Earth Day, April 22, 2010

Earth Day and Being Green

It's been encouraging to see how going "green" has become mainstream. We still have a long way to go as a society, but Oregon businesses have really been in the forefront.

We have been using green practices for many years here at Sandlake Country Inn, but now with the help of the Oregon Bed and Breakfast Guild's partnership with the group Sustainable Travel International, we became a certified "Green Lodging Establishment"in 2008! Be careful of those businesses who are "green washing"! That's the practice of just claiming they're green but are not able to provide proof.

Going "Green" doesn't have to mean that you can't enjoy luxury! In fact, most of our guests over the years have no idea that when they stay with us we are a "green" property.

Since we purchased the inn 9 years ago, we have made a commitment of our business practices to promote the sustainability of our planet's natural resources. Here are a few things we have done to help

• Compost
• Recycle
• Buy locally when possible
  
• Use environmentally friendly cleaning products with all natural ingredients
  
• Use durable products instead of throw away
• Use e-mail for most all business communications
  
• All bubble baths, soaps & lotions are environmentally friendly...no chemicals, all natural products
• Purchase our lotions & bubble bath in bulk & provide each guests room with reusable glass containers instead of disposable travel bottles
• When an appliance breaks, we've replaced it with an energy efficient appliance.
• Purchased a TerraPass for each of our vehicles to eliminate it's carbon footprint
• Replaced light bulbs wherever possible with florescent or LED blubs
• Encourage our guests to reuse their towels if they feel comfortable doing so
• Reusable grocery bags when shopping (Costco has great ones 3 in a pack for $4.00)

Come celebrate Earth Day 2010 with us! We'll show you how our Oregon Coast Lodging mixes green practices and affordable without any hassles or attitude!

Sandlake Country Inn in the News

Shipwreck-turned-B&B earns green lodging award

Kyle Boggs
Headlight-Herald Staff

SANDLAKE - Sand Lake in south Tillamook County... is not often associated with sustainable tourism.

But the area's Sandlake Country Inn is the only bed and breakfast on the Oregon coast - one of just five statewide - to be recognized with a "green" certificate from the Oregon Bed and Breakfast's Guild.

The inn, located a half-mile from the Sandlake Store down Galloway Road, was built with timbers recovered from an 1890 shipwreck.

On Christmas morning 118 years ago, the ship Struan, carrying a load of bridge timbers from Canada to Australia, washed ashore just south of Cape Lookout.

Local families scrambled to gather some of the million-plus board feet of planks to build homes and farm buildings, said Paul King, grandson of the home's original owner, W.C. King.

The home was converted to a bed and breakfast in 1989 and purchased by its current owners, Diane and Ron Emineth, in 2001.

Diane Emineth said she is pleased that the inn is on the Oregon Historic Registry but even more excited about its environmentally-friendly certification, awarded December 2008.

"Most people don't choose lodging because it's 'green,'" she said, "but they're usually very happy when they find out it is."

Among the steps taken by the couple to ensure environmental friendliness is to recycle everything possible.

Emineth was quick to point out they haven't had trash pick-up for six years. Instead, they compost, feeding leftover oats and grain to neighboring horses and taking garbage to the transfer station about once a month in the busy season.

The glass decanters in the guest rooms that hold shampoo, conditioner and soaps add to the inn's elegance, but more importantly, said Emineth, they substitute for other hotels' plastic mini-bottles that end up in guests' wastebaskets.

Other amenities at the bed and breakfast include a private deck for each of the three rooms (there is also a guest cottage) and a private jacuzzi in each bathroom.

"About 80 percent of our stays are people celebrating either honeymoons, birthdays, anniversaries or some sort of special occasions," said Emineth.

The inn was recognized by Inn Travelers magazine as the publication's "most romantic hideaway" in 2005 and again in 2006.

Emineth said the couple's inn also has been cited in the Best Places to Kiss Northwest travel guide and Best Places to Kiss Cookbook.

Emineth said room reservations are necessary in the summertime and recommended year-round. They can be made by calling (503) 965-6745, toll free at 1-877-726-3525, or online at www.sandlakecountryinn.com.

Emineth is organizing an aspiring-innkeeper seminar April 5-8. Information is available at www.bedandbreakfastseminars.com.

Green Lodging Certification

It's official, Sandlake Country Inn is now a certified green lodging property! What does this mean? It means that we have met the guidelines of the Oregon Bed and Breakfast Guild's "Green Inspection Program". This program has been developed with a partnership with Sustainable Travel International.

Going "Green" doesn't have to mean that you can't enjoy luxury! In fact, most of our guests over the years have no idea that when they stay with us we are a "green" property.

Since we purchased the inn 7+ years ago, we have made a commitment of our business practices to promote the sustainability of our planet's natural resources. Here are a few things we have done to help

• Compost
• Recycle
• Buy locally when possible
  
• Use environmentally friendly cleaning products with all natural ingredients
  
• Use durable products instead of throw away
• Use e-mail for most all business communications
  
• All bubble baths & lotions are environmentally friendly...no chemicals, all natural products
• Purchase our lotions & bubble bath in bulk & provide each guest room with reusable glass containers instead of disposable travel bottles
• When an appliance breaks, we've replaced it with an energy efficient appliance.
• Purchased a TerraPass for each of our vehicles to eliminate it's carbon footprint
• Replaced light bulbs whenever possible with florescent or LED blubs
• Encourage our guests to reuse their towels if they feel comfortable doing so
• Reusable grocery bags when shopping (Costco has great ones 3 in a pack for $4.00)
  

We will soon make Green Tags available to our guests who want to help mitigate the carbon footprint of their trip. Sustainable Travel International is providing U.S.-based Green Tags from the portfolio of activities managed by the Bonneville Environmental Foundation. BEF is a non-profit organization dedicated to helping stabilize our rapidly changing climate by providing high-quality, Green-e certified renewable energy certificates they call Green Tags. BEF operates projects that meet strict eligibility and performance criteria based on national standards.