Odran Lucey, executive chef at the Rose Hotel in Tralee, Ireland, has become the first person in the world to successfully complete a brand-new qualification for Environmental Sustainability Management in Hospitality.

Fifty Shades Greener (FSG) and the Confederation of Tourism & Hospitality (CTH) joined forces in late 2021 to create the first Level 4 (Level 6 in Ireland) certificate in environmental sustainability management in hospitality. This is the first qualification of its kind to be regulated as an official qualification on the Ofqual framework of education.

“Reducing carbon emissions should be something that becomes paramount in our daily routines if we really want to provoke a mind-set change. Environmental education is key to driving this transformation and the general education system has a responsibility to not only prepare learners for the world of work, but provide them with the skills to influence employers, politicians and the wider society. This can be achieved throu...

When was the last time you took time out of your day to review the energy your hotel or restaurant uses?

Following staff wages, your energy consumption could possibly be one of the largest costs to your business. Yet every week I meet hospitality managers that don’t have control over their energy consumption.

I always found it funny, I spent 4 and a half years in hotel management training. They told me how to budget, how to forecast, how to control staff wages…. However, nobody ever told me that when I finally became a hotel manager, I would also be in charge of a building. 

A building that inevitably comes with high costs due to running energy, water and waste.

In my early hotel management years I was often assigned the early duty manager shift, where I would walk into work at 6.30am and meet the only person up earlier than me! My best buddy -  the breakfast chef!

For years I witnessed breakfast chefs arrive on duty and turn all the lights on, all the ovens on, extractor fans, gr...

The Irish Government’s Budget 2020 was released last Tuesday, so it is not surprising that this week we are all trying to analyse what it means for us, and for our business.

The new Carbon Tax implications will affect not only individuals, but also businesses, in terms of the Gas & Oil they require to run their operations. For the Hospitality sector, oil & gas consumption can be a huge cost, and it is only going to get worse.

Maurice Bergin, founder and CEO of The Green Hospitality Programme is estimating a price hike of between 2.5 to 3.5% on your current cost of Oil or Gas. For a hotel, where their current Oil bill could be up to €100,000 annually, this could mean an extra €3,000 increase on their annual bill.

Sadly, there is a small minority of Hotels taking the right steps to reduce their Energy consumption and their Energy costs. The general perception is that running a Greener business is going to cost you a lot of money, but this is far from the truth. Reducing your Energy co...

Customer demand for Climate Change and for all industries to play their part is at an all-time high.

Society is changing, their values are changing, and those that align their business to their customer values ahead of the rest, stand to become more successful.

So what are you doing, at your hotel or restaurant, to commit and run a greener business?

The benefits of running a Greener Business

• Align your business to your customer values

• Green Marketing & PR

• Goodwill, improve your reputation

• Reduction of your business Carbon Footprint

• Better controls of your utilities, resulting in a reduction of your Energy, water and waste bills.

The future of the travel industry 

Right now, tourism & travel account for 10% of the global carbon emissions globally. AT the rate tourism is growing as an industry, would it be possible that we will become the most polluting industry worldwide in a couple of decades?

And how would that affect our future busines...

When was the last time you took time out of your day to review the energy your Hotel or Restaurant uses?

After staff wages, your Energy consumption, could possibly be one of the largest costs to your business, yet, every week, I meet hospitality managers, that don’t have control over their energy consumption.

I always found it funny, I spent 4 and a half year in Hotel Management. They told me how to budget, how to forecast, how to control staff wages. However, nobody ever told me that, when I finally became a Hotel Manager, I would also be in charge of a building.

A building that comes associated with high costs to run on Energy, Water and Waste.

In my early hotel management years I was often assigned the Early duty manager shift. Walking into work at 6.30am, your best buddy becomes the breakfast chef, they are the only ones up earlier than you!

For years, I saw breakfast chefs arrive on duty and turn all the lights on, all the ovens on, extractor fans, grills, fryers. It’s lik...