Gas Networks Ireland Celebrates Double Success at Green Awards

Gas Networks Ireland (GNI) struck gold and green twice at the recent Green Awards, winning both the Sustainable Energy Achievement Award and the Green Large Organisation of the Year Award. Additionally, GNI was selected by the judges to be one of six organisations shortlisted for the green business of the year award.

This is the first time Gas Networks Ireland has ever won these awards, at what is seen by many as Ireland’s leading environmental event for businesses.  Hundreds of businesses attended the gala award ceremony in the Clayton Hotel in Dublin.

Denis O’Sullivan, Managing Director, Gas Networks Ireland welcomed the wins:
“We are delighted that the work of our team across Gas Networks Ireland has been recognised.  As guardians of Ireland’s gas infrastructure we aim to deliver our services in a sustainable manner that contributes to the protection of the environment while supporting the social and economic development of the communities we operate in, as well as the wider economy.  Winning these awards is an important validation for Gas Networks Ireland and a reflection of how we continually improve as a business, how we serve our customers, and is a testament to our employees.”

GNI won the Sustainable Energy Achievement Award for their work in reducing their own energy consumption.  In December 2018, GNI signed up to the Low Carbon Pledge to reduce its carbon emissions by 50% by 2030, a Business in the Community Initiative for Irish business to invest time and resources into creating a more sustainable operation, by being more energy efficient and reducing carbon usage.  Last year, the company established a Climate Action Working Group to help achieve its carbon reduction ambition and are currently developing a 2030 carbon reduction roadmap to achieve their 2030 objectives.

GNI is an active participant in the Government’s Public Sector Monitoring and Reporting (PSMR) initiative. While the PSMR aims to achieve 33% energy saving for the public sector by 2020, GNI are presently on track to exceed this ambition with 42% energy savings on their fleet and offices energy already achieved.

As well as focussing on GNI’s own energy usage, GNI, together with its parent company Ervia, published Vision 2050 - A Net Zero Carbon Gas Network for Ireland. Through a combination of technologies, Vision 2050 sets out how it can reduce Ireland’s total carbon emissions by one third and create a net zero carbon gas network, and help ensure that energy supply will meet Ireland’s climate change objectives.  It has already begun to deliver on this with the development of renewable gas and gas for transport projects.

The Green Large Organisation of the Year Award goes to the large business who can demonstrate a bottom-up best environmental practice in all aspects of running a large business.  Judges examined all aspects of the business including waste management, biodiversity, use of ‘green suppliers or materials, transport, energy and water efficiencies, to staff engagement and community involvement’.

In 2019, GNI produced its very first Sustainability Report in alignment with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. The report highlighted the sustainability work carried out across the business, focusing on the areas of environment, social and economic. The full report, “Sustainability in Action”, can be found at:

https://www.gasnetworks.ie/corporate/company/our-commitment/sustainability-report/

Gas Networks is heavily committed to a number of community programmes with one in three staff supported to volunteer on projects around the country.  Among the projects Gas Networks Ireland supports directly are nationwide STEM programmes with Junior Achievement Ireland, employability programmes with Business in the Community Ireland, and Co-operation Ireland’s ‘Youth Leadership Programme’ in Cork and Dublin, and partners with the litter education programme ‘Leave no Trace’.