Mountain WILD! nominated the Biltmore Estate for NC Wildlife Federation’s 52nd annual Governor’s Conservation Achievement Award as Business Conservationist of the Year – 2014.
In September 2015, the Biltmore Estate received this prestigious award as a model for corporate environmental excellence with its forest conservation work, solar energy, recycling and water conservation practices.
Highlights of Biltmore’s conservation efforts included: management of 5,000 acres of sustainable forest and sustainable agriculture practices; generation of its own renewable energy through installation of 7,000 solar panels; growth of 50 acres of canola and pressing the seed for human consumption and pre-biofuel testing; use of water-conserving and waterless plumbing fixtures and reuse of “gray water” to reduce the burden on the City of Asheville’s water supply; and recycling of plastic, glass, paper products, metal, cardboard, batteries and implementation of a cork recycling program at the Biltmore winery.
Kit Schmeiser, Mountain WILD!; Bill Alexander, Landscape & Forest Historian, The Biltmore Company; Steve Schmeiser, Past-President, Mountain WILD!