Asheville north carolina Retreats, Bend of Ivy Lodge

                                                                       

      

 Carbon Neutral Program

Bend of Ivy Lodge named the first Carbon Neutral business in Western NC!

This means that we balance all carbon contributions to the atmosphere generated by our activities (auto travel, heating, electrical, air travel, food, waste, etc.) with equivalent carbon reduction activities elsewhere. This initiative, coupled with our own energy saving actions, has made our business better than carbon neutral, meaning that our activities eliminate more carbon dioxide from the atmosphere than they contribute. The above logo from our partner Appalachian Offsets certify this "carbon free" status. Read the recent feature article on us in the Asheville Citizen-Times here.

For us, this is a moral commitment, as well as a great learning opportunity. We have taken many concrete actions to lower our carbon contribution. These have included:

  •  Replacing old windows in the Lodge offices and house with new, Energy Star windows.

  •  Weather stripping all doors in the Lodge and our home.

  •  Replacing the water heater that does all Lodge laundry with an efficient, demand heater.

  •  Replacing our ancient oil furnace with a clean wood stove with catalytic converter for our home and offices.

  •  Replacing older refrigerators in the Lodge and our home with new, Energy Star units.

  •  Replacing all light bulbs (except dimmable spotlights) with compact fluorescent bulbs.

  •  Installing a timer on the waterfall pump so that it cuts off at night.

  •  Drying the Lodge sheets on an outdoor clothesline.

These actions by themselves significantly reduced our energy usage, utility bills, and carbon footprint.

We are also committed to engaging the 1200 to 1500 people that come to the Lodge every year. We do a short presentation on our Carbon Neutral Program to most of our groups, and invite them to offset their trip to the Lodge with a tax-deductible contribution to Appalachian Offsets.  To encourage this, we are matching carbon offset contributions from our guests, up to 5% of their group's total bill for their event. These donations are sent to Appalachian Offsets, a local organization that supports alternative energy and conservation initiatives that directly reduce carbon dioxide emissions.

Counting our matches, Lodge guests are able to offset 2 tons of carbon dioxide for every $15 they contribute. In partnership with our customers, we have contributed thousands of dollars, verifiably offset many tons of carbon dioxide, and contributed sufficient seed money to fund a local pilot project to introduce compact fluorescent lights into low income homes that would otherwise be unlikely to engage in environmental activities..

We also provide guests with a flier explaining actions they can take when they go home. If even a small percentage of these people are inspired to take action, our actions are greatly multiplied.

We offer a 10% discount, in addition to the carbon offset match described above, to all environmental groups that stay at the Lodge and who offset all their carbon for their event with Appalachian Offsets. This includes activist groups, foundations, and environmentally-focused non-profits.

Last, Bend of Ivy Lodge is engaging other local businesses in conversation about what else we can do to support more responsible environmental action in our community. We are encouraging other businesses to go carbon neutral, and have sponsored a half page ad in the local newspaper encouraging people to support businesses that are environmentally responsible.

More information will appear on this page as we move forward. For now, you can read or download a booklet explaining carbon neutrality and our Carbon Neutral Program in more depth here.

Here are some simple steps that you can take to become part of the solution to global warming.

1.   Make the simple decision to act, to be part of the solution.

2.   Become informed.

•  See the movie and/or read the book, An Inconvenient Truth . Order the DVD and find lots of other good information at http://www.climatecrisis.net/

•  Look at an interactive map of the world showing compelling evidence that global warming has already started at http://www.climatehotmap.org .

•  Visit Energy Savers for lots of information on home energy reduction and alternative energy.

•  Download a helpful checklist of ideas here.

•  Visit the EPA's personal emissions calculator to calculate your “carbon footprint,” or carbon dioxide contribution to the atmosphere. It's easy and eye-opening. You can also assess the impact of various options. Decide to become carbon neutral. 

3.  Implement some or all of the following measures to reduce your energy consumption, depending on where the particular opportunities are for you. Many of these steps will also save you money. (For example, replacing one 60 watt light bulb with a $3 compact fluorescent bulb will save $70 in electric bills over the life of the bulb, keep 500 pounds of coal from being mined in Southern Appalachian mountains to fuel the power plant that generates the electricity to power the bulb, and keep the resulting 260 pounds of carbon dioxide from the skies. Now, THAT'S an easy decision!)

•  Replace incandescent bulbs with compact fluorescent bulbs.

•  Weather-strip doors and windows.

•  Landscape for energy savings.

•  Adjust thermostats.

•  Recycle.

•  Improve efficiency of heating, cooling, and hot water systems.

•  Replace old, leaky windows with new, energy efficient ones.

•  Purchase Energy Star rated appliances when replacing old ones.

•  Get a vehicle that gets better gas mileage, and/or drive it less.

4. Offset the rest of your carbon emissions to bring you to carbon neutrality. There are lots of other ways to do this; a little Internet research will show you how.

5. Tell others what you're doing, and engage them.

6. Vote your wallet. Use your money to buy “green” products and services, and to support clean initiatives and vehicles.

7. Vote for real leaders. When there's a choice, vote for politicians that commit to do something.