Numbers adding up for Cool Clon initiative by local firms

CLONAKILTY business have committed to transitioning to natural refrigerants, 11 restaurants have devised a mandate to reduce food and general waste, while five local hotels have committed to significant environmental improvements and changes within their premises.

It’s all part of the town being awarded the country’s first Cool Community status after their commitment to protect the environment from climate change, as reported in The Southern Star earlier this month.

Clonakilty worked with the Cool Planet Group to set up a number of community initiatives which are in line with ‘Project Drawdown’, an International research organisation that reviews, analyses, and identifies the most viable global climate solutions. The report states that the biggest factors affecting the environment are air conditioning and refrigerants pollutants, food waste, transport, agriculture, and lack of education.

The Cool Clon committee has also encouraged more vegetarian options in restaurants and supermarkets, installed 10 charge points for electric vehicles, set up three water points in the town to replenish water bottles, and introduced an inexpensive ‘keep cup’ scheme for coffee drinkers which will save up to 800 paper cups a week.

A project to plant 20,000 trees in Clonakilty in 2020 has also been confirmed, with 10,000 trees already donated to the town.

Orla O’Donovan, chair of Clonakilty Chamber of Commerce said: ‘Our experience with the campaign to date is that people want to make the changes, they just need to be given the tools and the knowledge to do so.’

• See pages nine and 23 for more.