Killashee Hotel in Co. Kildare has been awarded the Green Tourism Gold Award award by Scott Maclean’s Perth based Green Tourism group, achieving an impressive score of 81pc, highlighting its strong commitment to sustainability.
The Green Tourism Gold Award is an internationally recognized program that acknowledges organizations dedicated to eco-friendly practices, providing a framework for businesses to make positive environmental impacts, reduce costs, enhance reputation, and gain a competitive edge.
The Green Tourism certification focuses on 15 goals across three core areas: People, Places, and Planet, covering aspects such as communication, community engagement, destination emphasis, biodiversity, energy efficiency, water conservation, waste management, and carbon emissions reduction.
Killashee Hotel has made strides in sustainability by establishing a dedicated Green Committee, which has played a significant role in gathering data, raising awareness, and implementing policies to ensure the hotel’s green initiatives are impactful and sustainable.
As part of their ongoing ESG strategy, Killashee is investing in renewable energy and sustainable infrastructure in 2024, including the installation of a solar photovoltaic system with 488 Canadian TOPHiku6 Tier 1 solar panels.
The solar array is expected to generate 233,316.7 kWh per year, meeting approximately 20pc of the hotel’s total electrical demand with clean energy, resulting in significant environmental benefits such as neutralizing CO2 emissions, offsetting car-driven distances, and tree planting equivalents annually.
Killashee is also expanding and upgrading its electric vehicle charging infrastructure in collaboration with EasyGo, introducing 10 AC charging bays and 2 Rapid DC chargers powered by the solar array, offering guests 100pc green, sustainable energy for their journeys to and from the hotel.
Ger Alley, General Manager at Killashee, said, “This award is more than just an accolade; it reflects our deep-rooted commitment to sustainability, which is a cornerstone of our business philosophy. We firmly believe that adopting environmentally responsible practices is crucial not only to our success but also to the wellbeing of the communities we serve. I would like to extend my heartfelt thanks to our exceptional team for turning this vision into reality, and to our guests for their continued support on our journey towards a greener future. A special acknowledgment goes to our Green Committee members for their unwavering dedication: Greg Kelly, Ciaran O’Connor, Jakub Firley, Laura Kelly, Kenneth Brennan, Jacqui Butler, Magda Egan, Peter Kesztler, Nishal Chennigadoo, Brian Curtis, and Prabath Gamage.”
