I recently installed a ground-source heat pump in the garden of my North Yorkshire home. I've been working for almost three years to restore the lovely old Yorkshire farmhouse and I'm determined to make it as energy efficient as possible.
I'm often asked where my passion for protecting the environment comes from, and it's a question I struggle to answer, as I can't understand why people wouldn't want to protect it.
It's no different when it comes to the business world. At Center Parcs, our whole offer to guests is built around escaping the hustle and bustle of everyday life and getting back to nature among 400 acres of forest. With this in mind, it's essential that we protect this natural resource, and this has been part of our ethos since we started 25 years ago. Indeed the aim for our fifth UK village, Woburn Forest (due to open in spring 2014), is to set a new benchmark, with carbon emissions 25% below the average of our existing four villages.
Hitting financial targets undoubtedly keeps many CEOs awake at night and I can understand why energy-efficient measures may slip down their agendas. Maybe it's because I'm an accountant by trade, having joined Center Parcs in this role in 1994, but the one thing I've learned over the years is that the numbers free you. If you can make them stack up, then you will be given the freedom to pursue your beliefs. A sustainable business is one where the commercial and environmental goals complement rather than conflict.
But it shouldn't stop at your business operations; it needs to extend to the face of the business - your staff. Their engagement is key. Over the past few years we've been educating our 6,000 UK employees about how they can change their behaviour at work to help us achieve the business's carbon- reduction target of 20% by 2020. In 2011, we were one of the first companies to introduce a financial bonus to staff based on carbon savings, alongside our existing bonus scheme.
At the end of last year we decided to take this one step further and give our staff the chance to be rewarded for saving energy at home. Available to all employees, whether they work at a Center Parcs village or head office, the Home Energy Savers scheme rewards them by matching in cash (up to the value of £250) any savings they make on gas, electricity and water usage at home over the next 12 months. The employee who reduces their energy consumption the most will be awarded £7,000 to spend on home improvements related to sustainability.
The employees participating in the scheme have been given an electricity smart meter to record electricity consumption, while gas and water will be monitored by them submitting photographs of meter readings. We were keen to make the scheme as flexible as possible so employees can choose whether to monitor all three utilities or to focus on one.
Staying competitive is, of course, key to a successful business, and traditionally, giving away your secrets to success is not common practice. However, when it comes to reducing energy consumption, I welcome the opportunity to share our thinking behind the Home Energy Savers Scheme with others and also learn from their efforts. It's about protecting the environment for the long-term, a feat too great for one company alone.
Martin Dalby (pictured) is chief executive of Center Parcs UK