25 January 2022
By Tom Collins
tom@TheCork.ie
The Cork International Hotel has been chosen as the winner of the Visit Cork Green Award for 2021. The four-star hotel received the award from the Cork Convention Bureau (CCB) for its overall sustainability performance.
The hotel set ambitious goals to lower its carbon footprint, reduce energy consumption and waste. It also created a ‘Greening Team’ and a ‘Greening Manifesto’ to encourage a more environmentally aware culture within the hotel. The Green team members completed a 6 month training programme with “50 Shades Greener”. A new rooftop garden was constructed and is providing fresh herbs and vegetables for use in the restaurant and bar. A rainwater harvesting system provides water for the garden.
The Cork Convention Bureau praised the Cork International Hotel and Trigon Hotels for its ongoing projects with Cope Foundation and Ability@Work to promote diversity and inclusion in the workforce. Teams from the hotel are helping to develop a Sensory Garden at Cope Foundation’s headquarters in Montenotte as part of the partnership with the Cork disabilities organisation. The judges also commended the Cork International Hotel Community Spirit Awards.
General Manager of the Cork International Hotel, Carmel Lonergan said: “We are thrilled to receive the Visit Cork Green Award for 2021 from the Cork Convention Bureau. We are committed to ensuring that our activities have the least possible detrimental effect on the environment. We’re already seeing the results and it is thanks to the hard work of the entire team. It is also really important for us to have a positive impact on our local community. The Cork International Hotel Community Spirit Award was set up in 2021 to honour the unsung heroes in Cork and it was so inspiring to see the calibre of entries and winners throughout the year. We look forward to continuing our sustainability journey into 2022.”
Other successful initiatives include building a Bee Hotel and signing up to the Irish Pollinator Plan.
This is the second year of the Visit Cork Green Award, it was set up to encourage and reward Cork Convention Bureau members who make a commitment to operating sustainably.
