Sustainability Spotlight: The Torridon

Situated in remote Wester Ross in the Scottish Highlands, The Torridon offers an abundance of initiatives for the conscious traveller. With a commitment to being self-sufficient and working in harmony with nature, the hotel is inspired by its beguiling surroundings to offer guests the perfect getaway to immerse themselves in nature, providing an antidote to city living and the pressures of the daily grind.

Fresh produce is sourced steps away from The Torridon Farm and two-acre Kitchen Garden, which provides almost 60% of the produce used in the hotel’s restaurant, where head Chef Paul Green creates a simple menu inspired by the natural larder of the Highlands.

Led by the in-house The Torridon ESG Team, who have been recognised by the Carbon Trust and the Green Tourism Business Scheme, the hotel has eliminated all single use plastics from the resort, alongside recycling or composting the majority of its waste including glass, coffee grinds and shreddings. The ultimate goal is to achieve carbon neutrality in a reasonable timeframe.

The hotel utilises biomass energy that is sourced from local timber to safeguard biodiversity, chips on site to create fuel for the 58-acre estate’s heating and water, and has a flexible forestry plan in place enabling the team to harvest and plant new trees throughout the year, while pure water is extracted from a bore hole on the estate, saving the use of 10,000 plastic bottles per year.

Acknowledging that sustainability is not just about the environment, The Torridon allocates approximately 5% of net profits to charitable donations, and the family have personally contributed to local community projects for first responders, the rebuilding of the community centre and local charities, alongside hospitality initiatives that support the wellbeing of the industry.

For those wanting to visit The Torridon without flying, no-plane pioneers can venture from London and southern Scotland to Inverness on a Caledonian Sleeper train, before hiring an electric car and meandering through the raw beauty of the hills to the hotel, where regular EV and Tesla chargers are available for guests.