While I am sure you have all seen by now many posts about “Shopping local this Christmas” the message is soooo important that I could not pass this opportunity to give you my opinion.

According to digitalcommerce360, Amazon has reported it’s most profitable quarter this year increasing sales by 32.8% globally.

Now we are talking about a company here that was already making BILLIONS before the pandemic, well now, thanks to us all, they have a record revenue of 96.15 BILLION.

You are welcome Jeff!!!

Meanwhile back in the ranch, our local shops are suffering one of the hardest years of their history.

How many times have you passed by a place that has closed down and though “Oh that was a lovely shop, I wonder why it's closed” When was the last time you actually went in and spent money there?

Don’t get me wrong I am not preaching, I can admit that has happened to me too and then I’ve realised I contributed to their closure by not buying their products.

But one thing I will never do ...

Fifty Shades Greener, and the Educational Training Boards of Ireland, headed by KWETB, have partnered to deliver Environmental Training to the hospitality industry workforce in Ireland.

This project is funded by SOLAS and there will be no cost at all for businesses.

It has never been more important than now, that we provide opportunities for the workforce to upskill and learn something new in times of uncertainty within the industry.

The Fifty Shades Greener training programmes are practical, action based courses teaching employees and managers how to measure, monitor, control and reduce their business utilities.

“For me a Green business is one that reduces it’s impact on the environment, and we can achieve this by reducing our use of energy & water and production of waste. Reducing our utilities will not only reduce our Carbon emissions but it will also save us money. It is all about been resource efficient” explains Raquel Noboa, founder of Fifty Shades Greener.

As the Hospitali...

Waste is one of the most colossal challenges of our times. Waste production continues to increase and Ireland is now facing a potential waste mountain with no place to go. For some facts and stats continue reading to the end of this blog.

The first step to reducing waste at your hospitality business – CHECK YOUR BINS!

I am aware this is less than glamorous but unfortunately it is the only way you can learn what waste you are producing. I myself had to carry this out over a period of months when I was green manager at Hotel Doolin. It is a less than savoury task BUT one thing is for sure, I learned A LOT from it and I reduced our waste by 30% in one year by applying very simple actions - the  first one being WATCHING YOUR BINS!

Checking your bins allows you to understand what waste is being produced at your business, enabling you to take the necessary steps to either reduce or abolish certain waste completely.

Check your bins at different times of the day and different days of the w...

This week, I thought Id give you a break from telling you my opinion on something or other and instead, I wanted to highlight a business that is walking the walk and talking the talk when it comes to their Green Programme.

Dating back to the 18^th century, Whatley Manor is a beautifully restored manor house and spa nestles in 12 acres of gardens. Apart from their impressive award winning restaurant, what most attracts me to this property is their sustainability programme, which kick started in 2019.

Last week I had the pleasure to find out more about how they began their journey from Sue Williams, General Manager.

“The owners of Whatley Manor and I were discussing the subject of our operations impact on the environment and it was evident that we all had strongly held views that we wanted to focus hard on becoming more ethical operators both on property and in the community. We very quickly got underway as all parties were aligned.”

Having the owners and top management invested on a ...

It is estimated that we waste about a third of all the food we produce for human consumption. A third!!! That’s a lot of food.

Producing food requires a huge environmental effort, land that has been deforested, species that have been driven to extinction, indigenous populations that have been made homeless and uprooted soil that has been degraded and a huge amount of water used – all to produce food that we then just throw away.

This is not to scare you, unfortunately this is the reality of the food waste problem we have worldwide. These are facts. It is hard for us in the western world to understand the devastating effects that food waste has on the environment, because we can’t see it with our own eyes.

Another devastating effect of food waste, is that when the majority of it ends up in our landfill bins, it decomposes without access to oxygen and creates methane, which is 23x more deadly than carbon dioxide.

Every which way you look at it food waste is a major culprit in destroy...

Hotels and Restaurants spend a good portion of their sales paying for utilities, the energy, water and waste that takes to run your business, can be the second largest cost you will incur over the year.

So when was the last time you trained your team to SAVE YOU MONEY??? Or have you ever?

Teaching your employees the right behaviour around the use of energy and water and production of waste is the KEY element to not only reduce your running costs, but also to run a greener, more efficient business, and to reduce your Carbon emissions. It is that simple!

I worked in the Hospitality industry all my life, since I was 17, I went through a Hotel Management Diploma for 4 years, NOBODY, in my 20 year career, told me I was behaving the wrong way around utilities, and I was spending more money than I should.

Nobody told me that switching off the over for an extra hour a day could save my workplace €2,000

Nobody told me knowing the water flow rate of our taps would help me make smarter decis...

You have heard that Greening your hotel or restaurant can bring you more exposure, more clients and more profits. This much is true.

You also know that the Green Wave is real, and your customers will soon demand sustainable practices from your business. I firmly believe this will happen.

You would like to run a green business, but the learning curve seems so steep, you are busy as it is and you think it is going to cost you a fortune to get there. You are wrong in this one.

An issue of time

Greening your Hotel or Restaurant is easier than you think, and it does not have to cost you a fortune, in fact, I can prove to you that it is the opposite, it might end up saving you money. As for the amount of time you have in your hands? Well yes, the Hospitality industry is a fast paced industry, but ask yourself something:

If your accountant told you in the morning someone is stealing money from your till, would you prioritize finding out who it is so you can stop it over other items in yo...

Sustainability has so many definitions that it drives people a bit bunkers. What does it all mean? How do I make more business more sustainable? How do I know if I am successful on greening my business?

The answers are much simpler than people might think, well, at least for me and Ill tell you why.

To us at the Fifty Shades Greener office, a green or sustainable business is one that reduces it’s impact to the environment. Business affect the environment in 3 ways, by using energy, producing waste and using water.

In order to run an environmentally friendly business, you need to reduce your business utilities, and the best part of this journey is that not only you will reduce your business Carbon Footprint and impact to the environment, but you will also SAVE MONEY off your utility bills.

It is a win/win situation for business owner.

Yet, 99% of the Hotel owners I meet in my weekly routine, don’t have a handle on those 3 pillars of sustainability. So here are 3 top tips for a succ...

So you have now decided to run a Greener business, you have formed your Green Team and you are rearing to go. If you are not there yet, have a look at my last two blogs, they might help you make the final decision.

Like it happens with any project, even with the day to day running of your business, you need your team behind you. You all need to work towards a common goal, in this case, reducing your business Carbon Footprint, becoming a Greener business and reducing your energy, water and waste bills.

But the Hospitality industry as I know it, is a fast paced industry. Introducing changes can be hard and people can fall into old habits quite easily as decisions might be made in a split second.

Sustainable culture

Embedding a culture of sustainability within your team, is one of the keys to success, and also one of the most difficult things to do.

If you have followed my past two blogs, you probably have created a winning Green Team by now, this is excellent progress, now you need ...

Running an Eco friendly business is becoming more and more important in current times. Society is asking for change. Our customers of tomorrow, are the children of today, and they have been striking for Climate Action every week for the past year.

A huge opportunity lies for those businesses ahead of the curve, implementing Green Actions on their daily activities, to attract a large % of the market by setting themselves ahead of the rest.

Yet, the Hospitality industry is reluctant to embrace the necessary changes to create a Greener industry.

Environmentally Friendly Business Ideas For Your Hotel

Change is actually easier than most people think. It should not be viewed as an “extra task” to perform, it should consist on a change of mind set across all departments of your business and your team. It should be just the new way of running your business.

Many business owners still do not understand the concept of running a Greener business. The general perception out there, is that it ...