Braemar Lodge & Spa occupies a special place in the New Zealand environment. Located in the sub alpine area of Hanmer Springs in New Zealand’s South Island, we believe we have a moral and social responsibility to do the best we can and leave as little behind as possible by treading lightly on the land.
Braemar undertake’s dynamic reviews of our procedures, protocols and principles in line with national and international best practice to reach our environmental goals and we welcome positive engagement from all sources as to how we can improve upon these. Climate change is upon us and we intend to participate in reducing our impact.
Our gardens, grounds, eco-system and well-being
The Braemar Lodge & Spa estate has been regenerated with the removal of over 70 large wilding pines and replaced with over 1400 native plants including endangered species, such as Kakabeak (Clianthus). This replanting has included native beech (Cliffortioides), cabbage trees (Cordyline), flaxes (phormium- cookianum/purpurea tenax), Tussocks/Sedges (carex testacea/comens), Oleria Tennuifolium/Cheesmanii, Libertia Ixiodes, Anemanthele Lessiana, Broadleaf, Akeake and many more. This renewed biodiversity has seen a return of many birds with staff and guests enjoying watching Tui birds, wood pigeons (Korero) and even deer and wild pig in the adjoining paddocks. A recently planted small orchard provides a food source for many local birds.
Braemar’s resident groundsman actively removes weeds and pests and has an eradication program for the control of non-native invasive predatory species.
Braemar Lodge & Spa is uniquely situated at the foothills of the majestic Amuri range completely surrounded by several thousand acres of low stocked, low intensity grazing land. Due to our unique rural location we are privileged to have a magnificent celestial night sky visible from the lodge and free from light pollution from outside sources. Our relative seclusion affords a unique opportunity for all our guests to temporarily withdraw from the pressures of modern life and refresh themselves in our natural environment. We believe the experience of well being generated from time spent at Braemar Lodge & Spa will have a restorative effect on body mind and soul.
Carbon Emissions
Braemar’s unique location results in some unique challenges. The distance from major centres means everything we receive needs to travel to get here and our aim is to reduce those miles and our carbon emissions where possible as outlined below:
Rationalised ordering – where possible, we combine multiple smaller orders into larger orders resulting in fewer deliveries.
Electricity – Braemar purchases electricity produced from renewable sources. We have also installed a 50kW PV solar farm which makes a significant contribution to our electricity demands from rooftop generation. At the time of writing, this has resulted in preventing over 100 tons of carbon being emitted into the atmosphere as well as the equivalent of saving over 2,600 trees.
Gas – Braemar’s gas boilers have now been augmented with the installation of two high volume R 22A Rheem, air to water heat pumps powered from solar energy which pre-heat water before it enters our boilers. This has resulted in a substantial reduction in gas consumption. The remaining boilers will be replaced with new technology condensing boilers in YE 2020 which will further reduce carbon emissions. Our boilers are actively managed and we ensure they are regularly serviced to ensure safety and efficiency.
Water - Braemar’s water storage system is insulated to prevent heat loss prior to water entering the heating system.
The lodge hosts both Tesla and Universal EV charging facilities. We provide 8 subsidised on-site staff suites to reduce their transport costs and time as well as improving their own well-being by providing more leisure time.
Environment – Braemar Lodge & Spa are proud to support the Hotels for Habitats initiative to regenerate ecosystems by replanting trees and vegetation. Through the direct contributions from Braemar, we have assisted a number of re-afforestation programs and donated to a number of charities. We provide in-room collateral to promote the positive and important work and messages from this organisation.
Wood - Wood for our rural open fire is sourced from the estate as either slash or fall down and not specifically cut for fire wood.
Waste
Unfortunately landfills are a reality of our time, however Braemar actively undertake a number of measures to reduce our waste stream and divert from landfill.
Green waste – Braemar composts garden waste onsite for use in our grounds.
Food – Braemar ensures we are only ordering appropriate amounts of stock to ensure freshness and to minimize waste.
Paper – Braemar have reduced our paper consumption in a number of ways. Any waste paper not being reused is recycled. We specify FSC or PEFC certified paper from our printers and stationery providers.
Recycling – where possible, all recyclable material is recycled. This includes paper, cardboard, metal, glass and plastics. Braemar return polystyrene cases to suppliers for reuse and choose suppliers who accept their containers back eg EcoChem.
Toiletries – Braemar opts for toiletries that are biodegradable and not tested on animals.
Grey/black water – being a rural location, Braemar are responsible for treating and disposing of our waste water. No aggressive chemical treatments are needed.
Packaging – as much as possible, Braemar specifies products that do not use or require excessive amounts of packaging requiring disposal.
Bags – the hospitality industry uses substantial numbers of plastic bags for a multitude of reasons. Braemar are moving to biodegradable bags where possible which can be composted or will breakdown within months of going to landfill, instead of years.
Left over guests amenities ie soaps, sheets, towels, duvets etc are re purposed through organisations who can find further use for them.
Items which are still useable, but perhaps not a hotel standard, are gifted to charitable organisations.
Braemar use refillable dispensers where possible to reduce discarding plastic.
Braemar have replaced all small plastic milk containers with custom made glass ‘mini ‘milk bottles. This initiative not only provides fresh milk to guests but also saves over 30,000 plastic containers a year from reaching a landfill.
Braemar washes all towels in our on-site laundry which eliminates truck deliveries.
Energy
Almost every service and product provided to guests requires the use of energy. From heating, to lighting, to food production and more.
Lighting – Braemar have switched over 1000 globes to LED’s and other forms of low consumption lighting. Hallways and public bathrooms have sensors which only activate lights when needed.
Heating/cooling – Braemar uses heat pump systems to heat and cool our suites and public areas. Public areas are only heated/cooled when needed. Guest suites feature gas fireplaces which are shut down during warmer months, but still available upon request. All heating and cooling systems are sized correctly to ensure efficient operation.
Suites are north facing to maximise sunlight energy during the day to assist with heating.
Suite window glazing is passive, meaning windows can be opened and regulated manually so as not to be solely reliant on AC heating.
Insulation – the entire property is insulated to a high standard. All windows are double glazed.
Gas consumption – while Braemar are still operating with gas hot water boilers, we only run the number of boilers needed to ensure guest comfort. Kitchen staff are also encouraged to turn off hobs when not in use. During warmer months we turn off pilot lights for in-room fire places.
Suites and public areas – suites and lodge areas not in use are powered down.
General – with Braemar’s new 50kW solar farm, we have shifted as much of our electrical load to daylight hours as possible. This means our laundry, bulk hot water heating (when heat pump system is installed), kitchen prep and public area heating/cooling is conducted with electricity produced on site. Excess power is fed back into the national grid supply.
Wired systems – as much as possible, Braemar choose wired systems over those requiring batteries.
Spa pools – Braemar’s spa pools are very well insulated to reduce the electricity demands generated.
Water
Braemar Lodge & Spa is unique because it has an exclusive water supply drawn from a deep onsite bore from the Hanmer aquifer. This is a secure supply that is externally tested at frequent intervals and has been so for over 10 years without ever having any problems. In this day and age where pure water is an issue, we are privileged to have this valuable supply for the use of our guests.
We draw only what is needed and in fact use about 20% of our annual RMA consented allowance.
We hold over 120,000 litres in secure above ground storage tanks which are housed in a secure shed on non-accessible private property.
Showers have flow moderators.
Toilets are dual flush.
Linen are replaced on demand instead of automatically throughout a guest stay.
Water consuming appliances are chosen for their efficiency and low water consumption.
Lawns are only irrigated when needed. We use grass varieties that are hardy and tolerate low levels of irrigation.
Gardens are planted using a variety of native and non-native species chosen for their hardiness and low demand for irrigation. Most garden areas do not require any irrigation now they are established.
We carefully manage the water in our spa pools to ensure quality and safety.
Our bore water passes through a water softener and then a ‘validated UV’ filter to ensure the utmost security and purity of supply for our valued guests. Tests we have undertaken on our water supply show it is the equivalent of high quality bottled drinking water.
Braemar operates its own multi chambered waste water processing facility which is checked every month by our on site maintenance engineer and serviced regularly. This system reduces waste water to harmless elements which can be returned to the vadose layer and recycled into the environment.
Due to operating our own organic treatment system, all chemicals must be biodegradable and harmless to the environment.
Purchasing
All suppliers are carefully chosen.
As much as possible we opt for locally produced products.
Menus are designed to take advantage of produce that is in season locally.
We choose suppliers based on their environmental practices as much as possible.
Where possible, we purchase directly from and importer/producer to reduce the amount of transport a purchase must take.
We utilise our staff and management to transport items from Christchurch to coincide with visits so as to avoid special trips.
Where possible we specify bulk delivery in crates and other reusable containers.
We up cycle and recycle building and decorative materials as much as practical as well and choosing materials that are fit for purpose.
Our Future Plans
Our future plans include continual reviews/improvements of all systems.
Conclusion
Our environment belongs to us all and more importantly those whom we will pass it on to. What we do impacts each other. Whilst we may feel we cant make a difference or that one persons efforts wont change anything, in fact the opposite is true. The most powerful instrument of change is the person reading this , you. Your actions maybe a small degree of change but put 360 together and you have a revolution and a change in kind, you are the most important part of the solution.