Clonakilty’s Dunmore House Hotel has been given the stamp of approval for sustainability after earning a prestigious Gold Award l after the hotel’s ‘Green Team’ worked to reduce their negative environmental impact.
The landmark West Cork hotel is part of 50 Shades Greener, a national environmental programme run in conjunction with Cork College of FET- Bishopstown Campus recognising businesses that have taken steps to reduce their business Carbon Footprint.
The programme aims to reduce carbon emissions within the tourism and hospitality industry, in addition to making energy and waste cost savings for hotels.
The aim of this project is to provide businesses within the tourism and hospitality industry with the knowledge and skills required to be able to control and reduce their use of utilities. The Dunmore House Hotel has achieved the Gold Standard Award. As part of the Gold Standard Award Dunmore House measured their environmental impact, observed and learnt from their building and implemented a green action plan of activities to help them manage and reduce their impact on the environment. They also shared their CO2 data on their Environmental Policy and have action plans in place for Green Purchasing, HR and Marketing. In doing so they have shown genuine efforts and achievement in the area of sustainability. They were guided in this process by Aodhdín Forbes- Sustainability Tutor Cork College of FET.
The programme is focussed on three key pillars of sustainability- energy, water and waste, with the below included as part of the course outline:
- Provision to establish baselines and Green KPI’s (Carbon calculations)
- Monthly benchmarking of utilities
- Short and easy to follow videos to train all staff members of each organisation
It is hoped that this reduction of utilities will result in businesses achieving the ambitious goal of lowering their carbon footprint, reducing energy consumption and waste, and thus contributing to a reduction of the overall running costs of the business.
Speaking in relation to the programme, Courtney Canning, Assistant Manager Cork College of FET Bishopstown Campus congratulated Dunmore House on their achievement.
He said: “I am delighted to present this award to Dunmore House Hotel Their achievement of Gold Standard award is testament to the huge work done by the team here to become more sustainable and reduce their carbon footprint. Its never been more important to take steps in this area and Dunmore House has shown outstanding commitment to sustainable development and commitment to protecting their environmental legacy”
He continued. “I would encourage any businesses in the tourism and hospitality industry who would like to follow engage in Sustainability training to contact us to discuss how we can provide training to support their needs”
Speaking on the day Linda Cummins of Dunmore House expressed her delight in achieving this award saying “We are thrilled to receive this Gold Award on behalf of the Green Team and all members of staff at Dunmore House. Participating with the Fifty Shades Green Programme and forming an internal ‘Green Team’, has had a very positive impact throughout the hotel in bringing all our team to work together and encourage a great environmental awareness culture.”
She continued and outlined the steps Dunmore House has taken to improve their sustainability saying “We understand the importance of caring for the environment and our precious natural surroundings and are committed to implementing sustainable practices in all departments of the hotel. We now measure and analyse energy, waste and water consumption. This has identified that the changes and improvements we have made and by managing resources, have reduced our Carbon Emissions. We have reviewed our purchasing procedures and liaised with our suppliers to ensure that we serve fresh locally sourced food to reduce food miles, obtain bathroom and cleaning products that are sustainably produced and chemical free and reduce packaging. Organic garden practices and tree planting are a very important part of our green programme and environmental protection policies. Four onsite electrical vehicle charging points have been installed.”
Dunmore House continue to monitor and control all sustainable practices in order for the business to have a positive impact on the environment.