"Our green journey so far"

by Donal Minihane, Managing Director

I am delighted to introduce you to Hotel Doolin, Ireland's first certified carbon-neutral hotel. At Hotel Doolin, our commitment to sustainability is reflected in our efforts to reduce water and energy usage, minimize waste, and support local businesses by sourcing our food locally.

The Glas Restaurant sources 100% of its food produce within a 30-mile radius of the hotel, ensuring the freshest ingredients and supporting our local community.

Over the past eight years, we have raised and donated over €100,000 to various charities, demonstrating our dedication to our three core values: People, Planet, and Profit. Our guiding principles are to Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, and Refuse.

In 2019, Hotel Doolin proudly became Ireland’s first certified carbon-neutral hotel. We have since received numerous accolades, bringing home awards from Irelands most recognised award bodies including winning 9 consecutive years at the Green Awards:

Our awards:

Hotel Doolin won Ireland's Greenest Hotel at the Gold Medal Awards, Green Awards; Ireland's Green Business 2022, Best Medium Sized Organisation 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022, 2003 and 2024 as well as the Tourism & Entertainment Award in 2015, 2016, 2017, 2022, 2023 and 2024 the Sustainability Team of the Year 2021 at the Green Awards. Our Green Manager won IHI Environmental Manager of the Year.

We won the Pakman Waste Reduction Award and Chambers Ireland CSR Award for Green Team Work.  The team won the Irish Red Cross Corporate Impact Award 2021 also.

Our goals have changed over the year, in the 2012 we set out to be Ireland’s greenest business, we partnered with Green Hospitality and quickly gained silver 2013, platinum 2015 and then cerfied carbon neutral award in 2019. In doing so we set our sights on lowing the hotels carbon foot print. In 2017 the carbon footprint of the hotel was 465 tonne.  In 2023 we calculated that Hotel Doolin produced just 24 ton of CO2 and every year we plant more and more trees to make us a carbon-negative hotel. Carbon neutrality or carbon negative is not enough as it does not take into account the majority of our Scope 3 emissions, therefor we have a higher commitment to become a NetZero Hotel by 2029.

In order to help us on this journey, we have partnered with the Fifty Shades Greener team to upskill our team and develop our NetZero action plan to 2029.

Our achievements reflect the dedication of everyone involved, from our team to our valued guests and suppliers. Here are some key milestones:

• We have eliminated oil consumption entirely in 2019.
• Since 2019 we have purchased only renewable energy from Electric Ireland.
• We plant 10 native trees for every wedding hosted at our hotel, resulting in over 5000 native trees planted in the last six years. Each tree sequesters one tonne of carbon in its lifetime.
• We switched to Calor BioLPG in November 2021.
• In May 2023 we installed a 110kw  array of solar panals, we produced over 30% of the hotels power in 2023.
• In 2022, we achieved carbon-negative status, offsetting more carbon than we generated.
• We maintain a 50-foot polytunnel where we grow much of our own food produce.
• None of our food or mixed waste went to landfill in 2023.

Our green leaders:

Donal Minihane | Paul Coote | Triona Moloney | Martina O’Loughlin | Jamie Hagen | Niamh Burke | Sinead Finn

Our current practices:

CSR

• Over the past eight years, we have raised and donated over €100,000 to various charities, demonstrating our dedication to our three core values: People, Planet, and Profit. Our guiding principles are to Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, and Refuse.
• 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 sell Fairtrade coffee.
• 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.

Energy

• In 2023 we reduced our energy by 2.4% per guest.
• 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.
• A charge point for electric cars is available onsite.
• We have 8 wood pellet stoves at Hotel Doolin which have a zero carbon footprint.
• All our lighting has been switched over to LED.

Water

• Water by 5.4% per guest cover
• We harvest rainwater and have a 6500 litre tank in the garden saving 2 cubic metres of water per day.
• 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.
• 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.

Waste

• In 2023 we reduced food waste by 9.1% and our mixed waste by 30.7% per guest cover.

• 50 foot polytunnel, where we grow our own vegetables and herbs reducing supplier mileage and food waste.
• 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 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.
• We continuously consult with our suppliers to reduce packaging and take back any packaging that is theirs.
• Wedding centrepieces are living and can be taken home after the wedding.
• Wedding menus are on blackboards or we print 1 A5 menu per table.
• We offer emailed receipts for all guests instead of printing.
• The Do Not Disturb Signs in the bedrooms are made from wood and not paper.

Other initiatives:

• In 2018, the Eco-Barn that was built to replace the Marquee at Hotel Doolin for weddings.  It is fully sound-proofed. It is an A-rated building with a sustainable heating and cooling system.
• 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.
• 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.
• Some wedding packages include organic wine, vegan and vegetarian options.

At Hotel Doolin, every individual has a role to play in our sustainability journey. We are excited to welcome you and share our commitment to a greener future.

Warm regards,

Donal Minihane
Managing Director
Hotel Doolin