Sustainability

Fearrington House Inn & Restaurant

Being set on a farm, we know a few things about valuing what’s here and being good stewards of the environment. Fearrington is unique in that many existing structures in the Village Center were adapted and reused, giving it a happy and genuine feeling – and sustainable. This includes the Fearrington House Restaurant (which used to be the homestead for the Fearrington family), The Belted Goat Deli (the granary), the shops (the milking barn), and our beer garden, Roost (corn crib). Pastures and the silo remain. 

Outdoors

• Natural composting at Fearrington House gardens, floral material, etc.
• Three cutting gardens on site grow most of the floral material used onsite, from events to restaurant arrangements and room décor.
• Herb garden grows most of the herbs used in the kitchens
• Onsite greenhouse allows us to propagate from seed or division most of the annuals and perennials used in display gardens.
• Install almost exclusively native trees and shrubs to support insect and bird populations.
• Maintain a native wildflower meadow.
• Buy from local landscape vendors to reduce carbon footprint.
• Mulch from existing recycled mulch from tree removal for houses
• Bees

Indoors

• Cardboard, glass (all glass bottles from water, alcohol, and wine consumption), plastic, and grease recycling bins village-wide
• All kitchens have designated compost buckets to be taken to compost areas and used
• Re-use of Scrap paper for internal printing throughout property
• Biodegradable straws are available resort-wide
• Optional linen and towel changes offered to hotel guests
• Use recyclable and biodegradable packing material when fulfilling customer orders
• Energy-efficient LED light bulbs
• Ban on Styrofoam, polystyrene products, and internal to-go cup use, reducing the use of cellophane wrapping
• Compostable cutlery kits and packaging
• Filtered water stations throughout property to reduce use of single use water bottles by employees
• Almost all indoor lighting is now energy efficient LED light bulbs
• Use local suppliers when possible, to reduce carbon footprint
• Elimination of all newspapers
• Removal of all single use plastic soaps and using large bottle re-fillabel format
• Removal of single use slippers – available on request
• A/C-Heat monitored and adjusted when rooms not in use

Community & New Home Construction

• Fearrington is known as a community of trees. That’s mainly because homesites are cleared only for the house, sanitation, egress and safety, leaving the remaining forest intact
• In 2023, we transferred an environmentally sensitive 250 acre parcel of woodlands to our local nature conservancy, protecting it forever
• Install walking paths throughout the community to encourage healthy living and reduce vehicle usage
• A community-based, largely gravity fed wastewater system reduces energy consumption required for this vital utility. A facility renovation project will reduce nutrient discharge levels by roughly 90% when completed
• Such woody material is composted at our own wood waste recycling site, and is shredded into hardwood mulch and used to stabilize our construction sites
• Purchase in-state for cabinets, decking and windows to reduce carbon output