Sustainability
Committed to a Cleaner Environment
Our hotel is situated on a private estate on the edge of Killarney National Park, in one of the most scenic parts of South West Ireland. Protecting this amazing landscape and environment is very important to us. As stated by the UNWTO
“Tourism that takes full account of its current and future economic, social, and environmental impacts, addressing the needs of visitors, the industry, the environment, and host communities.”
With everyone working together, we can look forward to a cleaner and safer environment and ensure environmental issues remain a focal point and receive proper attention.
We are members of The Green Hospitality Programme which is the only Irish Government certification standard for the hospitality sector. We are delighted to be part of the Killarney Hotels Sustainability Group which is a group of 22 hotels that are committed to reducing the environmental impact of our services and activities, increasing the wellbeing of our employees, and promoting responsible governance in the way we run our business.
We are committed to the implementation of proactive measures to help protect and sustain the environment for future generations of our guests and employees.
In accordance with this, we are constantly striving to improve our environmental practices in a variety of areas such as energy, single-use plastic, and water usage. Sustainability is a journey of continuous improvement, and we are committed to highlighting areas that require attention and implementing changes accordingly.
General Manager
Emer Corridan
Green Tourism Accredited
Sustainability
Here at Cahernane House Hotel we are celebrating our recent accreditation with Green Tourism. We are delighted our green practices have been independently audited and recognised with silver status.
Green Tourism operates a globally recognised certification programme that audits the commitment of tourism businesses that are actively working to become more sustainable. Their environmental assessors give professional advice on areas such as reducing energy use, saving water, ethical buying, staying local, and promoting biodiversity.
Killarney Ireland’s First Single-Use Coffee Cup-Free Town
At Cahernane House Hotel we are delighted to be part of this initiative.
The decision to move to a reusable takeaway system was taken following an agreement by 25 local independent coffee shops and 21 hotels. (Cahernane House Hotel included!)
Our Building
- We provide bike racks
- 3 electric car chargers in our car park, complimentary when booked direct
- We have installed two rainwater tanks on the property, the collected rainwater is used to water our plants in the hotel and also the gardens.
- Three composter bins were installed to utilise our food waste and to reduce our brown bin collections by 30%.
- Grass trimmings are added to the composters once every two weeks to reduce collection and disposal from our gardener, further reducing our Co2 emissions.
- All lightbulbs in the hotel have been replaced with LED bulbs.
- Most operational electrical equipment is on timers to ensure it is not running outside of service times.
- Outdoor lighting is timer operated and the timer is being changed based on seasons and natural daylight.
- We have implemented smart water, gas and electricity meters that will be able to monitor our usage at any given time of the day.
Transportation
We encourage guests to lower carbon emissions by taking to the surrounding areas on foot or by bike. Bikes are provided for guests use so that they can explore the nearby tourist attractions and Killarney National Park without the need to consume fuel. We have bikes present on the property for guests usage to further encourage this.
We provide 3 electric vehicle chargers in our own car park, complimentary to guests when booked directly.
Sharing Our Green Journey
- We know that it is important to communicate our efforts in an honest and mindful manner and to consider the consequences and impact of our marketing initiatives. We know the effect social media can have and we want to be as transparent as possible and provide clarity where we can.
- A reduce, reuse, recycle policy is applied throughout every department in the hotel.
- Written material is provided to both guests and staff on how to conserve water.
- We contine to educate guest on how to recycle properly and how to use recycling bins in all guest bedrooms and public areas.
- Signage is erected in every bathroom to encourage guests to be more environmentally friendly by reusing any towels for the duration of their stay.
Reduce and Reuse
- Staff members have been educated on recycling best practices and on food waste reduction.
- We are committed to measuring our water, energy usage and waste usage at the end of every month, to better understand the areas that need to be looked at.
- We have implemented processes and schedules in every department to ensure all appliances that are not in use are plugged out or switched off where applicable.
- We have reduced the use of printing and wastage of paper within the hotel, this is continually monitored in our efforts to reduce and reuse.
- Our heating systems have been set on timers to allow for them to only be in use during peak times throughout the day.
- Our cleaning products are environmentally friendly and chemical-free.
- Recycling is taken more seriously, cardboard, plastic, glass, and food bins have been implemented into every department to ensure that materials are being properly recycled.
- A cardboard/plastic baler has been installed to greatly reduce our bin collections, the bales are given to a local company who reuse recycled cardboard and plastic.
- We are currently looking to reduce and hopefully get rid of any single-use items we have in the hotel, this will be done in stages, we have begun by only using metal or paper straws in both the bar and restaurant. We are in the process of changing over to leather and reusable drink coasters.
- Timer lights are installed in all staff communal areas and staff toilets to reduce the usage of lights in these areas.
- Linen napkins and table cloths are reused through our linen reuse program.
- We have a water bottle refill station for both guests and staff to use.
Protecting and Sustaining
We have committed to supporting biodiversity by allowing an area of our grounds to become re-wilded and have selected areas where the mowing has been reduced throughout the year. This has allowed wildflowers to grow and provide important food for our insects, especially pollinators.
Our Green Team
- We are committed to the implementation of proactive measures to help protect and sustain the environment for future generations of our guests and employees. We have nominated a Green Team Member from each department to ensure all departments are minimising their wastage and recycling properly.
- Every department has a procedure in place to ensure all non-essential electrical equipment is turned off if not needed. The night porter does an energy walk to ensure compliance.
- A reduce, reuse, recycle policy is applied throughout every department in the hotel.
- Staff members have been educated on recycling best practices and on food waste reduction.
- Our team are active members of Killarney Tidy Towns, a voluntary community based group that works to keep our town clean, tidy, and sustainable.
Locally Sourced
Our candles are manufactured in Fenit, Co. Kerry by Mary Hannon from the Lighthouse Candle. Her whole process, from concept to creation, is simply amazing. Mary came to visit Cahernane to get a feel for the house before she even began work on making the candles. The candle label is a hand drawn sketch, Mary framed one of these sketches which is proudly displayed in our lobby.
Growing Our Own
We have a herb garden that our kitchen team nurtures and uses regularly. Head Chef Cormac Vesey grows a lot of his own products that he then uses in many dishes he creates for Cahernane guests.
And we won't stop there
- There are construction plans in place for a new build at the end of 2024, and this build will include solar panels, to guarantee green energy consumption for electricity.
- In 2023 we installed water saving devices, such as low-flow shower heads and tap aerators in 50% of our rooms.
- Once we have actively reduced our Carbon Emissions by 20%, we plan to begin Carbon Offsetting, we are hoping to partner with Renewable Energy Projects and Forestry Protection Projects within twelve months of our Emissions being reduced.
