumption on lighting by up to 80% and reduce carbon emissions. Light bulbs will last up to 8,000 days and should not need to be changed for 3 - 5 years.

Composting Toilet Systems are the environment-friendly alternative to traditional systems and can be used in all our buildings both domestic and commercial. The installation of composting toilets is an option we offer to our clients. Some clients prefer this type of system as it is in line with their pro-environment ethics. Many of our clients however simply do not like the idea, and in a commercial sense it is not always a practical solution for the hotel operator.

Composting toilets (also called biological, dry or waterless toilets) are systems that treat human excrement through biological processes, turning it into organic compost material that can be used to fertilize the soil. They are small-scale, complete sewage processing systems not connected to the mains sewage system.

Escape Lodges can provide a range of rainwater harvesting and grey water recycling products to meet the requirements of all domestic and commercial buildings.
 A rainwater harvesting system collects rainwater from the roof, filters out leaves and debris and stores it either in an underground or above ground holding tank. Water is then drawn off via a silent running pump passing through a series of filters for use in a variety of non-potable applications as and when required. When stored water is not available, the system automatically switches to mains water thereby ensuring that a constant water supply is maintained without any intervention in the use.