Focused support helps SMEs make sustainable changes and savings

For business owners, sustainable changes, even small ones, can reduce costs and save money. AIB has produced a number of guides for different sectors such as hotels, pubs and restaurants, and transport companies, each offering practical tips and advice to ensure they are not just making the right changes but maximising their return on investment.

Each guide looks at the key resource-intensive areas such as energy, waste, water, fuel alternatives and social sustainability.

According to AIB, consumers and suppliers alike are increasingly seeking to engage and work with companies that have strong environmental, social and governance (ESG) credentials, providing businesses with yet another reason to become more sustainable.

“We prioritise offering customers a wide range of practical support as they seek to become more sustainable,” says Jonathan Clarke, head of hospitality and tourism at AIB. “That includes financial support through our range of products and our sectoral-specific guidance and expertise, helping businesses identify ways they can make green changes, save money, attract customers and future-proof their business. This is more important than ever as customers and suppliers increasingly look to source from and work with companies with strong ESG credentials.”

Bushmills Irish Whiskey explores new territory with “unmistakably different” 14-year-old Malaga cask single malt

---

Sustainability: A whole new set of reporting with potential to be transformative

---

Tools and applications, in common use elsewhere in life, are still not standard in healthcare settings

---

Futureproofing the health system requires a new prescription

---

Every sector is different, with its own unique characteristics. “This means our support has to be tailored to each customer, based on their specific business requirements,” says Clarke.

“So whether that is advice on how to improve the efficiency of kitchen equipment and cut down on ‘plate waste’ in restaurants or driver training to improve fuel efficiency in transport companies, we can work with customers to identify areas of opportunity within their business.”

Focusing on sustainability has paid dividends at Killarney Park Hotel in Co Kerry. The 67-bedroomed, five-star, family-run property is located in the heart of Killarney, one of Ireland’s premier tourist destinations. In a concerted effort to reduce waste levels, it has advanced its sustainability agenda in a number of ways including the installation of a well on the property, which allows it to be fully self-sufficient in relation to water supply.

It has also removed single-use toiletries from bedrooms. An initial investment of €10,000 in this respect provided a payback period of less than a year, with an annual cost saving of €12,000. What’s more, the environment has benefited by the removal of 250,000 small toiletry bottles from waste each year.

The hotel’s passion for sustainability comes from its location, says general manager Marcus Treacy. “We’re the only five-star hotel in the town,” he says. “On our doorstep is the National Park, with 26,000 acres of natural beauty. That’s a big reason our guests come here and it would be totally wrong if we were not doing anything within our control to protect that.”

Being more sustainable means being more profitable too. “You’re consuming less energy, you’re creating less waste and paying fewer waste bills,” Treacy explains. “A lot of our guests, especially younger ones, want to not only stay in a very nice hotel but also be confident that it’s a hotel that is doing the right thing.”

Louise Byrne, sustainability manager at the Killarney Park Hotel, agrees. “We have made a number of practical changes such as the use of LED lighting, turning down thermostats, the use of pool covers and flow restrictors on taps, especially hot ones, to reduce the amount of water that needs to be heated,” she says.

In 2022 the hotel used 17 per cent less electricity, 20 per cent less BioLPG, which is propane produced from renewable feedstocks such as plant and vegetable-waste material, and 23 per cent less water compared with the same period in 2019, pre-Covid.

“This resulted in considerable financial savings along with the long-term environmental value that is created by reducing our carbon footprint,” Byrne says.

Her advice to other businesses is to start by measuring and analysing consumption to see where savings can be made. “Don’t be afraid to ask for help,” she advises. “With sustainability being a social-justice and ethical issue, I don’t think anyone is afraid to share information. People in the industry ring each other all the time and ask for advice and I think that’s really important.”

Find the sectoral guide for your business on the AIB website