Bend of Ivy Lodge is special in part because the buildings are so clearly integrated into, and supported by, the landscape and the natural world. This is essential to our aesthetic. And, we honor a spiritual imperative to conduct business in a way that participates in, and supports, global awareness and responsibility.

We are proud to be a carbon neutral business, and a recognized environmental leader in the Western North Carolina business community. We are deeply committed to keeping our environmental footprint to a minimum, offsetting all carbon dioxide emissions generated by our activities, and educating our guests about global warming and actions they can take.

Bend of Ivy has a unique program in which we invite all guests to make voluntary donations to offset the carbon emissions from their travel. We then match these, dollar for dollar. In partnership with our customers, we have contributed thousands of dollars to offset many tons of carbon dioxide, partly fund a local pilot project to introduce compact fluorescent lights into low income homes, and plant thousands of trees in Kenya.

For us, environmental responsibility is a moral commitment, as well as a great learning and teaching 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.
• Installing four solar hot water collectors on the Lodge roof, replacing propane for most of the Lodge hot water.
• Installing a 7.92 kilowatt solar electric system on the roof, providing about 2/3 of the Lodge electric needs.
• Replacing the water heater for all the Lodge laundry with a demand heater.
• Weather stripping all doors in the Lodge and our home.
• 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 Lodge bedsheets on an open air clothesline.
• Replacing the oil furnace with a highly efficient heat pump and EPA certified wood stove.

Bend of Ivy Lodge also uses biological means to enhance and preserve healthy species diversity and control invasives. These include biological means of managing the pond ecosystem, releasing predator beetles to hopefully save our beautiful hemlock ecosystem from the HWA blight, and experimenting with goats to manage aggressive plants.

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