Sustainability Policy:
We recognise that our business can be operated in a more sustainable way, especially in minimising our environmental impact, and that we can support the wider community in protecting and enhancing the environment for future generations and to support the development of a sustainable industry.
We are committed to taking the following actions:
- To secure and then maintain the Green Hospitality Eco-Label Award which will embed our Sustainability Plan within our business.
- To produce and publish our Sustainability Plans along with the actions we are taking to support the plans on our website and elsewhere and update this information annually.
- To develop specific achievable targets to maximise our sustainability and minimise our environmental impact.
- To comply fully with all relevant legislation and local authority and regulatory requirements.
- Carbon Emissions - To measure and then take actions to minimise our Scope 1 & 2 Carbon Footprint in support of the Climate Act and to identify the Scope 3 emissions we can have a strong impact on.
- Energy Reduction - To measure our energy consumption and implement actions to reduce our energy consumption and continue to monitor consumptions regularly.
- Waste Reduction - To measure our waste production and implement actions to minimise waste production and continue to monitor production regularly.
- Water Reduction - To measure our water consumption and implement actions to minimise mains water consumption and continue to monitor consumptions regularly.
- Circular Economy - To Reduce, Reuse, Recycle the resources consumed by our business in support of the Circular Economy.
- Employee Engagement - To provide all employees with the training and resources required to support our Sustainability Plan and work to improve and enhance their employment conditions and to operate as an Equal Opportunity Employer.
- Communication - To openly communicate our policies and practices to all stakeholders and invite them to take actions to support them.
- Green Procurement – To develop a responsible purchasing policy that favours local sourcing, and implement it across the business.
- Biodiversity – to adopt a Biodiversity policy that enables the business to be a positive contributor to Biodiversity, locally and nationally.
- Local Community – to adopt a Local Community Engagement policy that ensures our business contributes to the local economy.
Green Procurement Policy:
The goal of this policy is to ensure that products and services purchased or contracted will conform to the goals of our company’s Sustainability Policy. We will strive to purchase sustainable and environmentally preferable products and services that meet the company’s needs. Our Purchasing decisions shall favour:
- Suppliers of Irish Provenance Products & Services and where the Irish offer is below our standard we will actively work with those suppliers to improve their quality and standards so that we can source from them – we commit not to set unrealistic barriers for Irish suppliers.
- Products that reduce greenhouse gas emissions or are made with renewable energy.
- Products that reduce the use of chemicals that are hazardous to the environment and employee and public health.
- Suppliers who strive to improve their environmental performance and provide environmentally preferable products, and who can document the supply-chain impacts of their efforts.
- Products that contain the highest possible percentage of postconsumer recycled content.
- Products that reduce air and water pollution.
- Products that reduce waste.
- Reusable products.
- Products that serve several functions (e.g., copier/printers, multipurpose cleaners) and reduce the overall number of products purchased.
- Products that are recyclable or compostable.
- Food purchasing will actively use locally produced items with a commitment to declare the provenance of all main foodstuffs to the customer at point of sale.
- Products/Services that are available locally, regionally, or nationally in preference for overseas products/services. Cost alone will not be the deciding factor.
- Responsibly sourced products from overseas.
Environmental and sustainable preferable products and services comparable to their standard counterparts in quality and price will receive purchasing preference. In situations where environmentally preferable products are unavailable or impractical, secondary considerations will include the environmental and sustainability management practices of suppliers and producers. The purchase of environmental and sustainable preferable products is part of our long-term commitment to the environment and sustainability. By sending a clear signal to producers and suppliers about this commitment, we aim to support a wider adoption of environmental and sustainable preferable products and practices.
