Sustainability

Environmental Policy

The Killarney Park is located in one of the most beautiful areas in the world. Protecting this amazing landscape and environment is extremely important to us at both The Killarney Park and The Ross Hotel.

In line with this we will continually strive to improve our environmental practices in a range of areas including energy, single use plastic and water usage. We will also continue to develop a number of ecotourism experiences for our customers to enjoy.

We are members of The Green Hospitality Programme which is the only Irish developed environmental certification standard for the hospitality sector.  The GreenHospitality.ie Eco-label and Awards are recognised both nationally and internationally as standards that allow members achieve good environmental performance and allow visitors to choose “Greener” hospitality businesses knowing that defined criteria are being implemented and monitored. During 2018 we are working towards full certification.

We are founding members of The Killarney Hotels Sustainability Group which is a group hotels totalling more than 3,000 bedrooms that take protecting our landscape and environment at the forefront of what we do.

 

The following are actions have taken by us and continue to be taken to minimize our footprint on the environment.

• Cardboard packaging, newspapers, magazines, glass, cans, plastic bottles and used light bulbs and batteries are all returned to our suppliers or collected for recycling. We are committed to further reducing waste to landfill.
• All heating, hot water, refrigeration and electrical equipment is serviced and maintained annually.
• We have a fully engaged Green Sustainability Team in the Hotel that are always looking for ways to help with the hotels Carbon Footprint. 
• When replacing electrical equipment only “A+” rated appliances are purchased.
• Our team are strong members of Killarney Tidy Towns and are proactive in contributing to the cleanliness of our fantastic town. 
• As much as possible of our food is sourced from local producers thereby reducing food miles (the distance that food must travel to get from farm to fork). Products such as meat, fresh fish, smoked fish, salads, eggs and cheeses are mostly from the locality. As much produce as possible is sourced from small artisan producers. Our Culinary team is committed to always trying to source produce from the Killarney and Kerry region. 
• We are currently transitioning to chemical free cleaning products.
• We send e-invoices were possible to reduce the amount of paper that we use and also re-use paper at the front desk and offices.
• We have electric car charging points (provided by the ESB) for use by hotel guests.
• We are partnered with Clean the World which assist us in Recycling all Guest Toiletries and used bars of Soap.
• The Guest Water that is found in the hotel is purchased from One Difference Water which is a non-profit organization which endeavours to bring Clean drinking water and soap to third world countries.  
• All the F&B Areas of The Hotel are single use plastic free, our Straws are made from Bamboo or Metal, Cocktails Picks & Drink Stirrers all made from Metal. All the picks used in Sandwiches and Burgers are all made from Bamboo. 
• In an effort to reduce paper waste all of the Drink Coaster in the Hotel are made from Leather and are re-used.
• The vast majority of the Hotel is operating on LED lighting which saves many tonnes of Co2 Energy.
• We are proud members of Repak which is a not-for-profit packaging recycling scheme funded by contributions from over 3,000 participating Member companies nationwide.
• In an effort to reduce the paper waste in the hotel we constantly analyse what we print and decide if some reports / works can be sent via email rather than hard copy.
• We are proud to offer our Guest complimentary access to PressReader which is an online platform for Newspapers and Magazines. This vastly reduces the paper waste that the hotel would produce otherwise. 
• Guest Dental Kits and Earplug are made from Bamboo and not plastic.

 

We welcome any questions or suggestions. Please do not hesitate to contact us at Reception.