With growing awareness around the need to protect our planet, everyone’s looking for small and simple ways to #LiveALittleGreener. That’s why we’ve created our very own Sustainable Villa Collection.
Each holiday home in our portfolio is as unique as it is extraordinary, boasting everything from photo-worthy décor and indescribable views to luxurious hot tubs and stunning fireplaces. However, we wanted to dig a little deeper and find out which of our owners are taking steps towards more sustainable living. Whether that’s through growing their own produce, celebrating the local heritage or using a renewable energy provider, these crucial efforts serve to set them apart and earn their villa a place in this collection.
We worked with ecollective to develop an in-depth questionnaire, which we sent out to all our owners and property managers. The goal was to find out what they were doing in the area of sustainability, as well as measure their carbon footprint. From the results, we were able to create a robust criteria for our new collection.
We concluded that, in order to be part of the Sustainable Collection, the villa needed to either:
Tick 4 or more of the checklist below, or
Tick 3 or more of the checklist and have a score of 5 or lower (kg) for the total carbon footprint per day, based on full occupancy, per bedroom
Supports the local community (locally owned): The owner of the property lives and pay taxes in the same country that the villa is located in. The revenue from the villa ideally gets re-invested into the local area.
Supports the local community (promotes local businesses): The property provides details of local businesses and markets that the guests can shop from during their stay.
Protects and conserves local heritage: The property celebrates the area’s culture and heritage, so by staying there, guests help to fund that upkeep.
Committed to renewable and green energy: The owner is actively trying to reduce the property’s carbon footprint through day-to-day operations.
Promotes sustainable living (vegetable patch, etc): The property has a vegetable patch on its grounds that guests can use during their stay, helping them to eat seasonal (low carbon) meals.
Promotes sustainable living (recycling): Clear and easy recycling instructions are provided to help guests reduce the amount of waste going to landfill.
Sustainable travel: The property is easily accessible by public transport or provides bicycles free of charge to guests.
Train travel: It is possible to get to this property by train (no more than two trains from London), with a taxi journey to the property taking less than 30 minutes.
With the help of ecollective, we undertook an audit of all our villas, considering all the different aspects of a property that can impact greenhouse gas emissions. This included everything from air conditioning and electricity usage to waste management systems and recycling rates. We also took into account the size of the property, the season it was frequently used in, and the national energy suppliers’ fuel mix.
If you would like to learn more about the audit, please do get in touch with us at livealittlegreener@oliverstravels.com – we would love to hear from you!
The great news is our villas are much more eco-friendly than hotels.
The average UK hotel produces 25kg of CO2 per room per night, while our villas produce around 17kg per night.
Chateau De La Chance conserves local heritage, supports communities and promotes sustainable living.
Villa Nebbiosa in Umbria is carbon neutral.
