For Sue Melvin, who runs a bed-and-breakfast establishment in Roundway village near Devizes, going green is just good sense.

Mrs Melvin, who owns Southdown B&B and runs White Horse Walking Holi-days with her husband Martin, received the Green Tourism Award from Wiltshire Wildlife Trust at a ceremony last week.

She told the Gazette: “We never made a conscious effort to go green. We try to be economical with energy consumption because, when we started the business a few years ago, we suddenly went from just the two of us to a houseful of eight people.”

The couple tried out their B&B business at the end of 2008 and began it properly in April 2009. They mainly cater for walking holiday enthusiasts and have a selection of walks over the Wiltshire Downs to choose from.

Having used solar panels for their hot water for a number of years, the next step was to install photovoltaic panels a year ago.

This was followed by the installation of an energy-efficient wood-burning stove in August, using fuel from their back garden.

As a result of these measures, Southdown’s energy consumption has decreased by more than 30 per cent.

Mrs Melvin said: “It has enabled us to turn our thermostat down quite a bit and save energy. Being green just makes good sense. There is a perception that if you go green you have to grow a beard and look scruffy, but it isn’t like that at all.

“It becomes second nature. You start to feel guilty if you don’t recycle. We are very fortunate in having the neighbourhood recycling centre close at hand, but the council takes so much away from your doorstep now.”

Having green credentials is also good for business, says Mrs Melvin.

She said: “We find that more guests are looking for holidays that are green and by implementing these measures we offer a product that is in keeping with modern-day attitudes.

“This is only the beginning for us as we’ll be continuing to look for new and creative ways of making our business as green as it can become.”

Meanwhile, Corsham-based Freesource Energy has been highly commended by the Wiltshire Wildlife Trust for supplying free solar PV systems. The renewable-energy company was singled out by the trust for an award in its climate change impact category.

More than 100 homes have benefited from Freesource’s free solar programme and are now enjoying reductions in their energy bills as a result of the free electricity generated by the PV panels on their roof.