Environmental Policy Statement

Aloha Surf School aims to provide Surfing experiences in a professional, accessible and sustainable manner, minimising as much as possible our footprint on our local environment.

Here at Aloha we live, work and play outdoors. Everything we do depends entirely on the natural playground around us and as such we have particular interest to strive as much as possible to minimise any impact we might have.

Working Together 

We collaborate with all stakeholders to collectively develop the Geopark as a sustainable tourism destination. We are a member and also sit on the Board of the Burren Ecotourism Network. which is a network of tourism businesses with the objective of establishing the Burren as a premier internationally-recognised sustainable tourism region.

A cared-for landscape 

We actively participate in conserving our natural and cultural heritage. We have completed the Leave No Trace training and have adopted the Leave No Trace Practices into all of our operations. We regularly take part in litter clean ups. Our activities include education on the sensitivity of the environment we are operating in. In 2022 we qualified as a Leave No Trace Trainer and now have incorporated Leave No Trace Training elements into our 5 day Kids Surf Camps

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 on both our website and on site with information on the local area and the Geopark. To supplement our local knowledge, we actively seek to further our knowledge to help raise awareness of the species, habitats, places of historical significance and human communities of The Burren. We encourage our customers to care more about the special place and species they are holidaying amongst. In 2022 we qualified as a Leave No Trace Trainer and also completed a Geopark Biodiversity Course and an Archaeology Course. Earlier this year we completed a Geology course run by the Geopark. All of this helps us provide our customers with a deeper understanding of this special place.

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 are actively committed to engaging local business in all of our operation We have a number of joint packages with local providers  We also ensure that our surf school is all inclusive and work regularly with groups from certain sectors of society who may not otherwise have the opportunity to partake in the sport we love.

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. At Aloha we hire local and buy local whenever possible.  As part of this commitment, we complete a Green Purchasing Review and a Local Suppliers Review annually. This lets us know how we are performing in this area and where we can improve.

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. As part of our commitment to sustainable tourism management, we currently undergo yearly independent accreditation of our Ecotourism Practices through the Burren and Cliffs of Moher UNESCO Geopark Code of Practice.

The above is just a brief snapshot of what we do. Our full Ecotourism Policy, Environmental Policy and Green Purchasing Policy can be read at our surf school.

We are aware that there is always more we can do and will continue trying.