Living green initiative

A Sustainable Hotel – Our Sustainability & Environment Policy

At Clayton Hotel Galway we are on a journey to significantly improve our processes and practices to reduce any harmful impacts we are having on the environment and be an environmentally friendly hotel.

‘Living Green’ is Clayton Hotels environmental movement that inspires care for our environment as a “Way of Life” throughout our hotels; both for our people and our guests. At Clayton Hotel Galway we are audited annually by Green Tourism for our performance in this area and we are happy to announce that after completing the latest “Energy and Sustainability Audit” we were awarded with a Gold accreditation.

In addition we are working towards achieving the following ambitious, evidence-based targets over the coming years;

Reduce energy related emissions by 20% per room sold by 2026*
Reduce food waste by 15% per sleeper by 2026*
Reduce water consumption by 15% per sleeper by 2026*
Collect Scope 1 and 2 data from Tier 1 suppliers by 2024

*On a baseline year of 2019

Trees on the Land

We have embarked on a partnership with Trees on the Land, a not-for-profit cross-border initiative that plants young native trees across the island of Ireland. With Trees on the Land we raise funds to purchase trees to plant in suitable sites through selling “Green” Meeting Room packages and donations from our guests and employees alike. In 2022 we planted over 800 native trees and we continue to fundraise to plant many more. To find out more or to make your own donation directly please visit Trees on the Land .

Biodiversity

We have registered with the All-Ireland Pollinator Plan recognising the importance of declining pollinator populations. This Plan of action provides a basis upon which we can reverse this trend. We have committed to several actions around the hotel which will increase the amount of pollinator friendly planting on site and we have installed several bee hotels and other suitable habitats

Energy

We have converted all lighting throughout to low energy LED lighting, we are installing sensors in many areas to better control the lighting and we have restricted the temperature range of the bedroom AC units to between 18^o and 24^o. We closely monitor our electricity and gas consumption and we take affirmative action if our usage ranges above targeted norms.

Water

We have reduced our water consumption by installing shower and tap aerators throughout which reduce the flow of water considerably without any noticeable difference to performance. We have installed several water butts around the hotel which we use to water the pollinator friendly planting on site. We have installed electronic meters which allow us to measure our usage accurately.

Waste

100% of our waste is currently diverted from landfill and we are targeting a recycling rate of 70% of all generated waste. We are actively managing our food waste and currently all food waste is converted to a fertiliser digestate using an anaerobic digestion process through our partnerships with FSM (Food Surplus Management). We have installed additional waste segregation points throughout the hotel and we encourage both our employees and guests to minimise the volume of waste they produce.

Green Purchasing

All our suppliers environmental policies have been requested and stored on site. We actively encourage all suppliers to produce evidence on environmental practices and we engage with them to reduce/remove their packaging. We have also expanded our ask of all our suppliers to demonstrate their commitment to sustainability.

Sustainable Hotel Stays

As a guest at Clayton Hotel Galway, there are many ways in which you can work with us to help reduce our environmental impact. You can really make a difference by considering some of these ideas:

Remembering to remove your key card from the power point in your room when you leave
Turn off lights when leaving the room
Turn off the television when leaving the room
Turn off taps
Limit the use of air-conditioning or heating
Read towel and linen policy

Engage with our suppliers to reduce packaging by 10%. To increase usall paper or cardboard purchased.
We will convert our coffee cups and straws % biodegradable. To increase purchases of locally sourced food by 10% and ensure 80% of our main courses are from local suppliers

The Future

Clayton Hotel Galway is committed to becoming an environmentally friendly hotel and continuing our efforts in reducing our environmental impact. If you have any recommendations or would like to know more please contact us.