AT THE LONGHOUSE Tirimoana whare Roa, WE BELIEVE IN A SUSTAINABLE ETHOS, TAKING STEPS SO EACH STAY HAS A MINIMAL ECO FOOTPRINT.

‍We are members of the New Zealand Tourism Sustainability Commitment, which has a vision for New Zealand to lead the world in sustainable tourism. As part of our commitment we embrace the following values:

Kaitiakitanga | the guardianship and protection of our natural, built and cultural resources for the benefit of current and future generations.

Manaakitanga | showing respect, hospitality, generosity and care for others.

Whanaungatanga | a relationship through shared experiences and working together which provides people with a sense of belonging.

We observe the Tiaki Promise by committing to care for New Zealand, for now and for future generations. New Zealand is precious, and everyone who lives and travels here has a responsibility to look after it.

OUR COMMITMENTS TO THE ENVIRONMENT

Water use reduction actions:

We mulch all of our gardens to help retain moisture and reduce irrigation requirements.
Our Septic tank system returns all grey water to our gardens for irrigation.
We collect our rain water in an underground tank for use.
We use low flow bathroom fittings.

Waste reduction actions:

We have removed plastic and single use crockery and cutlery wherever feasible.
Recycling is in place for guests to recycle.
Chipping and composting of green waste for reuse on communal landscaped areas.
Food waste is included in the composting system.
Where possible we return our plastic planter pots to suppliers for reuse.
We use recycled timber and building products wherever possible and much of our decor is vintage or pre-loved.
All paperwork is electronically held and we strive to be paperless wherever possible
We recycling all our amenity toiletry bottles.

Carbon Reduction:

We have a seasonal and sustainable Kitchen Garden. Everything we grow is organic.
We work hard to use everything we possibly can for the garden from the grounds or locally e.g. the compost is made from kitchen food waste, mulch is made from all the falling autumn leaves, hay is cut and bailed on local land, wood chips for paths and weed suppression around trees and garden beds all come from fallen trees at The Longhouse.
The orchard has 12 fruit trees with some that fruit early, middle and late in the season so that we have fruit all summer. The late harvest fruits are predominantly bottling fruit to service our breakfast buffet over the winter.
We use local suppliers wherever possible.

Natural Environment Enhancements:

• We measure the water quality on tap, harvested from the roof and our local water scheme. All our water from tap has been treated with a filtration system.
• We continue to make ongoing improvements to the soil and land biodiversity here at the Longhouse.
• We continue to plant a number of native trees around the property.

Recycling & waste

We sort all of our guest room waste, so it is sorted and recycled accordingly. We also use Ecopack compostable bin liners in the room rubbish bins & kitchen instead of plastic bin liners.

Our products

All the cleaning products used at The Longhouse are made in NZ and eco friendly.

Toiletries

Our Toiletries are all made with love by hand using natural ( & organic) materials - this means our handwash, bodywash, shampoos and conditioners contain no toxic nasties.

Room servicing

We have a reduced room cleaning and servicing policy, offering a full room clean every four days. This ensures no excessive use of chemical cleaning products and reduced water usage.

Single use elimination

In efforts to eliminate single use items, we use refillable products in our guest bathrooms along with reusable hand towels in our communal bathrooms. Where possible we limit printing of emails, reservations and general paperwork, but if we do need to print, then we try to reuse the paper.

Energy saving

To save energy, we use LED lights and sensor lights.

‍Property Fitout

Wherever possible we have used recycled building materials or found pre-loved treasures. We use low VOC sustainably grown timber for much of the building work. We firmly believe in biophilic design and all furniture and fittings are made of natural sustainably grown materials wherever possible. All paints are Resene Low VOC paints. Linens are all organic cotton and linens from suppliers who are part of the oeko-tek alliance. Many furnishing and fittings are pre-loved vintage.