Sustainable, eco-friendly, and carbon footprint are phrases which we have heard more of in the past few years. At Tulfarris Hotel Wicklow, they are more than buzzwords. We care about the environment and our impact on the surrounding countryside and are working toward becoming a more sustainable hotel in many ways. We have implemented changes around the hotel which allow us to keep our carbon footprint low, reduce waste and monitor our energy usage without impacting the quality of care and service to our guests. Here are some proactive measures Tulfarris Hotel takes to preserve the beautiful Wicklow countryside.
Improving our Building
It’s almost impossible for a hotel to be run completely sustainably, we are striving toward a greener, more eco-friendly place for guests to enjoy. We have made some changes to the hotel itself to facilitate this positive change including:
• We added three compost bins which reduce our brown bin collections by 30% and reuse food waste from the restaurant and bar.
• Grass trimmings are added to the composters every two weeks to reduce collection and disposal from our gardener and golf course green keepers, further reducing our Co2 emissions.
• Every lightbulb in the hotel, manor house and golf club has been replaced with LED bulbs reducing This reduces greenhouse and carbon dioxide emissions by almost half a ton per light. Our outdoor lighting is now sensor operated and switches off automatically when not in use. We have also installed movement sensors in communal and staff-only areas to reduce needless energy usage.
• Where possible, our operational electrical equipment is set to a timer to reduce wasted energy and reduce running outside of service times.
Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
As well as improvements to the building, we have implemented a reduce and reuse policy across all departments of the hotel. We are reducing and will eventually remove all single-use items from the hotel, restaurant and bar starting with replacing all plastic bottles with a tetra pak alternative. We have also removed single-use toiletries in guest bathrooms, replacing them with large refillable bottles. Linen napkins and table clothes are used across our dining rooms and reused through the linen reuse programme. All of our cleaning products are environmentally friendly and chemical-free. We have reduced our heat energy usage by timing our heaters to be in use only during peak times.
Join us on our Journey to Green
Our team work hard to maintain the standards and service to our guests while ensuring minimal waste. There are many ways our guests can help us on our mission to become a more sustainable hotel in Wicklow from educating themselves on the best ways to make their stay as eco-friendly as possible. We do our best to educate both our staff and guests and communicate our efforts in an honest and mindful manner. Information is provided to both guests and staff on how to conserve water and information on recycling is clearly communicated. We encourage guests to be more environmentally friendly by reusing towels for the duration of their stay, switching off lights and devices when not in use and reducing waste wherever possible. You can also reduce your carbon footprint by minimising car usage, instead relying on public transport.
Protect & Sustain
We know one of the main attractions of our hotel is our stunning surroundings. We’re lucky to call the mountains lakes and woodlands of Blessington our home and will do all we can to protect and sustain its wellbeing. We have committed to supporting biodiversity by allowing an area of our grounds to become re-wilded. This allows wildflowers to grow and insects and plants to thrive with little artificial intervention. It also provides an important food source for insects, especially pollinators, an essential part of the food chain. We have nominated a Green Team Member from each department to ensure their department is doing what it can to support our plans going forward.
Our Green Team Leaders are always looking for ways to reduce our carbon footprint and become more environmentally friendly. We welcome any questions or suggestions from guests. To book a stay at Tulfarris Hotel in Wicklow, browse our rooms and best available rates on our website.
