Features
Green Hospitality
The Cascadia Hotel in Vancouver, Canada is a “Waste Free” hotel. The hotel has adopted a “Zero Waste Program” in an attempt to examine the establishment’s waste stream and, according to their website, rather than seeing waste as useless garbage to see “….discards as valuable resources. A pile of trash represents jobs, financial opportunity, and raw materials for new products”. As well as introducing recycling bins throughout the hotel for various types of recyclables, the hotel uses energy efficient light bulbs, biodegradable pens, low flow shower heads and non-toxic marker pens in its conference facilities. The Cascadia’s policies are admirable for sure, but what of hotels in Ireland? What are they doing to implement environmental change and what are the challenges inherent in being green?
Green at Gregan’s Castle
The four star Gregans Castle in the Burren in Co. Clare can be well regarded when it comes to its eco-credentials. Owners Simon Haden and Frederieke McMurray say that they take very seriously the impact that a hotel can have on the fragile ecosystem of the Burren. Haden’s own interest in the environment sprang from his interest in the antinuclear movement and then the green movement in Germany. When Haden returned home to his native Clare and to the family business of tourism, he began to apply his ethos to his business.
“The Burren (www.burrenbeo.com) is one of the most unique landscapes in Ireland,” says Haden. “This karst limestone area has Mediterranean, arctic and alpine flowers growing side by side. It attracts walkers and cyclists, botanists and ornithologists. My family business is tourism which depends on a pristine environment so it is logical that we should act to protect it.”
In attempting to protect his environs, Gregan’s Castle has purchased all its power from Airtricity since 2000, all the food and waste paper produced on site is recycled – some on site in vermicomposters and some collected. In the past five years the hotel has reduced waste to landfill by 66 percent due to recycling. The majority of the hotel’s heating and hot water is generated by super-efficient combi-condensing gas boilers while all waste water goes through a pura flo waste water treatment system which was installed in 2000 (after the Co. Council refused them permission for a reed bed system).
Local Food
Haden says that he believes that the decline in tourism in recent times has taken the pressure off the landscape somewhat and that the emphasis now is “more towards quality and sustainability where you have a smaller number of tourists who stay longer in the area”. He says that water quality and refuse still remain important issues in Clare as they do in the rest of the country but that recycling facilities in the area are good and they have a weekly collection of glass, food waste, cooking oil and dry recyclables.
When it comes to food, Gregans Castle Hotel leaves many in its wake. Their award winning chef, Mickael Viljanen, has been voted sixth best chef in Ireland by Food and Wine magazine and is the winner of the Hotel & Catering Review Gold Medal Award for Fine Dining 2009. The chefs in the hotel are committed to using the finest locally-sourced natural produce, organic where possible, and are supporters of The Burren Beef and Lamb Producers Group, (www.burrenlife.com), Slow Food Ireland (www.slowfoodireland.com) and Good Food Ireland (www.goodfoodireland.ie).
Environmentally Conscious Design
Many hotels in Ireland have now adopted environmental policies which they have devised themselves and which hope to educate staff and outline the intentions of the establishment with regard to environmental responsibility. One such hotel is the Wineport Lodge in Glasson, Co. Westmeath.
The hotel realises that its location in the lake lands comes with an element of responsibility and they have adopted a series of measures to reduce their impact on their immediate and wider environment. Such measures as laid out in their environmental policy include the use of phosphate-free cleaning agents in all departments, the treatment of all effluent on site, with final stage polishing in a specially constructed wetland which enhances the habitat for wildlife on the property, the recycling of all paper and cardboard and the use of low wattage bulbs.
The physical design of this lovely hotel is one which considered its environment from the get-go. The hotel’s west-facing aspect enhances solar gain and promotes passive heating in the guest rooms. The building is highly insulated with high-performance double glazed timber windows and doors, while every guest room has individual heating, allowing the elimination of waste heat as the temperature can be controlled by the guest.
The cedar wood clad structure and timber framed windows of the hotel also result in a low maintenance external finish from a renewable source which blends happily into the natural environment. According to owner Ray Byrne, the hotel’s staff is trained in the environmental policies with an emphasis also placed on the employees’ personal responsibility in this regard. Food on the menus at Wineport Lodge frequently includes organic and locally-sourced ingredients, including mushrooms, beef, dairy products and herbs.
Aspiring Cliff House
The Cliff House Hotel in Ardmore, Co. Waterford, listed in The Sunday Times November 2008 Travel Magazine’s “The World’s 100 Best Hotels” is a member of Small Luxury Hotels of the World and is one of Condé Traveller’s hot list of hotels 2009. While the hotel is gorgeous, with a magnificent location and award winning food, it also attempts to be eco-conscious in the running of the business.
General manager Adriaan Bartels says that while those running the hotel know that there is always room for improvement, they endeavour to do their best to be as eco-friendly as possible.
Bartels says that there are restrictions placed on the hotel in terms of its five star status; for example he says that a “PIR lighting systems for the corridors would not be considered ‘five star’”. Bartels is refreshing in his honesty when it comes to the ecological standpoint of the hotel. Its five star status, location, original design and government policy are all impediments to a truly ecological running of the hotel. Efforts to introduce wind power have been hampered he says.
“Our investigations into using wind power as a source of energy have proved to be disappointing as we are not located on the highest point of the hill and therefore there is no possibility of harnessing what seems to be a plentiful source of energy unless we gained access to land located on top of the hill.”
The design of the building also has a role to play. As a five star hotel it is necessary that all the rooms be air conditioned thus consuming large amounts of electricity, and Bartels says that “the majority of our rooms have external balconies and terraces and every room is air conditioned – it would have been clever to implement a cut off switch to turn off the air conditioning when the balcony doors are opened”.
Despite these issues the hotel continues to occupy one of the most unique locations in Ireland, it is committed to constantly examining it’s ecological footprint and has signed up to the Green Hospitality Award system, securing a bronze classification last year, which they hope to increase to gold status over the coming years.
Voya products which are produced in Ireland and use natural seaweed are used in the hotel spa and the hotel recycles a large proportion of waste (though admits there is room for improvement).
The hotel shines when it comes to food and, as a member of Good Food Ireland their chefs are committed to using local, organic and slow food wherever possible as well as seasonal produce to minimise air miles.
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sreekanth