A Cannock publican has received a national award for efforts made to reduce his pub’s energy consumption.
Michael Lenthall, of The Hen House, in Hednesford, picked up the title of Best Sustainable and Eco-Friendly Pub at the National Publican of the Year Awards, held by Punch Pubs & Co.
The event at Punch’s Burton upon Trent headquarters celebrated the best publicans and management partners from its estate of over 1,300 pubs across England, Scotland and Wales.
Judges were said to have been “blown away” by Michael’s energy-saving techniques, which have mainly focussed on the way he controls his cellar.
Michael said: “I was totally shocked! I didn’t expect it at all. Saving energy is something I’ve always been passionate about, and I’m always looking at alternative ways to do things.
“In this industry, and with prices rising all the time, it’s important to cut back where we can.
“If everybody followed these simple steps, we would all be saving money and most importantly, doing our bit for the environment too.”
As part of his close-down routine, Michael turns off his cellar cooler each night, after the last customer has left the pub, with a member of his team switching it back on at 9.30am.
He has also installed PVC curtains to segregate the cellar from the store area, which helps to keep the temperature at 13 degrees, even when the cooler is switched off overnight.
The temperature is also controlled by taking heat producing equipment to a separate room and storing bottled drinks away from the cellar cooler.
Outside the Eskrett pub, Michael has 100 planters which he has grown from seeds picked up on his woodland walks and feeds using recycled rainwater.
Other measures include the recycling of bottle tops, a swap-shop in the back car park to avoid scrap going to landfill and allowing locals to bring waste into the pub for them to reprocess; compost bins; rainwater harvesting; waste oil collection and recycling entertainment posters.
Punch Pubs & Co’s Business Development Director Steve Worrall, who was one of the category’s judges, said: “Michael has blown us away with his outstanding efforts; not only does he run a fantastic pub business, he pays careful attention to his pub’s impact on the environment.
“He proactively puts practices in place to reduce energy usage and trains his team to ensure that these practices become second nature.
“It is also encouraging to know that Michael has even more plans to become sustainable for the future. Michael is a very worthy winner.”
