Hotel Doolin Green Initiatives

• Harvesting our own rain water.

• 50 foot polytunnel, where we grow our own vegetables and herbs reducing supplier mileage and food waste.

• For every wedding booked, we plant 10 native trees with the Hometree.ie non-profit.  Each tree offsets 1 tonne of carbon in its lifetime. To date, we have planted over 6,000 trees.

In 2017 the carbon footprint of the hotel was 465 tonne.  In 2023 we calculated that Hotel Doolin produces just 24 ton of CO2 and every year we plant more and more trees to make us a carbon-negative hotel.

• We stock organic bath & soap products in our rooms from the Voya range made from organic seaweed; guest bedrooms have no single-use plastics.
• We send e-invoices to reduce the amount of paper.
• Our waste is separated throughout the hotel to reduce our mixed waste and we have strong recycling systems.  We have reduced food waste by 28% per person since 2019, in 2023 we reduced this figure by a further 9% per cover. 
• A charge point for electric cars is available onsite.
• We produce over 30% of our energy needs with a 100Kwp array of solar PV panels. The remaining 70% of our energy needs is 100% green electricity supplied by Electric Ireland. 
• We purchase 100% bioLPG from Calor, bipLPG doesn't have a carbon footprint. 
• We don't sell or use any single-use plastics in any of our outlets or bedrooms
• We have banned disposable cups with the help of the 2GoCup, we hope that Doolin will follow in Killarney's footsteps and become the first village to ban disposable cups. 
• We do not sell any plastic bottles of soft drinks or water saving circa 20,000 plastic bottles being sold per annum.
• We have a no-disposable cup policy for the staff, staff have to use the deposit return scheme by 2GoCup
• Any guests who arrive by bicycle get a free cup of tea/coffee.
• Any guests who cycle to the hotel to stay overnight get a 10% discount on their accommodation rate.

How we save water: 

• We monitor the shower aerators as well as water flow in taps in kitchen.

• Urinals in bathrooms flush every 2 hours and we spot check this regularly too.

• We operate a towel & linen re-use programme in the bedrooms. 

• We harvest rainwater and have a 6500 litre tank in the garden saving 2 cubic metres of water per day.

• Installed new grease traps and upgraded the waste treatment plant (tertiary treatment system).

• There are hippo bags in all toilet cisterns including the Eco-Barn.

Other initiatives:

• We continuously consult with our suppliers to reduce packaging and take back any packaging that is theirs.

• In 2018, the Eco-Barn that was built to replace the Marquee at Hotel Doolin for weddings.  It is fully sound-proofed and has a state-of-the-art sound system. It is an A-rated building with a sustainable heating and cooling system. 

• We sell Fairtrade coffee.

• We upcycle materials.  In the Eco-Barn the bar counter is made from old whiskey barrels and the lampshades are made from old fisherman’s eel baskets from Sligo. 

• Tissue used is made from old milk cartons. 

• We buy 70% of our food produce from local suppliers (50km radius).

• For the Doolin FolkFest, we provide guests with a reusable glass that can be brought home as souvenirs.

• The Do Not Disturb Signs in the bedrooms are made from wood and not paper.

• We utilise our compost in the polytunnel.

• We “adopt a hedgerow” – the team chooses an area of the local road and cleans out the hedgerow & do village clean-ups.

• We promote sustainable transport and encourage use of public transport and shuttle bus to the Cliffs of Moher.

• We make most of the wedding cakes in-house which reduces supplier mileage saving 6400 miles per year.

• The heating system in the hotel is an air to water heating system; it maintains an ambient temperature of 21.5 degrees in the bedrooms and corridors of the hotel.  It runs on green electricity.

• We have 8 wood pellet stoves at Hotel Doolin which have a zero carbon footprint.

• Wedding centrepieces are living and can be taken home after the wedding.

• Some wedding packages include organic wine, vegan and vegetarian options.