Award Winners

Thursday, 30 April 2009

Business Commitment to the Environment Awards (2009), we are proud to annouce that The Rver Dart Country Park are award winners!

The Business Commitment to the Environment (BCE) Environmental Leadership Awards are the longest running, and one of the most prestigious, environmental awards in the UK.

The annual BCE Awards recognise businesses that are committed to reducing their envirnomental impact. The River Dart Country Park have just been informed that they are finalists in this years awards.

Our entry was made up of the reduction of our carbon footprint from our pioneering installation of a hydro electric plant using an Archimedes reverse screw in 2007, the first of its kind in the UK. The Park now produces its own electricity for nine months of the year which is also a great economical saving, especially in the current climate.

The River Dart Country Park also encourages its campers to go green and in 2008 installed glass, plastic bottles plus can & tin recycling points throughout the campsite. The end result was 21.75 tonnes of glass and nearly 10 tonnes of plastic and metal was sent to be recycled rather than going to landfill. There are also plans to add paper and cardboard to the list of recycling points for later this year.

Additionally there is our aim to be plastic bag free by producing our own reusable cotton bag available from our campsite shop.

To found out more about the award please visit: www.bceawards.org.

Paragraph from the BCE press release:

Alongside familiar brand names, BCE also encourages and recognises the environmental achievements of the UK's small and medium sized enterprises (SME), with River Dart Country Park winning this year's SME Premier Award. Situated in the Dartmoor National Park, the company installed the UK's first hydrodynamic screw. With no adverse affect on the river's protected and diverse wildlife, the renewable energy generated by the innovative installation is sufficient to power the entire site for at least 8 months of the year. Such is its success that seven other UK sites are considering similar installations, including one installation in the River Thames to provide power for Windsor Castle.