Visitor Elves

28. Find out how Stroud Brewery and Stonehouse Court Hotel are working together as part of VisitGloucestershire's Sustainability Champions to help each other and drive change

April 12, 2023 Kelly Ballard Season 2 Episode 28
28. Find out how Stroud Brewery and Stonehouse Court Hotel are working together as part of VisitGloucestershire's Sustainability Champions to help each other and drive change
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Visitor Elves
28. Find out how Stroud Brewery and Stonehouse Court Hotel are working together as part of VisitGloucestershire's Sustainability Champions to help each other and drive change
Apr 12, 2023 Season 2 Episode 28
Kelly Ballard

In today’s podcast I had the pleasure of chatting to two independent tourism organisations based in Gloucestershire who are leading the way in not only making their businesses as sustainable as possible, they are also on a journey to changing our thinking around how we spend our leisure time – including what we choose to eat and drink. 

This week I was talking to Greg Pilley, Managing Director of Stroud Brewery, Sarah Brewster owner of Stonehouse Court Hotel and Visit Gloucestershire's sustainability lead Hannah McDonnell.  

Greg and Sarah are both part of the Sustainability Champions network brought together by Visit Gloucestershire – one of the first Destination Management Organisations to make a commitment to Net Zero by 2050 as part of the Glasgow declaration for climate action.

As travel returns to pre-COVID levels, and overtourism and greenwashing remain a concern, there’s never been a more critical time for businesses to consider their own environmental impact and what changes they can start to implement now.

  • Hannah talks about the purpose of the Sustainability Champions and how others can get involved or be inspired to set something up in their local area. 
  • Greg talks passionately about how he has set up Stroud Brewery as a certified organic brewery - one of only 5 in the country - and now has certified BCorp status.  
  • Sarah shares how she is transforming the 17th Century hotel with a variety of actions, from temperature controls in rooms to installing electric vehicle charging points.

We also discuss some interesting ideas around how a rural destination can support and promote its sustainability credentials and how businesses can do their bit to help visitors make more sustainable choices.

Connect with this week’s guests on LinkedIn:

Hannah McDonnell   Greg Pilley  Sarah Brewster  

Find out more:

Visit Gloucestershire

Sustainability Champions partnership 

Stroud Brewery

Stonehouse Court Hotel

Visit Britain research on the importance of Sustainability to inbound travellers

Other mentions in the show:

Westonbirt Arboretum


Huge thanks to podcast sponsor Noble Performs.

Noble provide Unstoppable digital marketing to maximise your performance. From SEO to Paid Social and more, we have the tools you need.

Find out more about host Kelly Ballard and the Visitor Elves here.

Subscribe to the Visitor Elves newsletter, to receive the latest podcast releases and inspirational tips to help you with your visitor economy business.

To share your views on this subject and ask questions about the episode, head over to:
Instagram
LinkedIn

If you have enjoyed this podcast episode, please take a moment to give me a few stars on Apple podcasts or Spotify, it helps to encourage more people to listen and learn from our stories. 🙏

Show Notes

In today’s podcast I had the pleasure of chatting to two independent tourism organisations based in Gloucestershire who are leading the way in not only making their businesses as sustainable as possible, they are also on a journey to changing our thinking around how we spend our leisure time – including what we choose to eat and drink. 

This week I was talking to Greg Pilley, Managing Director of Stroud Brewery, Sarah Brewster owner of Stonehouse Court Hotel and Visit Gloucestershire's sustainability lead Hannah McDonnell.  

Greg and Sarah are both part of the Sustainability Champions network brought together by Visit Gloucestershire – one of the first Destination Management Organisations to make a commitment to Net Zero by 2050 as part of the Glasgow declaration for climate action.

As travel returns to pre-COVID levels, and overtourism and greenwashing remain a concern, there’s never been a more critical time for businesses to consider their own environmental impact and what changes they can start to implement now.

  • Hannah talks about the purpose of the Sustainability Champions and how others can get involved or be inspired to set something up in their local area. 
  • Greg talks passionately about how he has set up Stroud Brewery as a certified organic brewery - one of only 5 in the country - and now has certified BCorp status.  
  • Sarah shares how she is transforming the 17th Century hotel with a variety of actions, from temperature controls in rooms to installing electric vehicle charging points.

We also discuss some interesting ideas around how a rural destination can support and promote its sustainability credentials and how businesses can do their bit to help visitors make more sustainable choices.

Connect with this week’s guests on LinkedIn:

Hannah McDonnell   Greg Pilley  Sarah Brewster  

Find out more:

Visit Gloucestershire

Sustainability Champions partnership 

Stroud Brewery

Stonehouse Court Hotel

Visit Britain research on the importance of Sustainability to inbound travellers

Other mentions in the show:

Westonbirt Arboretum


Huge thanks to podcast sponsor Noble Performs.

Noble provide Unstoppable digital marketing to maximise your performance. From SEO to Paid Social and more, we have the tools you need.

Find out more about host Kelly Ballard and the Visitor Elves here.

Subscribe to the Visitor Elves newsletter, to receive the latest podcast releases and inspirational tips to help you with your visitor economy business.

To share your views on this subject and ask questions about the episode, head over to:
Instagram
LinkedIn

If you have enjoyed this podcast episode, please take a moment to give me a few stars on Apple podcasts or Spotify, it helps to encourage more people to listen and learn from our stories. 🙏