HOTEL Doolin has been awarded the Corporate Impact Award for its Green Team Programme in the prestigious Irish Red Cross Humanitarian Awards.
In 2019, Hotel Doolin became the first carbon neutral hotel in Ireland, six years on from launching its Green Team Initiative.
As part of this initiative, the hotel has implemented a programme of comprehensive carbon and energy reduction; invested in green electricity; hosted hedgerow and coastal clean-ups. Rainwater is harvested at the North Clare hotel with carbon emissions offset through the planting of native Irish woodland trees in a controlled location close to the hotel.
Plastic bottles and single-use items are not for sale in the hotel, saving an estimated 20,000 bottles each year. The team grow their own vegetables and herbs in a 50-foot polytunnel, reducing supplier mileage. Of the food produce bought off-site, 70% is purchased from local suppliers within a 30-mile radius.
Its positive corporate impact saw it claim an Irish Red Cross Humanitarian Award. Now in their fourth year, the awards recognise those who have had a humanitarian impact on the lives of others through volunteering, storytelling, skill sharing or fundraising.
Green Team leader at Hotel Doolin, Áine Martin said their recognition at the Irish Red Cross Humanitarian Awards was testament to its hard-working team. “The last year and a half has come with its many challenges, however we always aim to overcome our challenges in a positive way. Protecting the environment is at the core of our vision, mission and ethos. Providing exceptional levels of guest and employee satisfaction is key and becoming the first certified carbon neutral hotel in Ireland has added to our sense of purpose and overall place in the community”.
Over the last two years, Hotel Doolin has planted 1,700 trees offsetting 1,700 tonnes of carbon. For every wedding booked at the hotel, ten native trees are planted at Moyhill Community Garden.
The hotel reported using 135 tonnes of carbon to run the hotel in 2018, meaning they are carbon positive. In 2018, the custom-built Eco-Barn that was built to replace the Marquee at Hotel Doolin for weddings. It is an A-rated building with a sustainable heating and cooling system and an upcycled bar made from old whiskey barrels and lampshades made from old fisherman’s eel baskets from Sligo.
