Overview
Powerscourt Gardens was named number three in the World’s Top 10 Gardens by the National Geographic, second only to the Palace of Versailles and Kew Gardens. The Estate is famous for its magnificent Palladian style mansion and formal landscaped gardens located in county Wicklow.
A pioneering spirit for environmental and nature protection has always existed - the Estate was originally purchased for the use of hydroelectric power at Powerscourt Waterfall, Ireland’s highest waterfall. Powerscourt is already leading the way on sustainability in tourism and estate management, some of the initiatives implemented to date include: an integrated energy management system (developed in association with Cool Planet), a waste reduction plan and biodiversity initiatives such as wildflower meadows, a tree planting programme, and a bee sanctuary in the walled garden. Powerscourt was also very recently certified by Sustainable Travel Ireland (whose criteria are recognised by the Global Sustainable Tourism Council).
“The feedback from our staff has been extremely positive, they really enjoyed the online training course.
My team feel their knowledge on climate change has dramatically improved - they now feel empowered to make meaningful changes to the business and in their own lives” - Lisa Moran , Sustainability Marketing & Communications Manager, Powerscourt Estate.
Challenge
The long-term overarching mission at Powerscourt Estate is to be recognised, on a global stage for its sustainability initiatives, and to be Net Zero by 2025.
Solution
To implement the next phase of sustainability initiatives in their plan and for Powerscourt to reach its net zero ambition on time, the leadership team realised that understanding and support from all of their staff would be at the heart of their success. Lisa explains
“We’re delighted to receive such positive engagement on the training. Our leadership team feel that all the Powerscourt staff will be great climate ambassadors and will support and educate visitors to the Estate, on both the climate and the biodiversity emergency - We want everyone to apply the sustainability lens to their day to day roles and decision making”
Coolplanet sustainability training for business brought everyone up to the same level of knowledge and infused the teams with a can-do attitude and enthusiasm regarding the overarching sustainability goals. The team really enjoyed the user interface and all the educational content. The key was highlighting all the solutions available.
