Carbon Offset, Eco Initiatives, Environmentally Friendly Changes
and Fair Trade Supporter ( COEF )

Couples Resort Inc. aka. The Sorensen Family and its Employees, are taking environmentally friendly, and humanitarian supportive steps towards creating a better world.  We ask you as our guest (friends) to help support our direction.

Our Township of South Algonquin does not Support a Recycling Program. The Couples Resort hopes to finally implement one ourselves in 2012, read details under 2012 headline.

Success goes to the Couples Resort Inc. aka. The Sorensen Family, Supervisors and their Team of Employees for keeping high paying Resort jobs in Canada.  Realizing that for the Resort cost of just 1 employee that works here in Canada, that 4 (USA-Texas) or 6 (Mexico) or up to 12 (CUBA) employees could be hired, for the same total cost. Employee wages make up a massive part of Canadian Resorting Experiences especially at the Luxury level where so many staff are needed, here it is one staff to one guest ratio. No wonder it is so Cheap to holiday out of Canada.

Many of these green products are substantially (up to 300%) more expensive to purchase than non eco friendly or non fair trade products. The Carbon Offset Eco Fee of $30 is a one time Fee and is per Stay and Not per person & Not per night (if staying longer than one night) and to make this happen we need your support.


ON GOING COSTS

The "Bear Trail" Dining Room is now recognized by Savour Canada as a significant contributor to buying Ontario Food Products.  We produce some food products on site.

Served in the dining room is Viveau Water, Still or Sparkling, to help reduce our carbon foot print. It is brewed on-site with the best Algonquin Water.

Served in the dining room is  Planet Bean Fair Trade Gourmet Coffee and Tea which helps support our values in society.

All Towels in all Accommodations are certified 100% Organic cotton towels. Visit our Canadian Supplier to order your own at www.dreamdesigns.ca 

The Algonquin Spa uses only 100% Organic Towels and Linens.

The Spas products for facials, wraps and body molding are all Eminence Brand - 100% Organic.

Room Service Delivery / Maintenance / Cleaners / Gardeners / Sport Centre / Hot tub Inspectors use a fleet of 8 Electric Golf Carts

Firewood is used in 60 fireplaces throughout the Couples Resort and Adventure Lodge.  Firewood is Carbon Neutral compared to Natural Gas or Propane which is Carbon producing.  Cost and delivery of the Wood plus Maintenance of the Fireplaces are very substantial.

Currently we use a significant amount of incandescent lights with Compact Fluorescent Light Bulbs.

All organic kitchen waste is composted and used in our gardens.

No pesticides are used in our gardens or lawns.

$2,800.00 per year to WWF to help endangered animals. 
DONATE NOW and SAVE later.  Bring your WWF or Friends of Algonquin Park 2011 Charitable Donation Receipts for Discounts on the Lower Junior Suites, of equivalent value of your donation up to a maximum of 20% of your accommodation stay, for the peak summer period of August 4th to Sept 2nd (Inclusive) 2012.

Sports Center uses 4 stroke Toys instead of the old 2 strokes.  4 Honda 8 hp recreation boats and a Tige Water Ski/Wakeboard Boat.  2 Strokes are known for spewing oil into the environment, where as 4 strokes are like cars and contain the oil.

2010:

Installed new intoThe Algonquin Spa: Bamboo Flooring and Wool Carpets.

Installed new throught the Resort: 26 new GREEN 15” Cushion Euro Top STRATA BEDS
    Canadian Made Pocketed Coil Sleep System. Extra Strength Recycled Strata Pad             
    1” Soya Support Foam on Both sides of Innerspring
    1“ 5 Zoned Foam (Memory Foam and Latex)
    1.5” Soya Comfort Foam
    ¾” Soya Support and ¾” Soya Comfort Foam with 20 oz Premium Polyester
    High Quality Anti Dust Mite Bamboo Ticking
    All mattresses are incased in a anti bed bug sealed sleeve

Installed new: Bamboo flooring in all 9 Grand Cabins at our sister Lodge, the Adventure Lodge

Installed new: 24 Solar Panels at the Couples Resort are now providing power to offset hot water usage in our most Opulent accommodations: the Master's Junior Suites and in our Salt Water Swimming Pool.  www.blackstonesolar.com/  These panels would not have been installed with out the eco fee as it provided the extra leverage to apply for a long tem loan on its revenue stream.  We are seeing offsetting costs to Oil Consumption.  Oil is used here at quite a substantial higher price than natural gas as natural gas is unavalable to us.  Some Panels are already breaking from poor manufacturing quality control (Made in China) and replacement is out of warrenty period.



 

The old 1999 maintenace truck was taken away to be recycled and a new 2010 was purchased which will greatly reduce carbon emissions, by its new technologies.

Re-paving was completed on 1/4 of our driveway in the spring of 2010 and the old surface was taken away to be recycled.

2011:

Another 1/4 of our driveway resurfaced and recycled.2011

New Wool Carpets in the Dining Rooms

New Wool Carpets in the 6 Exotic Rooms

New 8 Solar Thermal Panels on our sister lodge, the Adventure Lodge

New 10 KW of Photo Voltaic panels at the Couples Resort.  These panels would not have been installed with out the eco fee as it provided the extra leverage (improved balance sheet)  to apply for a long tem loan on its revenue stream.  We are already seeing one panel faulter, again past warranty.  We expect, because of the extra maintenace and commercial loan fees, to break even over the 20 year life span of these units.

New 10 KW of Photo Voltaic panels at the Adventure Lodge.  Ditto as at the Couples Resort.


2012:

Our hope is to install onsite recycling bins and have our nearest recycling company come weekly from Pembroke ( 3 hour round trip ).  The good news; they already are driving past our driveway to access the recycling at Algonquin Park (otherwise one wonders if the drive would offset the environmental benefit).  Cost a few years ago to install the bins was $35,000. plus pick up fees. We did plan to do this in 2010 but we installed the Black Stone Solar panels.  We then planned to do this in 2011 but then we just got approval to install 20KW of Photovolatic Panels.  Recycling will come but these Solar Projects are partially subsidized by the federal and provincial governments and we had to move fast on them.

Thank you and enjoy your special nature Resort, Sincerely John Sorensen for the Team