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Green Light – Raquel Noboa wants Irish tourism to get more sustainable (and save money too)

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When it comes to sustainability, no one gets it quite like Raquel Noboa.

ake her time at Hotel Doolin in Co Clare, where she was appointed green manager in 2012. Noboa created a system to measure the hotel’s impact and identify opportunities for reduction. Rather than elaborate schemes with solar panels and the like, the steps were simple — and cheap.

After realising the breakfast chefs came in and turned every machine on despite not needing them for hours, for example, she put a system in place.

“Even turning off the ovens for an hour every day reduced electricity by 14,000 kilowatts, saving €2,000 a year,” she recalls. “In today’s rates, that would have been €36,000. Once I explained that to the chefs, everyone got behind it!”

Within two years, Hotel Doolin had become one of the leading green hotels, with a mantlepiece full of awards (it would later become Ireland’s first carbon-neutral hotel). “That’s when I started thinking: why isn’t everyone doing this?”

Her driven, creative and inspirational efforts then, and ever since, are the reason our Reader Travel Awards judges have awarded her this year’s Green Light Award.

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Raquel Noboa of Co Clare-based consultancy, Fifty Shades Greener

Raquel has been working in hospitality since the age of 17, when she moved from her native Spain to Ireland, but her sustainability journey started in 2004, when she worked in the Maldives. She was only there a few months when the catastrophic tsunami hit on December 26.

“It was a horrific experience,” she recalls. “I started developing what I know now is eco anxiety. I had this irrational fear, to the point of panic attacks, of natural disasters. It made me think about the planet, the weather, and all those things.”

In 2017, after the success of her efforts at Hotel Doolin, she struck out on her own and launched Fifty Shades Greener (fiftyshadesgreener.ie), running her own training programmes and teaching those in hospitality how to green up their business. Today, she offers green manager training and a green business programme for those in hospitality, and has 274 businesses registered, which she estimates is around a quarter of the hotel market here.

The results are incredible — The Imperial Hotel in Cork reduced its landfill waste by 41pc and water use by 30pc, all through initiatives learned from Raquel’s training programme. The Rose Hotel in Tralee has reduced its electricity output by 24pc, and gas by 49pc. Its overall Co2 emissions are down by 32pc.

Odran Lucey is executive chef in The Rose Hotel and was the first in the world to qualify as a green manager in 2022. Would he recommend it to anyone else?

“Oh my god, absolutely,” he says. “There are two aspects to this — obviously the environmental part is what it’s all about, but with the way the world has changed in the last 12 months, the financial benefits are absolutely staggering.”

It’s a valid point, as the hospitality industry is buckling under ruinous energy bills. “I think there’s been a huge misconception about sustainability for many years,” says Raquel. “People thought it would cost them a lot of money. But it’s the exact opposite. I’ve been trying to put out that message for the past five years!”

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Raquel Noboa of Fifty Shades Greener at Dunbrody House, Co Wexford

It’s not the only challenge — unfortunately, as our judges noted, there’s a huge amount of greenwashing, tokenism and fudging with lengthy timeframes when it comes to sustainability in the tourism and hospitality industry.

“I really hate greenwashing!” says Raquel. “And it’s rampant, in all types of industries. Things like tree planting are saving the planet on paper, but not in reality. A tree is never going to absorb that carbon until it’s grown for 25 years, so offsetting is all smoke and mirrors to me.

“Instead, we teach our students to utilise their data. If you can demonstrate you’ve reduced your usage, that’s data you can’t argue with.”

Whether it’s rising costs or concerns over the energy crisis, our judges noted the need to be green has never been as urgent.

“But the urgency is coming from customers, too,” Raquel says. “It’s the customers demanding change. I think any business that doesn’t promote sustainability over the next year won’t last into the future, because they won’t have any customers.”

Her own customers, however, sing her praises.

“Raquel has been one of the key partners to help us achieve so much in 2022,” says general manager of the Imperial Hotel Bastien Peyraud. “The knowledge she has passed on to us has been invaluable. Working with Raquel has helped to engage the entire Imperial family, and has put even more meaning into working in a way that makes us proud.”

Six shades of green

A small selection of the businesses in the shake-up for our Green Light award…

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Fresh pasta at Sonflour in Cork. Photo: Pól Ó Conghaile

1. Sonflour, Cork city

‘Inspired by Italy, grown in Ireland’ is the mantra at this sustainable café restaurant in Cork. Eugenio Nobile and Lorenzo Barba’s thoughtful local sourcing, veggie menu, organic coffee and eco-friendly packaging are a joy. Expect to hear more. sonflour.ie

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A Slow Cabin in its secluded setting

2. Slow Cabins

The location of these concept stays is revealed just two weeks before check-in, but the sustainable approach is no secret. From solar power to rainwater harvesting and a gentle encouragement to log off and lean into the natural settings, it’s slow travel in practice. slowcabins.ie

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Mary White of Blackstairs Eco Trails

3. Blackstairs Eco Trails, Borris, Co Carlow

Mary White’s tours, workshops and shepherd’s hut accommodations are all tailored to slow travel. Foraging, tree trails, team building and more are all eco-related, the land is free from chemicals and pesticides, and more than 10,000 native oak trees have been planted. blackstairsecotrails.ie

4. Tang, Dublin

Tang’s three Dublin cafés exude a pared-back aesthetic and no-BS focus on sustainability, from local and organic sourcing to ethically raised meats, minimal packaging and eco-friendly products. Its staff always seem happy, too. tang.ie

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Pure Camping on Loop Head, Co Clare

5. Pure Camping, Loop Head, Co Clare

Trea and Kevin Heapes aim to provide a “quality, close-to-nature” experience for guests, and they succeed. Their community approach, embracing of renewable energy, emerging native woodland and “gentle but clear” education of guests is absolutely genuine. purecamping.ie

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Beyond the Trees at Avondale Forest Park

6. Beyond the Trees Avondale, Co Wicklow

A great start for the revamped visitor experience at Rathdrum, which opened last year with accessible walkways and used sustainable timber, and it features EV charging points among its initiatives. We hope to see it continue. beyondthetreesavondale.com

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