Goodwood wins best green hotel in top industry award for new biomass project

Judges of the hospitality industry’s Catey awards said The Goodwood Hotel was a “shining example of how to work towards becoming a green business” and praised its impressive ten year sustainability strategy.

The Catey awards were held at the JW Marriott Grosvenor House, on 5 July 2022, to celebrate the best and brightest businesses and individuals in hospitality across the UK.

Goodwood Entertaining and Hospitality Managing Director, Andrew Coggings, commented: “Winning a Catey is hugely significant because recipients are nominated, selected and rewarded by their peers.

“We are beyond thrilled The Goodwood Hotel has been recognised as Britain’s most sustainable hospitality business for the innovative steps we’ve taken to neutralise our impact on the environment over the past year.

“This award highlights Goodwood’s commitment to environmental practices in order to become a carbon neutral estate by 2030.”

Goodwood’s hotel beat competition from finalists including Fallow, a restaurant in London, Heckfield Place in Hampshire, Levy UK & Ireland, Eurest food services and the University of Sheffield.

One of judges of the Sustainable Business Award, which is sponsored by 4c Associates, Sue Williams, Whatley Manor General Manager, described Goodwood’s win as “a truly inspiring submission.”

“A company that is quietly going about decarbonising their business in a very thorough and fulsome way,” she added.

Some of the new sustainability measures introduced by Goodwood are the investment in a £6 million biomass waste-to-energy facility to provide heat and power to the hotel.

The new biomass system was installed on the estate during the pandemic. It was turned on last November, delivering combine heat and power to the hotel.

The biomass is fuelled by 3,500 tonnes of straw from Festival of Speed, 2,600 tonnes of woodchip from Goodwood’s forestry team and 1,000 tonnes of waste wood from across the estate.

Goodwood’s wider sustainability action plan focuses on its natural resources, carbon, water and the community. Future plans include generating green energy with solar panels, hydro and aerobic-digestion.

A fleet of hybrid and electric machinery has been commissioned to look after the two golf courses along with additional high-speed electric vehicle charging points being installed across the estate.

Juliane Cailouette-Noble, SRA Development Director and one of the judges of the Sustainable Business award added: “This year was an extremely tough competition. Never have we had so many submissions – let alone so many with such detailed commitment, such clear plans integrated across the business, and such meaningful action.”

However the Biomass project at the estate has been met with fierce opposition by Boxgrove Parish Council.

Concerns had been raised about the noise generated by the fans by the biomass generator at night.

Councillor Michael Bish has been regularly speaking about the noise generated between 3am and 4am and wanted the noise to be consistently monitored.

Councillor Paul Addison said in a council meeting on April 22 ‘that at the time of the application they had said that there would be measures to mitigate noise so that needed to be upheld.’

The biomass generator was fast becoming an issue which seemed to mainly affect Strettington residents, some of whom had contacted Environmental Health at Chichester District Council.