We're delighted to share that The Connacht Hotel has been awarded Gold by Green Tourism, the world's leading sustainability certification programme for the tourism and hospitality industry, following our 2026 assessment.
A JOURNEY THAT STARTED IN 2018
Since beginning our sustainability journey in 2018, we've made significant strides in implementing effective green practices throughout our hotel. Many initiatives have already been introduced, and new ideas are emerging and evolving daily, from reducing our ecological impact to fostering a strong sense of community. Our dedicated staff have been key to this progress, their input, insight, and engagement are at the core of everything we've achieved so far.
WHAT GOLD MEANS
Green Tourism assessed our business against 15 sustainability criteria grouped under the pillars of People, Places and Planet, taking a holistic look at the social, economic, and environmental actions we undertake. Achieving Gold — the highest standard in their grading system — recognises a strong and broad environmental ethos, with excellent examples of best practice across the majority of those three pillars. Of hospitality businesses that go through Green Tourism's third-party verification, only around a third achieve Gold.
For us, it's confirmation that our practices are independently evidenced and authenticated, and reassurance for our guests that our sustainability commitment isn't just words.
OUR HIGHLIGHTS THIS YEAR
Some of the areas Green Tourism recognised as particular strengths in our assessment included:
1. Combined Heat and Power (CHP) system — our hotel runs off the national electricity grid for over 16 hours a day, generating our own power on-site through a gas-fired CHP engine. The heat this produces is put to work too: it's used to warm water for our radiators and immersion tanks, so we're not burning additional fuel just to heat water.
2. Smart Building Management System (BMS) — our air handling, heating, and cooling across public areas can be controlled and fine-tuned from a single system, letting us manage energy use precisely rather than leaving it to guesswork.
3. Solar power — almost 300 solar panels went up on our roof in 2024, cutting our reliance on fossil fuels further still.
4. Putting food waste to use — our used coffee grounds don't go to landfill. Some are packaged and sold to guests as plant fertiliser, with proceeds going to our chosen charities, while the rest are spread by our landscaper across the hotel's gardens and flower beds.
LOOKING AHEAD
We recognise that sustainability is a never-ending journey, and this Gold award is a milestone, not a finish line. We're excited for the road ahead, and we'll keep working — with the support and guidance of Green Tourism — to build on the progress we've made and reduce our impact on the planet.
