The Cliffs of Moher Visitor Experience, has recently achieved Green Business status and presented with a certificate of completion by the Fifty Shades Greener team.
The programme is currently available for free to Irish hospitality businesses through collaboration with Kildare & Wicklow Education & Training Board, with funding from SOLAS.
Thelma Hayes, Operations Manager at the Cliffs of Moher Visitor Experience, and the green team implemented various actions set out by the programme to help the Cliffs of Moher reduce electricity and water usage, as well as reducing the volume of waste produced in line with their sustainability goals . “The 50 Shades Greener Course is a valuable tool for any business who wishes to implement an environmental management system and green culture into their business. The Cliffs of Moher Visitor Experience found immediate benefits for example finding out that our water usage went from 6.1 litres to 4.1 litres per visitor in one month.” explains Thelma.
Their goals for the coming 12 months include a reduction by 15% of CO2 per customer and installing a rainwater harvesting tank to further reduce their water consumption.
The Cliffs of Moher Visitor Experience has excelled in their commitment to reducing waste production through provision of waste segregation training for team members with a commitment to reducing plastic waste across the site with the introduction of a visitor water fountain through Refill Ireland.
As a recognised UNESCO Global Geopark, the Cliffs of Moher Visitor Experience have a clear commitment to the protection of biodiversity in the area, on land and sea and so the impact they have on their landscape and working to reduce this, is paramount.
Over 200 businesses from the hospitality and travel sector have participated over the last six months in Ireland’s first ever state-subsidised green training programme, Fifty Shades Greener.
The Cliffs of Moher Visitor Experience is the second business in Co. Clare to finish the programme since joining earlier this Summer, after the Stonecutter’s Kitchen Restaurant in Doolin.
Founder of Fifty Shades Greener, Raquel Noboa highlights; “Participation in the programme is fully subsidised at present for all businesses in the hospitality and tourism sector in Ireland and teaches simple and cost effective steps to help reduce carbon emissions and cut operating costs by €10,000 – €60,000 per year on average. This is achieved primarily by lowering energy and water use and waste generation.”
Founded in Liscannor, Co. Clare, by sustainability expert Raquel Noboa, Fifty Shades Greener saw a massive demand for their services during the pandemic.
They offer a Green Business Programme to the Irish hospitality and tourism industry, which is subsidised and run under the national initiative, Skills to Advance. Participants on the programme range from hotels, restaurants, and tourist attractions.
For more details on the Green Business Online programme and how to apply here.
For more information on 50 Shades Greener, click here.
