We know that a growing number of people, whether they are readers or journalists, want to find out about ethical places to stay within our books and website. Politicians are now battling to be seen as the green choice, climate change is firmly on the global agenda, issues around food and sustainability are becoming more widely understood, and the notion of 'responsible travel' (where tourism benefits the local community) is becoming accepted as the right model to pursue, especially in developing countries.
Sawday's has long been committed to these issues and we want to make it easy for readers who share our interest to find special places to stay run by owners with an ethical agenda.
Here's how to find the places that have been awarded Ethical Collection stamps:
In our books: the entry pages of successful places show which stamps have been awarded.
On individual website entries: a link to the successful owners' questionnaire answers appears beneath the write-up.
On our website maps: places that are part of our Ethical Collection are indicated in the info balloon on our map pages.
On our website search pages: you can filter your search to only show places that have been awarded the stamps.
On our website listings pages: when you've performed a search, the listings page will show which places have been awarded the stamps.
We look for owners who work unusually hard in the three areas. If, for example, they use low-energy light bulbs and recycle their bottles and cans, that's great. However, this alone will not qualify them for an environment stamp, as most people now do this. We look for evidence of their having gone that extra mile, the bold steps that make an owner stand out from the crowd.
Every successful owner has filled in a long questionnaire, which you can download. The questions cover a range of issues from energy use, to water savings, to a breakdown of an owner's food suppliers. The questionnaires are reviewed at Sawday's, and a decision is made based on whether we feel the owner has made a particular effort in the three areas. If, for instance, an owner explains that they have tried as hard as they can to install solar panels but have had their planning applications rejected by the local council, we will give them some credit for their efforts. We look at the answers as a whole, and give more credit to the major steps, such as growing organic food or installing a reed bed sewage system, than to the smaller ones such as providing bikes for guests to use.
Download or view our PDF version of the Ethical Collection Questionnaire »
As well as ticking 'yes' or 'no' to each question, owners have had to provide a detailed answer about why they are ticking 'yes' or 'no'. We have used these details to make our decisions about which stamps to award. Answers may appear in English, French, Spanish and Italian, as originally submitted by owners.
We have to rely on trust for it is impossible to verify every single answer. We have a good relationship with our owners (we have visited each of them) and hope that no one will be making false claims. If you visit a property and feel that the owner has misled us, please get in touch.
Owners were invited to fill in this form, but not all have yet done so. If you know one of our owners who should apply, please encourage them to do so by asking them to log into the owners' area of the site and following the Ethical Collection links.
This scheme has been overtaken by the Ethical Collection's food stamp.
We would like to see the Collection grow as more owners embrace ethical issues. It is critical that we maintain our high standards, so we would rather start with a small collection of genuinely ethical places to stay. We will promote the Collection throughout the books and website, and will generate as much interest as possible in the included properties.
