Environmental policy

Environmental policy – Burren Free Range Pork    January 2022

Blue Footprint

The ethos of Burren Free Range Pork farm is to produce healthy food -in a healthy environment- in a sustainable way. We believe a successful sustainable business can operate in a way that there are limited negative impacts on the local environment. We are very conscious we are living in the Burren which is a unique and fragile environment. Burren Free Rang Pork farm is committed to reducing its environmental impact and to monitoring and measuring its impacts with a view to continual improvement and to raising awareness about sustainability issues.

Working Together

We collaborate with all stakeholders to collectively develop the Geopark as a sustainable tourism destination.  We are actively involved in the Conservation and Advocacy (CONAD) subgroup of the Burren Ecotourism network (BEN) that carry out activities to enhance the  environment of the wider local communities through the bi-annual Adopt a Hedgerow clean up scheme, monthly clean ups throughout the region and the annual  Burren Food Fayre.

A cared-for landscape

We actively participate in conserving our natural and cultural heritage.  We are committed to respecting our diverse landscape and take part in activities like an upcoming Biodiversity training series. Also we facilitate our visitors in adhering to the ‘Leave No Trace’ principles and display a pollinator plant scheme.

A well-understood heritage

We offer quality information and interpretation to communicate our stories and the unique character of our place to guests.  We showcase a traditional small holding in a region rich in agricultural, archaeological, geological and botanical features.

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 involved in the ‘Kilfenora Development Committee’ and its subgroup Kilfenora Sustainable Energy and secretary of The Burren Centre Management Committee.  We support businesses and events that benefit our community.

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.  We are promoting and referring visitors to local businesses to encourage them to spend more time in the area.

  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.  We strive to lessen the impact of our growing business on our fragile environment by taking measures to improve our sustainability.

There is so much to gain for all of us and for future generations that the extra effort it will require is so small in comparison to the price we will have to pay if we consider the alternative.

 

Burren Free Range Pork is committed to taking the following actions:

– To continue to work to improve environmental practices across our entire operation

– To produce an annual Environmental Plan setting out our Objectives, Targets and planned Actions

– To comply fully with all relevant legislation

– To minimise our waste and reduce our water consumption where possible

– To reduce, re-use, recycle the resources consumed by our business wherever practical

– To invite our customers, suppliers and contractors to participate in our efforts to protect the    environment

– To openly communicate our policies and practices to interested parties

– To monitor and record our environmental impacts on a regular basis and compare our performance with our policies, objectives and targets