Environmental Stewardship

Recognized Commitment

Biltmore’s sustainability efforts have been honored with multiple awards, including the 2008 Triple Bottom Line Award from Sustainable North Carolina. This award recognizes for-profit businesses that demonstrate the successful integration of all three aspects of sustainability: social, environmental, and economic.

Employee-Led CSR Teams

Biltmore’s employee-led Corporate Social Responsibility teams include 30+ members across multiple departments. Encouraging company-wide participation, these teams work together to advocate and drive sustainability initiatives. Members also volunteer their time to support the work of Asheville-based sustainability and environmental groups.

Solar Power

Visible in pastures on the estate, Biltmore’s multi-acre solar panel system was originally installed in 2011–2012. This system was designed to offset a portion of the estate’s energy needs, even on cloudy days, and provides up to 20% of the estates’ energy needs when online. Biltmore recently partnered with Sugar Hollow to upgrade a 3-acre portion of the system, which should further enhance performance.

LED Lighting

Prior to installing energy-efficient, longer-lasting LED bulbs throughout Biltmore House, our Engineering and Museum Services teams worked together to find replacements that best matched the color, brightness, and shape of each room’s original incandescent Edison bulbs.

Biodiesel

Biltmore’s Food & Beverage team sells all waste vegetable oil to Blue Ridge Biofuels, who makes fuel for use on the estate. Additionally, the only diesel fuel used on the estate is B20, which is a blend of 20% biodiesel and 80% regular diesel.

Climate Support

Biltmore is a Certified Tree Farm, with 5,761 acres of forest managed by a registered consulting NC forester under a scientific forestry management plan. Managed forests support carbon sequestration which lessens the impact of climate change.

Optimizing Forest Health

Our horticultural team is engaged in the following efforts to protect our region’s endangered tree species:

• Partnering with the American Chestnut Foundation to breed a blight-resistant species of Chestnut tree
• Pre-treating Hemlock trees to prevent wooley adelgid infestation

Monarch Butterfly Migration Support

To encourage growth in threatened Monarch butterfly populations, our Landscaping teams planted milkweed across the estate. This provides vital habitat for the butterflies as they pass through our region on their yearly migration toward Mexico. The only plant on which female Monarchs will lay eggs, milkweed is essential to the survival of the species.

Waterways Management

Employing best management practices to prevent silt and runoff into waterways, our Agricultural and Forestry Operations teams earned the 1998 River Friendly Farmer Award from the Buncombe County Soil and Water Conservation Service.

Field to Table Program

Biltmore’s Field to Table Program focuses on growing—and finding—the best, freshest foods for the estate’s six full-service estate restaurants. Eggs from free-range hens, meat (beef, lamb, pork) from livestock raised free of growth hormones and growth-promoting antibiotics, grapes for Biltmore’s fine wines, and artisan and romaine lettuces, arugula, kale, heirloom tomatoes, herbs, and microgreens are supplied by the estate’s agricultural services. Incorporating this fresh, self-sustaining bounty into their recipes, our culinary teams provide consistently exceptional dining experiences for our guests.

Our Restaurants

In addition to sourcing produce and meat from estate and local growers, Biltmore’s Food & Beverage team is committed to the following:

• Use of recyclable and compostable, to-go containers and utensils
• Recycling of fryer oil into biodiesel for estate farming and horticultural operations use
• Composting of food waste for agricultural use

Our Winery

Biltmore’s Winery established a cork recycling program by partnering with WidgetCo, Inc., an organization that collects corks and other post-consumer materials and “upcycles” them into unique products. Corks are collected at key locations across the estate, including the Winery’s tasting room and estate restaurants.

In addition to local sustainability efforts, Biltmore seeks to partner with such international organizations as the Clean the World Foundation. This organization collects single-use shampoos, soaps, and other personal care items to create hygiene kits for distribution to developing countries. Our staffs at The Inn and Village Hotel on Biltmore Estate are proud participants in this program dedicated to eliminating hygiene-related disease transmission.