Ashridge Great Barn Environmental and Sustainability Policy
Statement of Purpose and Values
We’re all becoming more aware of the impact our choices have on the world around us and the ramifications of these impacts for people near and far both in time and space.
As a working farm we are not only witness to these effects but also at the forefront of making changes to combat them. As a wedding business we’re well aware of the problems with waste within the wedding industry and passionate about doing our best to make sure that our couples are able to have as little impact as they choose to on their big day. This can range from making sure that your food waste is composted and your flowers go to a local nursing home to helping you source biodegradable plates and local ingredients along with your caterer. We consider the three pillars of sustainability to be Earth Care, People Care and Fair Shares.
Please feel free to ask us about our environmental credentials – we love talking about the journey we’re on!
Sustainable Practices and Business Operations
We take our inspiration from the Ashridge Great Barn itself. The Barn is the epitome of locally soured with the timber coming from the farm woodland, the clay for the cob being dug out of the hillside where the building now nestles and the stone coming from a quarry further down the valley. The tin is from Wales and is the building material which has travelled the furthest. We were lucky to work with some amazing local craftsmen in restoring the Barn who shared our love for old buildings and local resources and were able to restore the building within the same spirit.
We aim to be zero-waste with our own events, to keep them accessible and of service to our local communities. To this end we use vintage crockery and cutlery rather than disposable options. We take great care to source ingredients as locally as possible and bake the cakes and other goodies that we sell. We provide bins for recycling and anything that can be composted will be.
Our water is sourced from a borehole on site and all our waste is processed in a bio-digester here as well. We’re currently looking at the cost of sourcing our electricity from sustainable sources too.
We’re proud to work with a range of wedding and event suppliers who share our environmental concerns and who are also working towards a more sustainable wedding industry in the future. We’re all convinced that a beautiful, meaningful wedding doesn’t have to cost the earth in any sense of the phrase.
Sustainability Strategy
Our objective for 2026 is to get a good understanding of where we stand on sustainability. We have always tried to make sustainable choices but there is currently no documentation or review process.
We will be looking at patterns in our electricity usage so that we can take targeted action to reduce this in 2027. We will look at our scope 3 emissions over the course of 2026 with a focus on the waste management, water usage and transport where we think our actions can have the largest effect. We aim to use this information to put together a Carbon Reduction Plan in early 2027.
Transport – we aim to support sustainable transport choices for everyone who visits the Barn for work, weddings or events. We signpost local public transport on the ‘For Guests’ page along with local accommodation and taxi services. We offer glamping and camping on site and upgraded our facilities in 2025. We encourage attendees at events to walk, cycle or car share to summer events by charging an entrance fee per vehicle.
Supply Chain – we aim to make our supply chain as sustainable as possible. In 2026 we are focusing on documenting our own sourcing as part of our scope 3 emissions.
Water Usage – we aim to use water in a sustainable manner throughout the venue by using water saving options in facilities and in 2026 will be looking at behavioural nudges to reduce water usage.
Waste – we aim to reduce waste as much as possible by providing alternatives to single use items and facilities for sorting recycling during weddings and events. We offer onsite composting for vegetable waste and will be looking at ways to support couples and suppliers to reduce food waste in 2026.
Energy – we aim to be energy efficient and will be recording our energy usage in a more fine grained manner in 2026 to identify areas where we could improve.
Team and Community – we aim to be a pleasant and meaningful place to work by paying staff a living wage and having open discussions about wellbeing, meaningful work and progression. We aim to contribute to the communities we are part of at a local and regional level. In 2026 this will include promoting local businesses at the Wood Fair, Deliciously Devon Food Fair and Christmas Fayres as well as our continued participation in the wonderful North Devon Wedding Network and Sustainable Wedding Alliance.
Digital – we aim to look at our digital footprint in 2026 as part of our supply chain analysis and look the sustainability of the options available. This is an aspect we hope to address further in 2027.
Biodiversity – we aim to share the biodiversity we are lucky to have here and promote the enjoyment of this through events and information sharing. In 2026 we will continue to manage the gardens with an eye to wildlife, prioritising natives and low-input planting. We will be taking part in low-mow May (we need to mow some areas for safety and accessibility reasons) and putting up signage explaining why we are doing so.
Carbon Footprint for 2025
We have calculated an approximate carbon footprint of 1.72 tonnes CO2 according to Giki Guide for January 2025 – 2026.
Policy reviewed January 2026, next to be reviewed in December 2026.
