Dorset’s largest indoor shopping centre, the Dolphin Centre has been shortlisted for the Sustainable Tourism Award category at this year’s Dorset Tourism Awards.
Following the buy-out of the Dolphin Shopping Centre in 2013, the new owner Legal and General Property (L&G) has been committed to introducing new methods to maintain a sustainable and commercially viable shopping destination.
Staff at the Dolphin Shopping Centre have worked tirelessly to help raise awareness of important environmental issues amongst its shoppers and retailers, with initiatives such as its Don’t Drive Wednesdays campaign, a recycling and food waste scheme, plus its hugely popular Eco Lounge event, whereby the Dolphin invited children to help create an environmentally-friendly unit using more than a quarter of a tonne of recycled materials.
The Dolphin Shopping Centre implements a Quarterly Sustainability Report which looks at energy, water, waste and CSR initiatives. The latest quarterly report revealed that no waste from the shopping centre goes to landfill and on average it recycles 74 per cent waste with a goal of increasing that to 80 per cent.
Centre manager, John Grinnell, said: “Being shortlisted for the Sustainable Tourism Award category is well-deserved recognition for the team’s efforts in identifying and controlling the environmental impact of the centre’s activities. We have employed a number of significant advances in such a short space of time and it feels great to be nominated for a Dorset Tourism Award and to be recognised for our commitment to sustainability.
Finalists will discover if they have won a gold, silver or bronze award at the Dorset Tourism Awards ceremony on Thursday October 16 at the Tank Museum, Bovington.
Successful businesses will automatically be considered for the South West Tourism Excellence Awards.