Wildlands: Accelerating Regeneration & Circular Economy in Irish Tourism
Wildlands| Tourism| Moycullen, Co. Galway, Ireland
Context & Challenge
Wildlands, a 40-acre adventure park and hospitality destination near Galway City, has quickly become a key regional tourism player, attracting over 120,000 visitors annually. As part of the EU-funded Circular Economy 4 Regenerative Tourism (CE4RT) programme, alongside 80 tourism SMEs from five European countries, Wildlands sought to develop a robust strategy for regeneration and circular economy integration. Their goal: to become a leader in sustainable tourism, benefiting local communities, nature, and visitors, while tackling climate action and driving business growth.
Colectivo’s Approach
Colectivo was engaged to guide Wildlands’ senior leadership in developing a tailored Sustainability Action Plan and embedding circular economy principles across the business. The process included:
Kick-Off Workshop: Half-day, on-site strategy session aligning senior leaders on sustainability vision, outcomes, and priorities.
Leadership Coaching: A series of structured coaching sessions focusing on circular economy planning, sustainable innovation, and people sustainability, using human-centred design and behavioural science.
Staff Training: Tailored trainings on topics such as Circular Economy Principles, Sustainable Innovation for Tourism, Behaviour & Culture Change, and Sustainability at Wildlands, delivered to leadership and wider teams.
Collaborative Design Thinking: Empathy-focused activities ensured alignment to the Just Transition principles, giving employees a space in shaping sustainability plans and helping identify boosters, blockers, and sustainability “ambassadors.”
Objectives & Results
Comprehensive Sustainability Action Planning:
Clear Opportunity Mapping: The project identified 30+ strategic opportunities with 70+ actionable steps across operations, waste, energy consumption, community partnerships and more.
Stakeholder Mapping: Multiple internal and external stakeholders were identified as enablers to advance regeneration and circular economy initiatives.
Leadership Capacity Building: Wildlands’ Leadership team gained a deeper understanding of circular economy and regenerative tourism.
Awards & Recognition: The project was nominated for the Green Awards 2025, highlighting excellence in sustainable tourism.
Testimonials
“Laura and the team at Colectivo were engaged to support the senior leadership team at Wildlands in developing the overall strategy for sustainability and circular economy in the business. Through a number of coaching sessions the team not only made practical advances in the development of our sustainability plan, these sessions grew our knowledge in the area of leadership, defining goals and understanding the importance of a circular economy mindset in the business. Not only did the team deliver on our expectations, they went further to help us better understand the boosters and blockers in the business, giving us a foundation for success for years to come. This was delivered through varied and engaging coaching sessions with industry professionals. The team have left these sessions excited and invigorated to deliver on our sustainability actions.”
- Michael Ahern, General Manager, Wildlands
Award Nomination: Green Awards 2025
Wildlands’ commitment to regenerative tourism and circular economy was recognised at a national level with a nomination for the Green Awards 2025, Ireland’s most prestigious sustainability accolades.
Being shortlisted for the Green Awards 2025 positions Wildlands and Colectivo as leaders in sustainability and showcases the impact of cross-sector, international collaboration.