Corporate Social Responsibility

Corporate Responsibility (CR), as it is called today, has been at the heart of the management of Winton Estate for many generations. The Estate is owned by the Winton Trust and the Trustees have a responsibility for good stewardship of all the Trust assets so that they can be passed onto the next generation.

In 2011 Winton House achieved a Gold Green Tourism Business Award (GTBS) for its sustainable approach to corporate hospitality [link to http://www.wintonhouse.co.uk/corporate.php] and private hospitality. This means that Winton House is committed to sustainable tourism and minimising its damage to the environment by meeting standards of good practice for sustainable development.

Winton House always aims to be a green corporate events venue.

Winton has joined other well known tourist venues with gold awards such as Dynamic Earth, Prestonfield, The Bonham, Holyrood Park and the Scottish Seabird Centre. The GTBS is the UK's most highly regarded sustainable tourism certification scheme.

In 2011 Winton was accredited with 3 green ticks, the highest Green Business Network level of accreditation. This demonstrates that Winton has "...an environmental policy, is committed to complying with legislation, reviews its suppliers, regularly reviews its environmental action plan, engages staff on environmental issues, and also has an environmental management system in place."

The key components of Winton's approach to sustainability, covered in detail in each section, are as follows:

• We try to make efficient use of energy and monitor energy consumption. For example, Winton House and 5 Estate cottages are heated by a wood chip fired boiler which is estimated to save some 100 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions each year.
• Winton Estate's 850 acres of forestry and further 1,450 acres of farmland contribute to about 2,500 tonnes of carbon being absorbed from the atmosphere (the same as the carbon emissions from 250 average households).
• The farmland and forestry are managed in a sustainable way which encourages wildlife and biodiversity through wildlife corridors, uncropped areas and careful use of chemical sprays and fertilizers.
• We undertake extensive recycling of products consumed in the House and in the self-catering farmhouses (eg aluminium, glass, paper, computers).
• Wherever possible, we use local suppliers and employ people living locally to support our local communities and minimize travel to work.
• We want to continue the tradition of running charitable events along with corporate and private events.

You can also leave your car behind and travel to Winton by bus or train.

Here are 7 things that we can all do to save the planet, from conserving energy and giving the car a rest, to shopping locally and respecting nature.

See what's happening with the wild life at Winton by checking out our 'nature spot' on Facebook.