The Lodge at Tikana offers luxury accommodation in Browns, near Winton in Southland. A small operation, they employ only two staff year round, and have a strong international client base. Sustainability means quite simply survival to the Lodge at Tikana, and being financially viable is an important part of this. “We have got to be committed to all aspects of sustainability – it’s fundamental to our business”, says owner operator Dave Lawrence.
Dave and his partner Donna have always been interested in sustainable practices, hence why they built in such an eco-friendly way. The lodge was developed using sustainable building techniques, using recycled building material, double glazing and a strawbale construction – one of the first of it’s kind in Southland. When asked why they wanted to continue to look in more detail at the practices within their operation, the response was, “A desire to be successful and an awareness of the importance of the environment because if we loose what we have we won’t have a business”.
Owner Dave Lawrence found doing a value chain analysis as part of Sustainable Tourism South charter programme was useful in really understanding the complete picture of how their business works, and identifying any inefficiency. Dave believes you get as much out of looking at sustainable practices as what you put in, and so he gives it all the time he can.
Other initiatives they have in place include continuous monitoring of their energy use in the lodge separately from their house with the installation of another power meter, “we are very conscious of turning everything off when no one is there”. They collect rainwater on the roof and use this in the lodge and nearby paddocks. They sponsor a number of stoat traps as part of a community pest control project run by Wairaurahiri Jets in Fiordland. They also get involved with helping the local school at Limehills, including donating accommodation as a fundraising prize.
As a result of completing the Sustainable Tourism South charter programme, they now have an operations manual, recycle glass by taking it to Winton, feed guests more of their homegrown produce and offer organic produce, and have their own plan of action for continuous improvement. They were also the first Southland accommodation operator to receive Enviro-Gold as part of Qualmarks responsible tourism criteria.
Dave suggests that other businesses should take an opportunity to become involved with similar initiatives with both hands, saying it will help you take a closer look at what you do and improve your efficiencies. Dave says the biggest challenge is trying to get the rest of the industry in NZ to start walking the talk.