An award-winning green tourism pioneer and owner of an eco holiday cottage in Snowdonia (Eryri) is among the first in the country to be recognised by a national sustainability programme for small businesses.
John Whitehead, of Bryn Elltyd, Tanygrisiau, Blaenau Ffestiniog, has been awarded a Certificate of Continuing Professional Development (CPD) by the BT Sustainability for Small Business Programme.
“This excellent programme examined most aspects of how a business and individuals interact with sustainable local and planetwide objectives,” he said. “Bryn Elltyd is a little ahead of the curve, as the business has run totally on renewable energy since 2013 and had the first Tesla destination electric car charge points in Wales, pioneering sustainability.”
Bryn Elltyd has harnessed solar power since 2005 and it has just completed a second full carbon audit to retain its rating as a gold standard carbon negative company.
John, an ex-aerospace engineer and technology teacher, did much of the engineering work himself, which he says highlights that even small businesses and individuals can make a difference.
“Linked to this recognition of real sustainability knowledge will be a function at House of Lords on November 6 which I shall be travelling to from Snowdonia by train, as it’s the greenest form of transport and least damaging to the environment,” he added.
Bryn Elltyd, previously an eco guest house, has collected a string of awards since 2013 when it won the Considerate Small Accommodation Provider of the Year Award.
The business was described by judges as “a beacon of sustainability at the foot of Snowdon” and went on to win the accolade again in 2014. Bryn Elltyd has also achieved gold in the Green Tourism Business Scheme consistently.
The sustainability story began when John and his wife, Ceilia, visited the Centre for Alternative Technology, near Machynlleth in 1982 and were amazed to see working solar panels in a slate quarry.
John left his aerospace career, fitted solar panels on their suburban semi-detached home in Coventry and devoted the next 20 or so years to teaching technology.
The chance came in 2007 to change careers and create a green guesthouse, 700ft up a mountain in Snowdonia National Park. Bryn Elltyd is an 1883 granite building, which was a challenge for energy efficiency.
John has sensitively developed the property with massive insulation and turf roofed buildings, lined with sheep’s wool, solar panels, hot air extraction from conservatories, rainwater loo flushing and biological sewerage into a reed bed and duckpond.
The property was one of the early adopters of a boiler that turns local wood to gas and burns it at 900C. The boiler is computer integrated with a massive solar array.
Bryn Elltyd is a member of MWT Cymru, an independent organisation representing more than 550 tourism and hospitality businesses across Powys, Ceredigion and Southern Snowdonia (Eryri).