WESTPORT WOODS HOTEL
&SPA,Quay Road, Westport,
ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY
Co Mayo. Tel: 098 25811.
www.westportwoodshotel.com
Going back
to green
WestportWoodsHotel&Spahas
takenanoldSeventiesbuildingand
developeditintoanup-to-date,
environmentallyfriendlyhotel,
leavingnostoneunturned
‘We compost all of our food
wasteanduseitinourseven
acres of gardens. We also
recycle paper and plastic tins
and use compaction, such as
glass crushing, to save space’
Michael Lennon
M
ICHAEL Lennon, general manager of InJanuary,WestportWoodswasvotedIreland’sgreenest “We compost all of our food waste and use it in our seven
Westport Woods Hotel & Spa quotes US hotel by the Environmental Protection Agency, quite a feat acres of gardens. We also recycle paper and plastic tins and
president Barack Obama when he talks giventheoriginalbuildingwasconstructedover30yearsago. use compaction, such as glass crushing, to save space. The
about its environmentally friendly “Although energy costs have risen by more than 30pc volumethatgoestolandfilliscontinuallybeingreduced,for
approach: “If you can’t control your energy sources, you since we began our environmental plan, our costs have example,bybuyingmeatwithoutbonesinitandproducethat
can’t control your future.” remainedstatic.Energyconsumptionhasreducedfrom2.8 comes in recyclable packaging,” says Lennon.
Takingatrulyholisticapproachwithitsenvironmentalplan, to 2.4 megawatts per annum in three years,” says Lennon. WestportWoodsusedtohaveitsownlaundry,butagreen
implementedoverthepastsixyearsorso,the122-bedroom Oil has been fully replaced by wood pellets and solar audit dictated it would be better to outsource this function.
hotelhasreducedtheamountofwastegoingtolandfillfrom powertoheatthehotel.“Woodpelletscostthreecentakilo- “Weuseacompanythatdeliverstoanumberofhotelsinthe
240tonnesayearto40tonnes.Overall,itscarbonfootprint watt hour, compared to six cent a kilowatt hour for oil. The area using trucks running on biodiesel and an eco-type of
has been reduced by 65pc; in time, it hopes to become first wood-pellet boiler we put in replaced two BTU boilers, detergentthatisphosphate-free.Tosaveonlaundry,weask
carbon neutral. andcosts¤16,000torun,halfthepreviouscost,”saysLennon. ifguestswouldbewillingtousebedsheetsforthreedays,as
Some of its more innovative ideas have been to power its “We use energy efficient LED and CFL lighting through- well as reusing towels,” says Lennon.
horse-riding stables with solar energy and drive trucks outthehotelandhaveaneffectivelightingplantoensureene- AllofWestportWoodsenvironmentalprojectsarecarefully
fuelledwithbiodieselmadefromrecycledcookingoil.Recy- rgy isn’t wasted. There are six to eight inches of insulation, monitoredandauditedbyitsownGreenTeamaswellasthe
cled polystyrene fish boxes are melted down into slabs and and instead of using gas fireplaces we use trimmings from Green Hospitality Awards and Sustainable Energy Ireland.
exported to Japan by a waste collector to make CD disks. In the 5,000 trees on the estate. Successful implementation of the environmental plan
addition,theLEDdisplayontheexercisebikesintheleisure “Our recent bedroom additions follow international would not have been possible without buy-in from the staff
centre is self-powered by the customers using them. best practice in terms of air tightness (air changes by — of which there are around 80 in summer and 30 in
FutureplansincludelinkingupwithEcocabstotransport five cubic metres per hour); environmentally friendly winter. “We’ve produced a CD as part of the induction
guests into town in rickshaws. materials used (Ecocem concrete); and as much process that outlines our environmental policies and pro-
Westport Woods is part of the Brian McEniffe network of sustainable-energyuseaspossible.Aswellasthis,the exist- ceduresandshowshowpeoplecangetmoreinvolvedbydoing
six hotels, and Lennon says the environmental drive origi- ing building has been and continues to be retro-fitted.” some things like composting at home,” says Lennon.
natedwithMcEniffehimself.“AsmanageroftheDonegalteam Wastemanagementisasignificantpartof thehotel’senvi- “TheGreenTeamleaderhasmeetingseveryfortnightand
that won the All-Ireland in 1992, he likes his winners. He’s ronmental plan and one of the first areas it tackled. Five rewardspeoplewhocomeupwithgoodideasthatareimple-
always talked about being aware of costs, turning off years ago it sent 240 tonnes of waste per annum to landfill; mented. For example, one Bulgarian member of staff sug-
lights and how we should strive to take half a million thishasdroppedto40tonnesperannum,andthegoalisto gested we get rid of all the individual mayonnaise and
kilowatts off the electrical bill.” reduce this by a further 20-25pc. ketchupsachetsandreplacethemwithporcelaincontainers.”
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