Sustainability
Sustainability
Long before it became fashionable, we began asking what a hotel on the edge of the Atlantic should look like if it truly respected the place it stood in. That journey began in 2012. It hasn’t stopped since.
Our vision is simple: bring people together to make magic memories.
Our mission is clearer still: redefine what a hotel can be, rooted in sustainability, fuelled by creativity and delivered with the warmth of Doolin hospitality.
Everything flows from that.
Our green journey
In 2013 we achieved Platinum status with Green Hospitality Ireland.
In 2019 we became Ireland’s first Carbon Neutral Hotel.
In 2024 we published our first Net Zero Annual Report, using 2023 as our formal baseline year.
Since beginning this journey, guest numbers have quadrupled. Turnover has grown tenfold. Yet Scope 1 and 2 emissions have fallen by 76 percent overall and 87 percent per guest. Oil usage is down 95 percent. Electricity emissions have been eliminated through green energy. Landfill waste per guest has fallen by 18 percent.
Growth and responsibility can coexist, but only if growth is reimagined.
From carbon neutral to net zero
Carbon Neutral is no longer enough.
Carbon Neutral allows you to offset what you emit.
Net Zero requires you to reduce first, then offset only what is genuinely unavoidable.
The science has moved. Expectations have moved. So have we.
In 2023 our total emissions were 1,407 tonnes of CO₂e, or 7.4 kg per guest. Only 7 percent of that sits in Scope 1 and 2. The remaining 93 percent lies in Scope 3, supply chain, commuting, waste and embedded carbon.
That is where the real work now lives.
We are currently the only hotel in Ireland formally working toward Net Zero in this structured, report-led way. Our annual reports are public. Accountability matters. Transparency matters more than slogans.
This is not about claiming perfection. It is about continuous reduction, year after year.
- Rainwater harvesting systems.
- A 50 foot polytunnel growing produce onsite.
- Over 5,000 trees planted for weddings through our partnership with Hometree, with more added each year.
- Elimination of single-use plastics and disposable toiletries.
- 30 percent of our energy generated from solar.
- 90 percent of heating delivered through heat pumps.
- 70 percent of food sourced locally through our 30 Mile Menu ethos.
- The development of The Barn as a passive building.
- The creation of Doolin Arts, our non profit cultural engine.
- In 2025, we completed Phase One of our masterplan, converting six houses into twelve Village Suites and repurposing a retail unit into Sean Nós Bakery.
- Each step has been about doing more with what already exists.
2025 ACTION PLAN
We are not finished.
In 2025 we are:
Fixing energy leaks and optimising systems.
Reducing water use with aerators and low-flow solutions.
Eliminating remaining single-use items.
Training staff to reduce food waste.
Moving toward paperless administration.
Publishing our second Net Zero report using 2024 data.
Sustainability only works when every team member understands it. That is why staff training is central to our roadmap.
2026 to 2030
Our aspirations are clear:
Scope 1: zero, fully electric buildings and vehicles.
Scope 2: zero, 100 percent green electricity backed by solar generation.
Scope 3: a 30 percent reduction across supply chain, commuting and waste.
Stronger ESG reporting.
Full sustainability training across all departments.
Not vague ambition. Structured targets.
Biodiversity & community
Sustainability is not just carbon.
It is biodiversity, local economy and cultural life.
We have planted over 5,000 native trees in partnership with Hometree, with more added annually. We’ve introduced wildflower zones and buffer planting, expanded composting and grown produce onsite.
We work with Burren Ecotourism, Tidy Towns and Leave No Trace initiatives to protect the place that sustains us.
And through Doolin Arts, our non profit organisation, we actively support artists, writers and musicians in North Clare, because culture is as essential to a community as clean air.
Strong, self-sufficient communities, like those our grandparents knew, are the foundation of real sustainability. Sometimes you have to go backwards to go forwards.
A TURNING POINT
Planning permission was secured to double the size of the hotel.
After reflection, we chose not to.
It would not have been sustainable growth. It risked losing our boutique identity. It would have compromised what makes Hotel Doolin special.
We chose values over expansion.
Instead, we adopted an Albergo Diffuso inspired model, a village within a village, reimagining and repurposing existing buildings rather than building endlessly outward.
Growth can be regenerative. It does not have to be extractive.
Our commitment
Sustainable growth, not over-expansion.
Embedding biodiversity into design and operations.
Protecting our character.
Leading Irish hospitality toward Net Zero.
Thriving without costing the earth.
Hotel Doolin is not perfect.
But we are committed.
And we are just getting started.
