Blenheim Palace, one of England's most famous stately homes, has become the 2,000th member of the Green Tourism Business Scheme (GTBS) in a ceremony carried out by Conservative Party leader David Cameron.

The ancestral home of the Duke of Marlborough - and the birthplace of Sir Winston Churchill - Blenheim has been awarded a Silver grading by GTBS, with Cameron presenting the current Duke of Marlborough with a Heritage Tree to mark the palace's continued commitment to conservation and the environment. Blenheim Palace, eight miles from Oxford and a World Heritage Site since 1987, entered assessments for Green Tourism for the first time this year.

Among changes made at the palace and its 2,100 acres of parkland have been the introduction of low energy lighting and timers on the fountains so that they go off at night. Palace staff have also started using more eco friendly cleaning products, improved recycling practices and stepped-up support of locally produced foods. A selection of England's Sustainable Tourism Champions recently featured in a VisitEngland publication entitled 9 Reasons to be Green. Among those featured were The Hytte, in Hexham; The Palace Hotel in Manchester; The Deep in Hull; and the Venus Company, which has various locations in Devon and Cornwall.