The historical Holland House stands in three acres of beautiful gardens alongside the River Avon, near Pershore in Worcestershire. An eclectic programme of residential courses, workshops and one-day learning events attract all kinds of people to the house. From bishops and artists, to teachers and botanists, or families who want some rest and reflection, it’s a dynamic place with a spiritual approach to sustainability. Holland House is a Christian charity that aims to be in harmony with creation - being committed to working towards a sustainable and environmentally sound future.

Ian Spencer is a Church of England priest who became warden at Holland House three years ago. One of the first things he did was switch the electricity supply to Good Energy. ‘Sustainability is at the heart of our ethos – God’s creation is beautifully balanced and is for everyone, not just those who can afford to extract the wealth from it,’ Ian says ‘We need to be much more careful about how we use energy.’

The oldest part of the house is 1620s grade 2 listed and, it is located in a ‘chocolate box’ village which isn’t on the gas mains. This means that heating and running the house is an expensive business. They consumed over 48000kWhs last year, and Ian started to look into reducing costs and whether it was possible to save money and also stay green.

He got some quotes from other organisations and one of them told him that they could save £1000 on bills, which is a lot of money to a small charity like Holland House. However Ian wasn’t convinced: ‘I looked at other green companies but there just weren’t any that came close to Good Energy. I felt compelled by what Good Energy do; I think that we have a similar heart. In the end I decided to put my money where my mouth is and stick with Good Energy because I believe in what you are doing.’

He says that Good Energy’s support for small projects and small suppliers fits in with the Holland House approach, where they use home-grown or locally-sourced products to cater for the many events and conferences that happen throughout the year.

It’s clear that their philosophy is a successful one; Holland House won the “Community Vote Award” from the Sustainable Restaurant Association beating 34 other nominations for this category, pretty good for a little Christian charity.

Good Energy is sponsoring the Real Food Festivals this year, exploring the links between food and energy - Holland House is running an food event of its own in September called ‘Food Matters’ examining the provenance of food and the relationship between those who provide the food and the people eating it. They have a kitchen garden and grow their own food but generating their own energy is something that Ian is looking at for the future too.

‘There is a photograph from back in the 1900s which shows Holland House with a windmill on top of the thatched roof – I think it was used for pumping water through the house, but it would be great if we could start to generate our own electricity.’

We wouldn’t recommend putting a windmill on the roof, but generating their own energy seems a logical step for Holland House. Using nature to power its endeavours will not only support its ethos, but could cut its bills at the same time!