Set amid the natural amphitheatre of the Helderberg Mountains, a commitment to environmental and social responsibility underpins Erinvale Estate Hotel & Spa, shaping both the guest experience and informing our back-of-house operations.
In a bid to reduce our environmental footprint and create a positive impact in our surrounding communities, Erinvale Estate Hotel & Spa has since 2022 invested in technology upgrades, infrastructure improvements and social development programmes.
Powered By The African Sun
With the installation of a state-of-the-art solar photovoltaic system, Erinvale Estate Hotel & Spa has invested in achieving energy independence. While carefully preserving the hotel’s vernacular architecture, all suitable flat-roof spaces have been utilised for arrays of photovoltaic solar panels. Working in tandem with a Freedom Won/SunSynk battery-inverter system, these generate up to half of the estate’s energy requirements and allow the estate to run off-grid for up to 8 hours. This allows us to reduce our carbon footprint and ensure a reliable electricity supply during any unplanned power outages.
Heat Pumps Keep Us In Hot Water
Energy-efficient heat pumps provide hot water for all rooms and hotel operations, including heated swimming pools and upgraded spa facilities, resulting in significant energy savings and reduced greenhouse emissions, while further supporting the integration of renewable energy into estate operations.
Reduce. Reuse. Recycle
Waste not, want not! At Erinvale Estate Hotel & Spa we work hard to send as little waste to landfills as possible. And that starts by using less, to begin with! Single-use plastics have been replaced by more sustainable options in the rooms and suites. For instance, our locally sourced TheraVine bathroom amenities are now offered in refillable, recyclable glass bottles. Pre-sorted recycle bins in each room allow guests to easily join us in reducing waste.
We are also working tirelessly to remove single-use plastics from other areas of hotel operations wherever feasible. The use of Verve refillable mineral water bottles across the estate has dramatically reduced the volume of single-use plastic waste.
Partners For The Planet
We work with local recycling agencies to ensure cardboard, glass and plastics don’t go to landfill. Glass Recycling is managed by Wastemart and collected twice per month.
General waste is collected by Averde Waste Management: paper, cardboard, plastic and tins are collected and distributed to recycling depots. Organic matter that can’t be recycled is fed into our on-site bokashi system which converts food waste into nutrient-rich compost fertiliser that nourishes our landscaped estate gardens.
Don’t Waste A Drop
It’s hard to imagine, gazing up at the lush mountain slopes above the hotel, but South Africa is ranked amongst the world’s 30 driest countries. To reduce our reliance on public water sources, Erinvale Estate Hotel & Spa draws all its water needs from two boreholes; tapping abundant aquifers fed by the winter rains that soak through the ancient sandstone of the surrounding mountains. This water is then purified through our state-of-the-art water treatment facility, supplying the estate with up to 40 000 litres per day of clean, safe and sustainable drinking water.
Water-Wise Gardens
The Western Cape is a water-scarce region of South Africa. Erinvale Estate Hotel & Spa works with respected garden designer Alan Dawson to ensure that water-wise indigenous vegetation is used to landscape the estate, creating a colourful oasis for guests without straining precious water resources.
Erinvale Estate Hotel & Spa also has an ongoing programme of tree planting, and our landscaping team is proactive in the fight against the Polyphagous Shot-Hole Borer (PSHB) that has impacted many mature trees in the Helderberg Winelands.
Growing A Community
“Umuntu ngumuntu ngabantu” is a much-loved proverb in southern Africa, meaning “I am, because you are“.
It’s that spirit of togetherness and sense of community which underpins the diverse social responsibility programmes funded and supported by Erinvale Estate Hotel & Spa.
Working in partnership with local charity The Imibala Trust, Erinvale Estate Hotel & Spa funds the complete school uniform costs for a number of local learners, ensuring dignity throughout their educational journey. Via Imibala’s Sponsor-A-Child programme, hotel guests are also able to play their part in education development in the Winelands.
The Imibala Trust partners with 21 primary and senior schools across the Helderberg Winelands, with funds raised through the Sponsor-A-Child programme used to ensure learners receive a full school tracksuit, a pair of leather school shoes, a jersey, a rain jacket, socks, underwear, a t-shirt and a school bag with basic stationery.
Not all children are academically inclined and within the Creative & Performing Arts Department, art, drama, pottery, music and ballet classes are provided to encourage self- expression and skills set that the children would otherwise not be exposed to.
To be relevant and meaningful in addressing the needs of scholars in 21st century South Africa, the Learner Advancement Department is making huge strides in providing programmes that add value to children’s academic and social development.
Much of the energy of the Trust’s programme delivery is provided by skilled and dedicated Volunteers. They bring to the Trust a measure of excellence, passion and energy which is palpable and supports the staff complement in all that they do.
The Trust is a registered not-for-profit organization NPO 046-758 and also has PBO status with PBO number 93001 7783.
Erinvale Estate Hotel & Spa invites you to make a difference in our community by choosing to stay in “The Giving Room”. This initiative, part of our Commitment to Sustainability programme, allocates a percentage of proceeds to support this meaningful cause.
Money Matters
Erinvale Estate Hotel & Spa is committed to fostering economic growth in the Winelands, and we pour enormous effort into sourcing and purchasing locally wherever possible. What’s more 98 percent of our current staff complement reside in the region, further contributing to a vibrant local economy of the Helderberg Winelands.
Mindful of the need to foster employment in the Cape, Erinvale Estate Hotel & Spa’s innovative skills development programme – ‘The Heart of the Helderberg’ – offers a three-month in-service training opportunity for up to a dozen young jobseekers each year, providing invaluable real-world experience and a pathway to a career in luxury hospitality.