A total of 22 hotels in Killarney have signed a novel sustainability charter as a core principle of their business with an initial aim of cutting their carbon emissions by 25 per cent.

The pact, the first of its kind in the hotel industry in Ireland, is aimed at the implementation and operation of a single use plastic free environment in their respective businesses which account for 2,500 of the 3,500 hotel bedrooms in the town.
The collaboration was officially launched by Minister of State for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Brendan Griffin, prior to the annual National Tourism Forum Let’s Talk Tourism conference in Killarney at the weekend.
The aim of the group is not only to reduce carbon emissions but to share best
practice when it comes to sustainability. The hotels involved have individually and collectively set about reducing and eliminating single use plastic from their businesses and they anticipate that, going forward, several other hotels will sign up to the pact.