Our 2024 Green Promise

“We recognise that our business has an important role to play in protecting and enhancing the environment for future generations and to help secure the long-term sustainability of the Tourism Industry”

Moher Cottage as a family business within the Burren Geopark, recognises that we have an important role to play in protecting and enhancing the physical & cultural environment both generally and locally in the Burren Geopark. 

We are a young business but built on the foundation of our family business Considine's Bar situated beside the Cliffs of Moher since 1868. In all that time we would be steeped in a sound tradition of  welcoming to, educating and illustrating personally for visitors to our area.

For us now in Moher Cottage being members of the Burren Ecotourism Network acknowledges the great work laid down by the generation that came before us and, as the number of stakeholders within the Burren Region grows, strengthens the common goals between all of us.

 

The Burren and Cliffs of Moher UNESCO Global Geopark

UNESCO Global Geoparks are internationally recognised places with unique geology, landscapes, history and culture. Geoparks are managed with a focus on education, conservation, sustainable tourism and community engagement.

The Burren and Cliffs of Moher UNESCO Global Geopark are a UNESCO Global Geopark because they adhere to the UNESCO criteria to celebrate heritage while conserving cultural, biological and geological diversity, and promoting sustainable economic development.

They do this in the following ways:

▪ The landscape tells a fascinating geological story that spans over 330 million years.

▪ Only here can you find an extraordinary botanical combination of Artic, Alpine and Mediterranean flowers growing side by side.

▪ There is over 3,000 archaeological monuments that record 6,000 years of history.

▪ There are farming and musical cultural traditions that are thriving and celebrated.

▪ Local communities feel a deep connection to their landscape, history and culture and have a strong desire to manage this in a sustainable way for the benefit of all.

▪ The Geopark manages a Code of Practice for Sustainable Tourism Business, which the Burren Ecotourism Network commits to using.

▪ The Geopark is managed by Clare County Council in partnership with local communities, tourism businesses and organisations and government agencies.

The Burren and Cliffs of Moher became a member of the Global Geoparks Network in 2011. Global Geoparks were inscribed as UNESCO designated sites in 2015. UNESCO Global Geoparks go through a rigorous revalidation process very 4 years. The Burren and Cliffs of Moher UNESCO Global Geopark was last revalidated in 2019.

The area of the Burren and Cliffs of Moher UNESCO Global Geopark covers 530 square kilometers. Its boundary is marked to the West and North by the coast from Hag’s Head to the county border at New Quay. It then runs south along the county border to Tubber and westwards through Corofin, Kilfenora, north of Kilshanny and on to Hag’s Head.

The Burren and Cliffs of Moher Geopark Mission Statement

The Burren and Cliffs of Moher UNESCO Global Geopark supports people and organisations to work together to ensure a cared-for-landscape, a better understood heritage, more sustainable tourism, a vibrant community and strengthened livelihoods. 

For more information visit www.burrengeopark.ie 

Member of Burren EcoTourism Network

In the context of where we live and work within the Burren and Cliffs of Moher Geopark we recognise that our small business on our family farm has a responsibility to conserve our natural asset in the Geopark here in Clare. We want to minimise our impact on the local environment and actively play a role in protecting and enhancing our local area for future generations. We want to implement measures that enable tourists to behave responsibly in the landscape.

By becoming a member of the Burren EcoTourism Network we can now actively participate in destination conservation initiatives. We are committed to attaining high levels of sustainable tourism practice over the coming years.

We are committed to the following environmental policies:

WORKING TOGETHER

We collaborate with all stakeholders to collectively develop the Geopark as a sustainable tourism destination. We attend as much training and networking events as possible throughout the year as well as participating with sub groups formed from Burren Eco Tourism Network.

A CARED-FOR LANDSCAPE

We actively participate in conserving our natural and cultural heritage. We want to implement measures that enable tourists to behave responsibly in the landscape. Since joining the Burren Eco Tourism Network we have become environmentally conscious on the amount of waste our premises produces each year. We are actively working with our suppliers to reduce energy waste & garbage waste. We have implemented the Love Your Cup campaign. We encourage the use of these reusable cups by giving 30c off every hot drink in a reusable cup. We are currently looking at improving our packaging to recyclable and biodegradable where we haven't made the switch already where possible.

A WELL-UNDERSTOOD HERITAGE

We offer quality information and interpretation to communicate our stories and the unique character of our place to guests. We have information available at our premises on the Burren and Cliffs of Moher Geopark. We speak with our customers who are tourists and encourage them through the Geopark map to visit our heritage sites in North Clare.

VIBRANT COMMUNITIES

We work to ensure that tourism makes a positive social contribution so that it benefits our community as well as our guests. We promote our neighbours who are in business in North Clare by recommending places to see and things to do within our local community. We have held a number of collaborations with local businesses in the years since we opened. We actively seek out local producers first when buying in product. More than 20% of our suppliers are based in Co.Clare, and more than 50% in the Munster region and > 95% are Irish.

STRENGTHENED LIVELIHOODS

We contribute to the local economy by maintaining and supporting local employment, by sourcing services and produce locally wherever possible, and by engaging with other businesses in promoting our region as a sustainable tourism destination. We support local fundraisers year round to keep our local community thriving. Our staff has increased year on year since we opened in 2017. We also contribute to local clubs and charities.  

SUSTAINABLE TOURISM MANAGEMENT

We work to an Environmental Action Plan, which includes actions and targets for improvement that are reviewed annually. We have effective systems for monitoring and adequately managing our waste, water, wastewater, energy, travel impact and purchases.

Through training with BEN we have now learned how to effectively record and monitor our energy bills and will strive to reduce energy costs over the coming year. We have installed an energy efficient water boiler last year. Our appliances are only used when maximum load is reached and we turn off anything that is not needed in a timely fashion. We will encourage tourists through our website to use sustainable modes of transport i.e. the local bus or bicycles to visit the Burren.

Moher Cottage are committed to taking the following actions:

• To continue sound environmental practices across our entire operation

• To produce an annual Environmental Plan setting out our Objectives, Targets and planned Actions

•  To comply fully with all relevant legislation

• To minimise our waste and reduce our water consumption where possible

• To reduce, Reuse, Recycle the resources consumed by our business wherever practical

• To provide all employees with the training and resources required to meet our objectives

• To monitor and record our environmental impacts on a regular basis and compare our performance with our policies, objectives and targets

To learn more about the Burren EcoTourism click HERE