Sustainability
At the Grand Hotel our Green Team are working on a constant evolving Sustainability Policy.
We recognise the need for all businesses to make a contribution toward reducing our impact on the enviroment and improving our long term sustainability.
Mission
We strive to be the best Four‐Star Hotel in the area, offering a full service to all customers. The Hotel will provide excellent service with a well‐trained staff, properly maintained facilities and demonstrate concern for our environment. The Hotel will attract business using these resources and through good management of the Hotel and its finances ensure it achieves profits that can comfortably ensure loan repayment, continued investment, and the building of reserves.
Core Values
We commit to operate all aspects of the business with honesty and integrity. We will be fair in all our dealings with customers and staff. While our ultimate goal is to sustain the Company into the future, we do so considering the needs of our colleagues, community, sustainability and customers in the present.
Vision
To combine our mission and core values to deliver a product that is constantly improving, offers value to customers and is a leader in the local community for action on climate change and sustainability.
The Grand Hotel is aware that its business activities impact upon the environment and we are committed to alleviating those negative impacts as it’s our mission/vision.
At the Grand Hotel, we believe that sustainable tourism is tourism that takes full account of its current and future economic, social, and environmental impacts while addressing the needs of visitors, the industry, the environment, and host communities (UNWTO, n.d.). We therefore aim to reduce our negative effects and increase our positive impacts.
Sustainability is a journey of continuous improvement, and we are aware that we have a lot to learn. So far, we have taken measures on an ad hoc basis, but we now will organise all our efforts under this single policy. We will remain constantly questioning our actions and will seek to improve all the systems already established for sustainability. Our Green Team will be leaders in this approach.
- We measure our electricity use at the meter at the end of every month. This measurement is plotted within an excel spreadsheet and distributed to management.
- We currently get 63.4% of electricity from renewable sources, we will seek to improve this.
- We measure our gas use at the meter at the end of every month. This measurement is plotted and distributed to Management.
To reduce our energy consumption, we currently:
- Have a Building Management System (BMS) installed to monitor all heating, etc.
- Rolling out LEDs throughout the building, 98% complete.
- Installed Timers and sensors to control lighting.
- Buy energy efficient devices when upgrading.
- Investment is ongoing to replace inefficient windows to reduce heat lost.
- In February 2023 we installed a new Kitchen Extractor Fan system. The fans ramp up and down based on how busy the kitchen is. The sensors in the spigots control the intake and extract rates of 3 motors via Variable speed drives thus creating the reductions in energy and Co2 output. They are induction motors so the decibel level while running is greatly reduced compared to the old belt driven units. Each month they should reduce our CO2 by 2 tonnes and reduce our KWH consumption by 6113.4 KWH.
- In September 2023 we did an extensive review by consultants of all our energy and water systems with the goal of reducing consumption and increasing efficiency. We expect the emerging plan to be our guide for improving Sustainability over the next three years.
- New Radiators have been installed in the Bedrooms to be more energy efficient.
- We measure our water use at four points, all meters, at the end of every month. This measurement is plotted within an excel spreadsheet and distributed to management
To reduce our water consumption, we currently:
- Fitted all bedroom showers and sinks with aerators
- Fitted toilet cisterns with blocks to reduce water flow
- Integrated leak detection without any apparent spike in usage over a two-month period
- Replaced dishwashers with lower water use machines
- Signage in bedrooms to encourage guests to re-use towels
- We measure our waste production at two points in the Hotel, the Kitchen, and the waste bins.
- Our average recycling levels, as measured by our Waste Management Company, is 90%.
We reduce waste by:
- Attempting to separate as much as possible. We operate black, green, and brown bins.
- Receiving a monthly report from our waste collector on the content of the bins returned to them, we expect 90% to be recycled.
- Utilising a compost machine for all wet waste to convert this to a reusable material.
- Placing waste food in a bin monitored by camera that in turn analysed the type and quantity of waste in the kitchen by a company called Positive Carbon.
- Compacting all carboard using an on-site compactor
- Using a minimum of disposable cups etc. All drink is usually dispensed from bottles and into glassware. All bottles are sorted and send for recycling.
- New Rituals refill bottle introduced in bedrooms to reduce small plastic waste.
- Gathering electronic waste and sending it to a registered recycler
At the Grand Hotel we are committed to:
- Buying locally (within Ireland) where possible, especially food products.
- Buying only the needed produce required
- Buying in bulk, where possible, to reduce packaging and the carbon footprint associated with deliveries.
- Use of crates from suppliers for packaging reduction at delivery point
- Member of Repak
- At the Grand Hotel we are committed to reducing our carbon footprint as much as possible .
- We make a monthly donation to HomeTree.ie to promote the planting of native Irish trees.
- Guest directory, QR code, includes information on the excellent public transport options available in Malahide, including bus and DART.
- We provide a shared vehicle scheme, GoCar, at the Hotel to reduce the need for guests and locals requiring hire or private vehicles.
- We have installed four EV charging points to facilitate customers make effective use of electric vehicles.
- We know we can’t always get things right first time. We therefore commit to honestly communicating where we are on our journey and our improvements.
- We will back up claims with measurements or tangible facts.
- We will also identify areas in which we are having difficulty.
- Our general marketing efforts will be ethical, accurate and truthful.
We support our local community by:
- Sponsorship of events and charities
- Support for our Tidy Town committee
- Provision of meeting rooms for some voluntary organisations
- Annual staff charity fund-raising or donation event . Usually an annual drive for SVP.
We support our employees by:
- Providing staff with access to the Bike to work Scheme and reduced public transport costs
- Staff training modules for sustainability on the Flow Training Platform
- Training staff on recycling properly within all department
We support our guests by:
- We have installed four EV charging points to facilitate customers make effective use of electric vehicles.
- Signage in Bedroom to encourage guest to re-use towels
- Guest directory, QR code, includes information on the excellent public transport options available in Malahide, including bus and DART.
- We recognise the need to protect and conserve our local biodiversity.
- We have a small green area on the grounds and will look to see how this may be made more diversity friendly.
- That said, we acknowledge that our options are restricted due to space available and the need to maintain the space to a certain standard of presentation and safety.
- We support HomeTree.ie in planting native varieties
Planned
- We will look to supporting a local Bee project