Griffin Group Sustainability News
The Griffin Hotel Group which includes Monart Destination Spa, Hotel Kilkenny and Ferrycarrig Hotel in Wexford are set to be powered by the brand-new 10-acre Monart Solar Farm. Phase one of the solar farm has been completed and is now operational on the grounds of the adjacent multi-award-winning Monart Destination Spa in County Wexford.
Since 2014 the Griffin Hotel Group has been rolling out a long-term strategic sustainability plan under the direction of Kieran McCrea from Clevernet and Energy Consultant Specialist Ken Mc Elhinney who is now the group’s director of sustainability.
Kieran McCrea from Clevernet has been assisting the group with the company’s energy mapping and providing reliable real-time management data to understand the company’s energy profile and where savings can be made. Michael Griffin, the CEO of Griffin Group, says “Kieran working with our sustainability director Ken has been a great asset to the company in providing external assistance on this project; gaining insight into the data has certainly helped shape our green investment priorities.”
The hotel group identified this exciting development as part of their multi-phase carbon reduction and sustainability programme that is ongoing at the Griffin Hotel Group and they are delighted to now see phase one of the solar farm completed, which will offset the entire energy demand of Monart Destination Spa at peak. In addition, the company has invested substantial capital in deploying building controls for heating and cooling with an aggressive efficiency replacement plan for plants, pumps, and lighting. Bio-mass boilers have also been installed along with combined heat and power (CHP) units and support for EV charging has been put in place. Real-time monitoring of energy is also in place in order to continuously measure and improve the sustainability and efficiency of providing services to hotel guests.
The director of sustainability on the board of Griffin Group, Ken McElhinney, stated, “It is a testament to the commitment of the Griffin Hotel Group that we see the first phase of the solar farm completed. This development will move the company in an inspiring way towards reaching its ambition of being a leader in the hospitality sector for real and tangible sustainability results.”
Liam Anthony Griffin, director of the Griffin Group, highlights that “Dedicating a section of our land to Solar PV energy generation is both strategically important and urgent not only for our own sustainability goals but also for the wider community as we all try to mitigate against the effects of climate change for future generations.”
Griffin Group Sustainability Plan
Climate change and Bio-Diversity loss will be the key challenges facing humanity for the coming generations and we believe now is the time to get involved and make a difference that matters.
The Griffin Group has over the last number of years been quietly working at finding better, more sustainable ways of running our hotels, and have recently developed and implemented a 10 – Year Sustainability plan to reduce our overall impact on the environment.
The key objectives of this plan include:
- Reduce overall energy usage by minimum 40%
- Reduce transport & Logistics by 20%
- Reduce Water Consumption by 20%
- Reduce Waste by 25%
- Reduce Packaging by 25%
- Develop Renewable / Reusable Solutions
- Promote Local Circular Economy
- Aim to be Carbon Neutral by 2032
- Position Griffin Group as a leader in sustainability
We are members of The Green Hospitality Programme, which is the only Irish environmental certification standard for the hospitality sector. The Green Hospitality Awards are internationally recognised with third-party environmental & sustainability certification. This programme is aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Goals, Global Sustainable Tourism Council Criteria, EU Ecolabel and the Sustainability Hospitality Alliance Hotel Carbon, Water and Waste Measurement methodologies.
We have been making strides towards these goals; just a few examples include;
We have installed a 500-kilowatt peak ground-mounted solar farm at Monart Destination Spa, with an additional 1-megawatt array now in planning with ESB networks. The group aims to provide most of its daytime electricity from our Monart Solar farm during daylight hours from March to September.
Implemented an energy management system in conjunction with improved control systems which has already reduced our energy consumption and CO2 emissions by 20%.
Use of biomass rather than fossil fuels to provide heating & hot water to Monart Destination Spa (Biomass solution being developed for Ferrycarrig Hotel)
Super efficient brand new natural gas boilers have just been installed at Hotel Kilkenny (May 2023) to ensure the maximum efficiency possible at a site that cannot install bio-mass coupled with individual digital radiator valves in all rooms to ensure that the building is only calling for heat that it needs and to reduce any wasted energy through overheating.
Hotel Kilkenny also replaced all of its refrigeration and pump units in the winter of 2023 to run with efficiency gains of between 60% to 80%.
The company has replaced all lighting with LED equivalents.
Proactive water management and monitoring see the company regularly monitor sites for leaks as well as implement water resource management. Such water management has seen Monart Destination Spa remove almost 30,000 litres of water per day from use over the last 5 years.
Monart Destination Spa provides our new on-site bottled water products, which significantly reduce packaging, transport & logistics.
Hotel Kilkenny and the Ferrycarrig Hotel have just moved to provide Tetra Pak water cartons in all bedrooms starting in the summer of 2023. These cartons also have caps made from vegetable matter and are designed to be highly recyclable.
In-room amenities such as toiletry bottles are being replaced with larger luxury refillable dispensers. We ask that our guests; please do not remove these large body wash, conditioner, and hand soap bottles from the bedrooms.
Food is locally sourced where possible, and kitchen herb gardens are being cultivated at Monart Destination Spa and Ferrycarrig Hotel.
Our asset replacement programme requires the examination of low-energy alternatives rather than like-for-like replacement.
Our sustainability program presents a real opportunity for us all to make a difference in delivering substantial positive change to the Griffin Group.
Together we can begin to reduce the use of natural resources consumed in the expression of our art, providing exceptional customer experiences.
We are at a time now when our children and grandchildren are beginning to ask, “What are we doing to tackle climate change?”… let’s give them an answer we can all be proud of.
The Board of the Griffin Hotel Group.
