Wyboston Lakes Resort beats strong international competition to win prestigious IACC Americas Innovation Award for its sustainability initiatives

April 12, 2023

The Wyboston Lakes Resort team has returned from North Carolina with the highly prestigious IACC Americas Innovation Award.

The Resort beat strong international competition from 10 other finalists to win the award which recognises the successful implementation of new ideas and practices in business ventures.

The team’s winning entry highlighted the Resort’s approach to food waste, in particular its People’s Pantry initiative with chefs encouraging colleagues to take home remaining freshly made food that would otherwise go to waste. It also featured the new biodigester which the Resort has introduced to digest food waste so that it can be turned into material that will be used as fertiliser on its 380 acre site.

Overall approach
The judges commented that they liked the Resort’s overall approach, how it encompassed a full circle practice to remove food waste – capturing the team and the earth in the aim of removing food waste from its venue.

The award was presented at the International Association of Conference Centres (IACC) Americas Knowledge Exchange Conference held in the USA at Durham, North Carolina.

Steve Jones, Managing Director of Wyboston Lakes Resort, who attended the conference and received the award said: “To win a major international award for our sustainability initiatives is tremendous and puts the continually innovative efforts of our team into a new global perspective. It’s a remarkable achievement and I’m very proud to have received the trophy on behalf of the whole team who have worked so hard to earn it.”

The resort’s Room2Grow initiative also impressed the audience at the conference. Since June 2022, more than 11,500 eco-conscious guests staying more than one night at Wyboston Lakes Resort have chosen to have a tree planted on the resort instead of having their room cleaned.

In September Wyboston Lakes Resort published a four-year Green Energy Roadmap as the foundation for its plan to become self-sufficient by producing its own green energy using the natural resources available at the Resort, which will help to achieve its Net Zero Carbon Emissions target. The total investment in the development is likely to be more than £5m.

In addition, the Resort has sent zero waste to landfill for seven consecutive years and all electricity used on the site is generated from renewable energy sources, saving more than 1,300 tonnes of Co2 emissions. The resort is working towards a 2040 Net Zero Carbon Emission Goal.

The Resort has achieved a multitude of sustainability accreditations, including a Platinum accreditation from Greengage Eco-Smart, a Gold Award from Green Tourism and the IACC Gold Star.

The IACC Innovation Award is not the first acclaim that the Resort has earned for sustainability initiatives. It won the Sustainability Award in the prestigious Meetings Industry Association’s miaList 2022 and Louisa Watson, Director of Marketing was recognised as Sustainability Industry Champion at the important Greengage Sustainability Awards.

For more information, please visit www.wybostonlakes.co.uk/business