Sustainability
We work hard here at Kinloch to reduce our impact on the planet while preserving a special piece of NZ history in a remote location. We are doing our best to maintain this gorgeous location in a way that has a minimal impact on the environment. While we’re not perfect we are always striving to do better.
Capturing carbon with the Glenorchy Community Nursery
We encourage all our guests to donate to the native nursery based in Glenorchy to help offset the carbon they produce when visiting us. This is not a formal offset scheme, just good people trying to do the right thing by our environment by reducing carbon and improving local native planting.
From just $3.50 you can capture the carbon of a roundtrip between Queenstown and Kinloch for an average car.
If you’d like to donate or find out more information please click here.
We’re constantly improving the site, and we update the website as we go; here are some of the ways we look after our world:
EcoScapes and our family home utilize solar power, including the Tesla charging point, and have power wall batteries
The Heritage Lodge, Wilderness rooms and restaurant all have solar power, also supported by power wall batteries
Glenorchy Lake House and our cafe next-door, Akin, have their own solar panel system with batteries
There are Tesla charging points at Kinloch and Akin, our cafe in Glenorchy, for electric vehicles
We use electric vehicles where possible to reduce our emissions
Heatpumps have been installed in all high use communal areas (the most efficient heating method available)
All electric gardening equipment is charged from the solar power, including our robot lawn mowers
We try to repair and maintain instead of buying new as much as possible
All our new builds are built to high architectural standards to retain heat
All old linen and towels are repurposed as rags if not fit for purpose
Cleaning products are environmentally friendly and chemical-free
Laundry is line-dried when possible
Staff live on site, eliminating commute emissions
We are committed to removing invasive plant species around the site and adding more native plants
We have no single use cups and instead offer coffee cup rental with AgainAgain cups which can be returned to cafes in Glenorchy and Queenstown, or elsewhere in NZ
We are happy to refill water bottles free of charge
Paper napkins, kitchen towel and paper towels are all composted, as are the coffee grounds and wood stove ash, which then goes into our garden to keep the soil rich
Water is pumped from the lake and UV filtered for use all over the site
Our wine suppliers are all organic, bio diverse or part of Sustainable Winegrowing NZ
Coffee for the Kinloch restaurant and Akin is sustainably sourced and provided in reusable buckets from Patagonia in Queenstown
Black Lab Coffee for our EcoScapes is ethically sourced and packaged in paper
Tea for the EcoScapes, Heritage Lodge and Glenorchy Lake House is organic and packaged in paper
Food waste from Kinloch and Akin goes to the chickens, who then provide delicious eggs for your breakfast, or goes into a bokashi bin before heading to the compost
Our organic vegetable garden supplies our restaurant where possible
We support all local community fundraising efforts with gift vouchers