TWENTY thousand pounds in a briefcase is a pretty impressive sight, but knocking that same amount of money off your annual waste and energy bill is a staggering statistic which has been achieved by an hotel in Craven.

The Coniston Hall Hotel, at Coniston Cold, was following a "green business" study spearheaded by the Business in the Community's (BITC) Green Business Support Organisation project. The scheme has been funded by Yorkshire Forward and the European Regional Development Fund.

The hotel is now saving approximately £20,000 a year, thanks to the survey and its recommendations.

The massive savings are all the more impressive for being achieved during a period when the hotel significantly increased business and, therefore, energy consumption demands.

Prior to the survey a major cost was waste from perishable foodstuffs, previously accepted as a necessary evil, but dramatically reduced by the installation of chiller units.

Water consumption was also significantly reduced and 50 per cent of packaging diverted from landfill to recycling. This part of the scheme was extended to suppliers, who removed and re-used packaging materials for minimal waste.

At the same time, an environmental awareness campaign for staff and guests covered an overall "switch-off" regime for lights and equipment not being used and improvements were made in insulation and energy conservation.

BITC commissioned Envirowise for the initial survey and an action plan was devised by John Keen, of Blackpool-based consultancy Rosewood Management Services. The plan was then chiefly implemented by hotel accountant Graham Whaites.

Mr Keen said: "The savings achieved by this company have been quite remarkable.

"The waste minimisation audit identified potential savings of £11,500. Mr Whaites and his colleagues tackled the project with such enthusiasm and attention that the £20,000 mark has been achieved."

Mr Whaites added: "From the lessons learned during this project we are now considering further environmental improvements and a new hotel extension including environmental technology."

The three-year environmental improvement scheme has so far helped hundreds of small and medium sized businesses and enterprises to achieve total savings of £1.8 million each year.

Picture shows from the left, Mr Whaites, Michael Bannister, from the Coniston Estate and John Mark Zywko, BITC environmental project manager.