Friday 7 November 2014

Zero carbon Emerald in the running for green award

THE UK’s first zero-carbon holiday home business has been shortlisted in the Sustainable Tourism Award category in the 2014/15 Cornwall Tourism Awards, the winners of which will be announced today - November 6.

The Emerald – a group of five luxury self-catering holiday homes near Truro – was created by former oil broker Tim Kemp and his wife. In September last year it achieved the Government's highest sustainable construction grading.

Mr Kemp said: ‘Having spent years as an oil broker and realizing the dependence we have on fossil fuels, when I decided to build my dream it had to be sustainable and eco-friendly … we all have to do our bit. The best credentials for serious zero carbon was to build to code level six. No one had yet done this for a holiday home. It was perfect, as it meant by doing this, the houses had to be disability friendly as well as a lifetime home.’ For more information go to www.emeraldcornwall.co.uk 

To qualify for a six-star rating, properties are subject to rigorous assessment during and after construction, and must meet specific criteria and standards across nine categories including energy, water, minerals, surface water run-off, waste, pollution, and ecology. 

At The Emerald, the Kemps included rainwater harvesting and grey water recycling systems, planted 10,000 daffodils and 150 native trees, and drilled a bore hole to a depth equivalent to the height of Truro Cathedral to access the natural water table.

Facilities at The Emerald include an indoor heated swimming pool, a tennis court, gym, resident chickens and pigs, and a Koi carp lake.

The Emerald can be rented as individual properties or as an entire estate for special occasions.



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