Sustainable September - Sustainable Tourism and Leisure at Comis Hotel and Golf Resort: Embracing Our UNESCO Biosphere

As part of our Sustainable September campaign, Comis Hotel and Golf Resort showcase its efforts in embracing sustainability. From reducing carbon footprints to enhancing local biodiversity, its initiatives reflect a commitment to both the Island's economy and its natural heritage. Below, Comis Hotel outlines how they are leading the way in sustainable tourism and leisure.

At Comis Hotel and Golf Resort, sustainability is woven into our operations as part of our commitment to the Isle of Man's UNESCO Biosphere status. Balancing business success with sustainability is key, especially with the tourism sector contributing around 8% of global carbon emissions[1]. As the largest resort on the Island, we aim to lead by example in reducing environmental impacts while supporting the local economy and tourism.

Sustainability in Action: Reducing Our Environmental Impact

In the summer of 2022, the team at Comis conducted a thorough audit of the resort’s energy systems. This comprehensive review allowed us to pinpoint areas where we could reduce energy consumption and improve efficiency. Adjustments to the operating times of heating and air handling systems resulted in significant energy savings. Importantly, these reductions were achieved even as the number of guests and visitors to the resort increased.

Following the audit, we also introduced a series of energy workshops to engage staff from all departments, helping them understand their role in reducing the resort’s overall carbon footprint. This collaborative approach has been key to embedding sustainability into the daily operations of the hotel. By monitoring energy usage on a weekly basis, we ensure that consumption is consistently minimised, further reducing our environmental impact.

Our commitment to sustainability extends beyond energy efficiency. We are also dedicated to supporting the Island’s cultural heritage by promoting local traditions and sourcing local produce. Both of the hotel’s restaurants source local produce wherever possible and we have a special Manx themed function menu. Not only does this help to reduce the carbon emissions associated with transporting food, but it also provides valuable support to local businesses.

Innovating in Sustainable Leisure: A Green Driving Range

In order to ensure the continued success of The Comis Hotel & Golf Resort, we remain committed to improvement and innovation in line with our vision to be the top choice for our guests, business partners and staff.

A recent example is our driving range upgrade. When our existing driving range was no longer suitable for modern golfing needs due to the short length of the range, we saw an opportunity to innovate with green construction practices. Instead of building a traditional steel-framed structure, we opted for a timber frame made from sustainably sourced FSC-certified wood. To ensure economic viability, we used our own workforce to design and manufacture the structure. The small amount of steel still required in the construction of the new range was almost entirely recycled from materials recovered from the earlier works to the hotel. This innovative construction method saved approximately 19% in CO2 over steel.

We also took a sustainable approach to the floor of the driving range and used a thinner block paving instead of a traditional concrete floor slab which saved around 50 tons of concrete and almost 4 tons of CO2. The floor itself is permeable requiring no drainage and we built a soakaway on site to take rainwater from the roof, saving almost 200,000 litres of water entering the Island’s sewage system each year.

To prevent balls leaving the area, most driving ranges are bounded by tall aesthetically challenging nets. Aside from their ungainly appearance, this creates issues for native bat and bird species. To reduce the amount of netting used, we worked closely with the Department of Environment, Food and Agriculture (DEFA) on native tree selection to form a natural barrier for balls and planted around 2500 trees. This initiative will not only enhance the resort’s biodiversity and form wildlife corridors and habitats on the golf course, but will also offset the carbon produced by our entire golf staff of around 15 people.

Staff morale has improved through education and involvement in these meaningful sustainability initiatives and by investing in green construction methods, green wastewater management, providing biodiversity and creating ecosystems, the resort has balanced economic growth with environmental sustainability ensuring that natural resources are conserved for future generations.

These initiatives demonstrate some ways in which hotels can reduce their impact on the environment while remaining competitive in business terms. Taking leadership on environmental issues means the Comis team can contribute to the growth of our Island’s economy in a way that preserves both environment and heritage for many years to come.

[1] Nature, “The carbon footprint of global tourism,” https://www.nature.com/articles/s41558-018-0141-x?_ga=2.27893625.475745488.1699290059-773582436.1699290059.