Our Commitment to Sustainability: The journey so far

Whether you’re an individual or a company, you can conduct your affairs with respect for the planet and your fellow man - or you can do whatever it takes to make as much profit as possible, regardless of who or what suffers as a consequence.

We’re no paragons of virtue, but at Bluestone, we try to take the former path. Most of the time. We make mistakes and we have plenty of room for improvement, but we like to think that as a company, and as 900-odd (some would say very odd) people gathered under a single banner, we have a conscience.

We’d also say that in practical terms, conscience translates into sustainability, and one of the foundations of a sustainable approach is acceptance that simply by existing and operating, we have impacts. Some impacts are good, some are bad, and any company which strives for sustainability seeks to maximise the good and minimise the bad. That’s what we’ve tried to do since Bluestone was but a twinkle in William McNamara’s eye, and all these years later, we’re pleased to say that our commitment to running our business with as clean a conscience as possible is stronger than ever.

Take a closer look at what we've been up to for the last 12 years and some of the key milestones we’ve passed on the way:

2024

As part of its movement away from fossil fuels, Bluestone transitions from diesel to Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil. A litre of HVO emits just 36g of greenhouse gases – less than two per cent of the GHG emitted by a litre of diesel.
Marten Lewis is named Sustainability Director of the Year by the Institute of Directors Wales.

2023

In what is considered a unique initiative for a commercial company, the paths to all 80 of Bluestone’s new Platinum lodges are being made with asphalt mixed with fibres from 60,000 recycled disposable nappies.
A new financial partnership negotiated with Barclays Bank rewards Bluestone for its success encouraging and nuturing native flowers. An example of Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) financing, it is Barclays’ first British sustainability-linked deal to have a biodiversity indicator.
The Well Spa starts using hand-harvested seaweed from Car-y-Mor, the first community-owned regenerative ocean farm in Wales.
Bluestone’s Director of Sustainability, Marten Lewis, is included on the Future Generations Changemaker 100 list, published by outgoing Commissioner Sophie Howe.
Bluestone stops selling water in plastic bottles, preventing the use and disposal of tens of thousands of single-use plastics every year. Free water dispensers are installed instead.

2022

Bluestone becomes the first hospitality business in the UK to commit to meeting all its needs with BioLPG. Made from plant and vegetable waste, BioLPG is a renewable and low carbon alternative to standard LPG.
A survey by the Kent Wildlife Trust finds that if Bluestone had never been built and the site had remained a dairy farm, it would have sequestered 509 tonnes of CO2e. But because the development of Bluestone entailed restoration and creation of woodland and wildlife habitats, the area has actually sequestered 1724 tonnes – a difference of more than 200%.

2021

Bluestone takes advantage of the closure forced by Covid to fit aerators in all 480 suitable showers, curbing excessive water use and saving energy. This simple move saves in the region of 44 tonnes of CO2e a year.

2020

Sophie Howe, Future Generations Commissioner for Wales, holds a workshop at Bluestone National Park Resort to share best practices and ideas to help shape the Future Generations Report for 2020. The event is organised by the Office of the Future Generations Commissioner for Wales and Marten Lewis, Head of Corporate Responsibility at Bluestone, and facilitated by BITC Cymru. It brings together a number of Bluestone’s community and supply partners to discuss some of the key issues and potential opportunities in Pembrokeshire and Wales.
The food recycling scheme is extended to guest accommodation. Guests are asked to deposit their food waste in a purpose-made brown bag so it can be sent for anaerobic digestion, along with the waste from our restaurants.
Bluestone is rewarded with the international Green Key award in recognition of its environmental standards. Green Key is the fastest-growing eco-label for the tourism industry and extends over 65 countries. In Wales, Green Key is operated by environmental charity Keep Wales Tidy, which also manages the Blue Flag programme.

2019

A new Head of Corporate Responsibility is recruited: Marten Lewis, who worked with Bluestone through the Darwin Centre. He joined the Bluestone Foundation Steering Group in 2010 helping to oversee the introduction of the Community Fund which has gifted over £140,000 to Pembrokeshire causes since 2013.
A staff awareness campaign is launched to reduce recyclable waste being put in black blags. The training was successful in reducing the volume of general waste by 10 tonnes per month.
A group of hedgehogs from the Pembrokeshire Hogspital are brought to their new home on a ten-acre release site that has been specially prepared for them. Ranger Rob designed and made three hedgehog huts that make warm and safe environments for the hedgehogs when they are ready to be released back into the wild.
A new otter holt is installed on the Penglyn brook, with the help of PCNP rangers. As a result, otters are spotted for the first time in the area for many years.
Bluestone starts sending all restaurant food waste for anaerobic digestion at Asguard Renewables in Cardigan. The process creates methane which is used to generate electricity for the National Grid, and wet waste which is used by local farmers as organic fertiliser.
A new grain dispenser is fitted by the lake, so guests can feed the ducks with a handful of local barley, rather than bread, which can be harmful to them. The initiative is part of a nationwide campaign to stop feeding ducks bread, called Breaducation.

2018

The Bluestone apiary is set up in partnership with Paul Eades to produce Bluestone Honey. It currently has three hives, each of which has approximately 50,000 bees at the height of the season. The bees are intended to increase the pollination of wildflower species and to enhance engagement opportunities with guests around environmental and biodiversity issues. They produce delicious honey, which you can buy in our village shop.
Toad Patrol is set up during the annual breeding season. The scheme aims to reduce toad casualties on roads near the lake, with guests encouraged to join in.
New bug hotels are built and placed around the resort to provide new habitats for insects.
Free electric car-chargers are installed in the Bluestone car park.

2017

A new, 350-metre shared-use path between Canaston Woods and Bluestone National Park Resort is opened. This new path allows everyone to explore this area of Canaston Woods safely, and provides a designated route directly to Bluestone.
Furthering our aim of sending as little to landfill as possible, Bluestone’s general waste starts going to an Energy from Waste (EfW) plant, where it is burnt to generate electricity.
An Employee Benefit Trust is set up, through which 30% of Bluestone is transferred to staff ownership. The move is believed to be the first scheme of its kind in the UK leisure industry.

2016

Our new ‘Phase 3’ lodges welcome their first guests. The 60 lodges are on a district biomass heating system, with all feedstock produced within 30 miles of Bluestone. According to UK Government figures, the CO²e emissions from a unit of biomass energy are a fraction - 7% to 8% - of those from a unit of grid electricity or mains gas, so the new lodges are not just comfortable and stylish, but eco-friendly too.

2014

Bluestone team up with Milford Haven Port Authority and Pembrokeshire Association of Voluntary to reward people who carry out voluntary work in the local community.
Every time a registered volunteer clocks up 50 hours of work, they can choose from a range of Bluestone treats, including entry to The Well Spa, Woodland Warrior Laser Combat, and access to the Adventure Centre and Blue Lagoon.

2013

Bluestone works with Pembrokeshire Coast National Park Authority and nine local primary schools on ‘Flutter & Buzz’ - a project aimed at promoting the importance of creating and maintaining wildflower meadows in school grounds and elsewhere in the county.
After learning about biodiversity and planting wildflowers in their own schools, the pupils – all aged 7 to 11 - came to Bluestone to plant 20 species of perennial wildfowers, including birdsfoot, trefoil, ox-eye daisy and ladies bedstraw. Evaluations carried out before and after the project showed it markedly increased children’s knowledge of biodiversity, and why wildflowers are so important to bees and other wildlife.
Bluestone is named ‘New Energy Champion’ in the New Energy and Cleantech awards
In what is believed to be one of the first initiatives of its kind in the UK, Bluestone staff receive training from Pembrokeshire Coast National Park Authority to raise their awareness of the Park’s special qualities and increase their ability to pass key National Park information to Bluestone guests.
Staff who completed the training plus a follow-on module were be awarded a specially-produced badge reading ‘Ask me – I’m Park Wise’

2012

A new Diamond Wood - one of only two in Wales - is planted at Bluestone in celebration of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee. Over 120 people join broadcaster and wildlife expert Iolo Williams to help plant some of the 35,000 native trees at Bluestone to create an additional natural woodland habitat within the 500-acre resort. The new wood will join two historical woodlands, Canaston and Minwear, for the first time in centuries, creating an important habitat for wildlife in the area.

Bluestone wins the Community and Environmental Action Award, given by the British Private Equity and Venture Capital Association (BCVA), at its Wales and South West finals
Bluestone wins the Resource Management category of the BCE Environmental Leadership Awards
Bluestone achieves Level 5 of the Green Dragon Environmental Management Standard
Bluestone is shortlisted in the ‘Environmental’ category of the Institute of Welsh Affairs-Western Mail business awards

2011

A new partnership is established with The Wildlife Trust of South and West Wales. The Trust and Bluestone worked together in the past, but the new partnership marks the start of a new chapter in which the Trust will be undertaking a range of projects aimed at helping deepen Bluestone guests’ understanding of the natural environment.
On a visit to Bluestone to launch the partnership, Welsh naturalist Iolo Williams sees first-hand how the careful transformation of ecologically-poor farmland into Wales’ only national park resort has enabled wildlife to thrive.

Says Iolo: “It’s not often you see a development like this which so easily marries a boost to the economy with a boost for local wildlife. In my experience, that’s pretty unique.”

In a glittering ceremony at the Royal Albert Hall, Bluestone is proclaimed an ‘Example of Excellence’ in the ‘Supporting Rural Communities’ category of the Business in the Community UK Awards

2010

Bluestone presented with the Wales Environment Award at the Business in the Community 2010 awards, for reducing impact on the environment.

2009

After just a year of opening, Bluestone has already planted 200,000 additional trees and plants and developed land to encourage and attract a much wider variety of flora and fauna.

2008

Bluestone opens for the first time. Right from the start, we were trying to lighten our environmental footsteps, and here are some of the ways we sought to do that:

Biomass-fuelled energy centre. The feed crop is grown on local farms, so the scheme also helps support the farming community and employment opportunities in Pembrokeshire.
Solar panels to provide hot water for 100 lodges
A car-free resort. Instead, guests use electric buggies to travel around. Safer for humans and wildlife. Less pollution, less noise, and less disturbance to the wildlife with whom we share the resort.
Energy reduction targets incorporated into every manager’s performance indicators.
A range of energy-saving initiatives and joint projects with Envirowise to reduce incoming packaging.