Dunton Destinations, a collection of three award-winning luxury properties in the Colorado Rockies, has implemented a robust on-property sustainability program incorporating renewable energy, composting, waste reduction and community outreach.
At each of Dunton Destinations’ Colorado properties – Dunton Hot Springs, the 19th-century ghost mining town turned luxury resort in the San Juan Mountains; Dunton River Camp, the luxury tented camp just four miles downriver from the hot springs; and Dunton Town House, the renovated inn in downtown Telluride – all electricity used is generated from 100% renewable energy.
This spring, the Dunton team also began separating all paper waste and using it for fire-starting and composting – saving six cubic feet of paper from landfills per week. Additionally, the kitchen teams at all Dunton Destinations properties now make all their own yogurt, cottage cheese and cream cheese in-house, thereby eliminating 70% of its intake of #5 plastics in the form of dairy containers. The whey extracted from the in-house cheese-making process (along with all other organic waste) at Dunton properties is then taken to Bountiful Ridge Farm, where it is fed to chickens as an organic supplement to their diet; and Dunton then sources its meat and eggs from the farm for its kitchens, completing the sustainable full-circle relationship between the farm and the hotels. And the composting program at Dunton Hot Springs will soon be complete, with two in-ground composting troughs that will hold 20 cubic feet of organic waste and cardboard.
The sustainability initiatives at Dunton Destinations also extend to the guest experience, with resort guests now invited to partake in craft work throughout the properties and encouraged to become more involved in the kitchens, including Dunton Hot Springs’ new whole animal butchering demonstrations. Over the course of the year, the properties will also begin integrating candle-making, bar-craft, composting and cheese-making into the guest experience. All candles are made in-house at Dunton, using therapeutic essential oils and sustainably sourced vegetable wax.
As part of its community outreach initiatives, Dunton has re-initiated its relationship with The Bridge, the homeless shelter located in Cortez and the only all-accessible homeless shelter in the southwest corner of Colorado. Each month, Dunton staff members participate in two volunteer nights each, serving food to guests of the shelter.
