Learning Teaching and Training Activity in Galway (January 2023)
On the 30th January, EcoSME partners arrived in Galway to participate in a LTTA organised by the team at Atlantic Technological University (ATU). The focus of the LTTA was “Effective Stakeholder Engagement” which considered stakeholder engagement at different levels from local, to regional, national and European.
ATU has considerable experience in engaging with external stakeholders and so a jam-packed agenda of speakers and facilitators provided LTTA participants with key insights into various methodologies and practical guidance for the ECOSME partners to engage in more effective stakeholder engagement.
As well as the experts from within ATU, an interactive workshop on Sustainability was facilitated by sustainability in hospitality experts “Fifty Shades Greener” Fifty Shades Greener This workshop focused the partnership on the key needs of the hospitality sector as they navigate through their sustainability journey.
Participants were taken through an exercise on embracing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and key actions that can be used to integrate them into a hospitality SME.
On the final day of the LTTA, the ATU team brought all participants for a learning field trip to one of their industry partners, The Ashford Castle Estate. This field trip involved a tour of the property with key staff members, sharing their knowledge and experience on how to implement sustainable principles in a hospitality setting. Participants were introduced to the food circular economy on a luxury estate, where the ethos is on seasonality and sourcing local food as well as utilising food produced on the estate by the on-site horticultural team. The Culinary team showcased how food waste is managed on site and the steps undertaken to reduce food waste and monitor their carbon footprint through data collection.
The Ashford Estate was an exceptional example of sustainability in action and how teams can be incentivised to embrace sustainable systems through training and education. If you would like to learn more about the Ashford Estate’s sustainability programme, check out the project’s catalogue of innovative practices Here
