Sustainability Policy

The nature around Smålandsgården and the south-eastern parts of Lake Vättern is unique. So unique that UNESCO has designated it as the "Vätterbrante" biosphere reserve. Here you can find everything from high mountains with magnificent views to gorgeous valleys and rippling streams. 

It therefore feels important for us at Smålandsgården to be able to contribute to something more than just occasional overnight stays and meals. We see prosperous communities where businesses, forestry and agriculture and waterways are connected. We want to keep all of this, which creates great experiences for guests today, for future generations. Therefore, we need to do what we can here and now. Through our work with continuous improvements, it is our ambition to make a difference for the future. 

Here you can read about what we do to take responsibility for how we affect society, from an environmental, social and economic perspective. 

We protect the environment

All work within our business must be health-promoting and contribute to sustainable development, where the management of resources is guiding. We must all protect the earth's resources. No one can do everything but everyone can do something. We include environmental issues in all tasks. We comply with current environmental legislation for our operations and work with continuous improvements.

 

Energy consumption

Because we know that one of our biggest burdens today is heating, we choose alternatives that put less of a burden on the environment. All our electricity is fossil-free and we even have our own solar cell plant.
We have an investment plan for energy-saving measures and have installed geothermal heating and air source heat pumps. We also ensure that business operations take place in as energy-efficient a manner as possible.

 

Living Countryside

You will find wonderful flavors in our kitchen, where we have cooked with seasonal ingredients and, as far as possible, food that is locally produced and Swedish. By shopping primarily locally according to season, we support small farms and food producers. When raw materials need to be supplemented, we broaden the map to the region, Sweden and Europe.

 

Housekeeping, laundry and dishes

Another choice we make every day is that we only work with eco-labelled alternatives when it comes to cleaning, washing and dishwashing.

 

Material recycling

We work to recycle as much material as we can in relation to the amount of combustible waste. This applies to the kitchen, the hotel and property management and development.

 

 

Electric cars are welcome

In total today, there are around 350,000 electric cars registered for traffic in Sweden. Almost a doubling in 1.5 years. In order for our guests to be able to charge worry-free with us, we installed four charging points in 2021 and another six in 2023. The utilization of our 10 charging points increases by approx. 50% per comparable month compared to the previous year. One vision is that future travel should be like the old days when the horse, driver and passengers needed rest and food at night. Now we want to offer the same thing to the electric car and its driver and passengers.

 

Solar cell plant

We have our own solar cell plant that generates an average of approx. 60,000 kWh/year. Despite the installation of charging points, our total energy consumption is reduced through our energy-saving measures and our own solar cell plant. The solar cell plant reduces our load on the infrastructure and the environment. We have plans to further increase production in our own solar cell plant.

 

Operation - Save Bees

Bees are vital to our food production, but our wild gardeners are under threat. A third of Sweden's wild bee species are about to disappear. Now we reverse the trend together and save the bees. Smålandsgården sponsors the work of the Nature Conservation Association and has created several small meadows and places where the bees can thrive.