1. Vision/mission/company ethos
● Our mission at the Church Cafe Bar in Dublin is to create a sustainable and environmentally responsible business that not only is a leader in hospitality but also contributes positively to the planet. We are committed to minimizing our carbon footprint, promoting eco-friendly practices, and inspiring our community to embrace a greener lifestyle.
2. UNWTO definition
● At The Church Cafe Bar, we believe that sustainable tourism is tourism that takes full account of its current and future economic, social, and environmental impacts while addressing the needs of visitors, the industry, the environment, and host communities (UNWTO, n.d.). We therefore aim to reduce our negative effects and increase our positive impacts.
3. Continuous improvement
● We know we have a lot to do, and this is just the start, but we are committed to embracing sustainability as an integral and ongoing part of our business with continual assessment of our impact on the environment.
4. Measuring and reducing negative impacts
4a. Energy consumption
● We measure our energy use at our gas and Electricity meters , have undergone a full energy audit and have measured individual large plant and equipment to establish energy usage. We are logging this information bi monthly with our utilities usage template .Wetemplate. We plan to reduce consumption by 10% for March 2024- February 2025 .
● To reduce our consumption we will firstly look at ensuring all equipment is switched off when not in use, installing sensors for lighting for areas of sporadic use, replacing any older lighting with energy efficient led lighting, when replacing equipment we invest in energy efficient equipment.
4b. Water consumption
● We measure our water use monthly at our water meter and aim to reduce consumption by 10% for the 12 months from March 2024. To do this we will :will:
● Educate our staff on water consumption and implement systems around cleaning to ensure a reduction in water usage.
● Encourage our customers to be aware of their water usage whilst visiting us.
● Invest in water saving equipment in all our bathrooms.
● Explore harvesting rainwater for outdoor cleaning and water for bathrooms.
● Examine all waste water and if it can be re used .
● When replacing any equipment that we replace with an energy and water efficient model.
4c. Waste production
● We commit to measuring our waste production monthly and note our usage on our waste measurement sheet on a monthly basis. We plan to reduce our wastage by 20% in our first year. To achieve this we will do the following :
● Implementing a ‘No single use plastics’ policy .
● Educate staff on the importance of sorting waste in the correct bins.
● Measure food waste in the kitchen and front of house, establish where the waste is coming from and look at adjusting menu , reducing portions, staff training.
● Look at composting some of our waste.
● Look at point of entry for stock and how stock is arriving to us. Can we reduce waste on how stock is transported to us . Discuss with suppliers .
● RE use – Encourage as mush re use of items as possible .
5. Ethical purchasing
● At The Church we are committed to investigating where all of our products come from and to sourcing, where ever possible ,ethical and locally sourced produce . To Achieve this we are committing to do the following :
● Sourcing products locally – within 50km where possible to reduce the need to import produce. This will involve planning our menu around locally sourced produce.
● Where produce cannot be sourced locally we will ensure that all companies are part of the fair trade initiative.
● Ensure all suppliers have a safe and ethical working environment.
● Work with suppliers to reuse and recycle all packaging.
6. Carbon management
● Our current carbon footprint is 480 Tonnes per year.
● We aim to reduce our carbon footprint by 20% in year one and are currently looking to find a partner to offset our remaining emissions. We aim at having found our partner by September 2024.
● To achieve this, we will give all customers the option of donating on their bill to offset their carbon footprint for their visit. This will include corporate customers and our daily customer.
● Encourage all staff to use public transport or cycle to work.
7. Responsible sustainability marketing
● We know that it is important to communicate our efforts in an honest way. We are aware of the risk of greenwashing, and we therefore commit to sharing our journey with our customers, staff and partners including the times where we may not achieve the goals we have set .
● To do this we will have an active blog running on our website with a monthly update of where we are at on our journey.
● Share our data on a regular basis and how close we are to our ultimate goal of being carbon neutral within 5 years.
● We aim to remove all printed materials and instead move to digital.
● We will only engage and be displayed on websites that reflect our company values of inclusion and those that are against the spread of hatred and misinformation.
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8. Social responsibility
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● As we are aware that tourism activities can have a negative impact on local communities, we support them by engaging with the local community to identify :
● What impact we and the industry has on the local community and engaged with local stakeholders to reduce this impact and contribute positively to our community.
● Facilitate local events to encourage local use of amenities and improve quality of life for those living in our community.
● Work with local schools .
● Support local charities and projects both financially and with resources available to us.
9. Supporting Biodiversity & Conservation
● We will research how we can contribute positively to supporting biodiversity and conservation. We have a large outdoor area and a large park beside us which we are already involved with.
