Month: March 2021

 

Last week the Irish Government published the – arguably long overdue – Climate Action Bill and Low Development Bill, which sets out the strategy to help Ireland work towards becoming a climate resilient, biodiversity rich, environmentally sustainable and climate neutral economy. The Climate Action and Low Carbon Development (Amendment) Bill 2021 can be viewed here: https://www.rte.ie/documents/news/2021/03/127957-ab70a65d-68c1-4947-983b-babf920cc4dc.pdf. The Bill outlines the legal framework for reducing Ireland’s greenhouse gas emissions and contains the National Climate Objective, which commits Ireland to achieve carbon neutral status no later than the end of 2050. While traditionally transport and agriculture have been the sectors of focus for early climate action wins, buildings and construction are coming under greater scrutiny since the UN Environment Programme highlighted the role that the built environment must play in reducing CO2 emissions. This industry is accountable for almost 40 percent of carbon emissions related to energy use, which makes it an ideal target for Governments, including Ireland, to focus on. Carbon neutral status for Ireland will be achieved through a series of ‘carbon budgets’ that will be devised by the Climate Change Advisory Committee (CCAC). These carbon budgets will effectively limit the allowable carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases emissions from each sector of the economy and will be evaluated in rolling periods of five years. In Ireland, there will be interim targets, which involves a reduction of  greenhouse gas emissions of just over half of the overall target (51 per cent) over the course of the first two carbon budget periods, ending on 31 December 2030.

Kevin O’Sullivan,  Environment and Science Editor for The Irish Times, published an article earlier this week exploring how the country can halve emissions by 2030. He describes the increased ambition and overall targets in the revised Climate Action Bill as “unquestionably onerous”. Of course, it goes beyond mere ambition. Ireland now has a legally-binding target to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 51 percent by 2030. While the sectoral targets have not been set out in the draft Bill, the Government will need to determine how to apply carbon budgets across the various sectors of the economy.  It is expected that key actions will be detailed in an annual climate action plan. While the Bill does not provide for penalties if targets are not met, according to The Irish Times, where actions fall short in particular sectors, Ministers with responsibilities in these areas may face budget reductions as the relevant departments have to “buy compliance”. While net zero by 2050 is in line with the latest EU target, it is not in line with Ireland’s fair share of the global effort to achieve Paris Agreement goals, which will require full decarbonisation much sooner. 

From an industry perspective, Ireland-based AEC firms are on track to invest an average of €800,000 in sustainability initiatives over the next five years, as recently documented here: https://mckeon.ie/investing-in-sustainability/ 

 

About McKeon Group

Established in 1950 and ISO certified for more than two decades, McKeon Group offers expert construction, fitout and building services. The family-run Group delivers projects, services and maintenance across a range of sectors for State, local authority, FDI and private clients. For more information, contact: www.mckeon.ie 

 

 

 

According to Irish Building Magazine, Ireland-based AEC firms are on track to invest an average of €800,000 in sustainability initiatives over the next five years. You can read the article in full here: https://www.irishbuildingmagazine.ie/2021/03/22/irelands-aec-firms-to-invest-on-average-e800k-in-sustainability-over-five-years/

The figure above is based on European research undertaken by Autodesk, in partnership with global consulting firm, Frost & Sullivan and it applies similarly to UK-based architecture, engineering, construction and manufacturing companies. This research was conducted amongst 600 business decision-makers in the AEC and manufacturing industries located across Norway, Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Iceland, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Ireland and the UK. According to the findings, construction companies in the Nordics countries are leading the way when it comes to a focus on industry sustainability. More than 90 percent of the businesses surveyed in that region have a dedicated sustainability team. And Ireland looks to be following suit. Of the business leaders surveyed in Ireland and the UK, 95 percent reported that their organisations are investing in improved workflows, including reducing waste and energy consumption, as part of their sustainability initiatives and they identified sustainability as a key area for business investment over the coming years. In fact, more than half of AEC firms in Ireland and the UK are investing in recruitment and training as part of their sustainability objectives, likely within the next two years.

Given the broad meaning of the term ‘sustainability’ in the context of the built environment, it was interesting to see the report break this down into areas of immediate or priority focus for the industry. According to this particular report, members of the AEC sector see green building as the most important area for achieving future sustainability impact goals, followed by low carbon innovation. Circular design and supporting vulnerable communities affected by climate change also make it onto the list of industry priorities. Despite the very real and important benefits of greater sustainability across the built environment, lack of financial resources and access to skills and training remain significant challenges for a large cohort of the industry.

It was positive to see that more than half of all leaders surveyed believe sustainable practices improve overall project quality, which is something that we here at McKeon Group heartily agree with. One particularly enlightening part of the report covered the motivation behind this increase in sustainability initiatives across the industry. When asked why their company was embracing sustainability more than 90 percent of those in Ireland and the UK cited customer retention as the most important factor, and this was followed by competitive advantage at 64 percent, customer expectations at 83 percent, supply chain and partner expectations at 54 percent, attracting talent and employee satisfaction was cited by 39 percent and investor relations came in at 44 percent. Frankly, it is surprising and somewhat alarming that environmental concerns did not even crack the top six reasons! 

Positioning technology as  having a pivotal role to play in driving sustainability, the Autodesk/Frost & Sullivan survey also probed current and expected investment in technology and more than 77 percent of respondents confirmed that they are already investing in technology. Of course, confirmation bias is inherent in such surveys, particularly online, so it is difficult to determine just how reflective of the entire AEC ecosystem this stat actually is… 

 

About McKeon Group

Established in 1950 and ISO certified for more than two decades, McKeon Group offers expert construction, fitout and building services. The family-run Group delivers projects, services and maintenance across a range of sectors for State, local authority, FDI and private clients. For more information, contact: www.mckeon.ie

 

The next time you buy a new house in Ireland it will likely be fitted with its own Electric Vehicle Charging Point.  On the basis  that Ireland’s Fianna Fail/Fine Gael/Green Party led Government envisions  the nation going fully electric and having 950,000 electric vehicles on our roads by 2030, the race is now on to have all the charging points in place before then. 

Ireland’s Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, supported by the entire Irish Government, plan on making it a legal requirement and compulsory for all new homes in the State to be built with charging points for electric vehicles (EV’s). This follows on from the UK’s decision to construct new properties with EV chargers(https://www.greencharging.co.uk/ev-ready-new-builds/).  Around 80% of EV charging will take place at home making this an essential part of the jigsaw in the EV charging roadmap. In 2019, the UK Government announced in its Budget that it ‘’will make sure all new homes are built with the right cables for electric car charge points.’.’ Now, Ireland is following suit. 

There are many reasons why the Irish Government is planning this, including promoting and supporting an increase in the uptake of people purchasing electric vehicles. Also by ensuring that all new build homes have access to a private car parking space that can avail of an electric charge point, the State is making it so much cheaper and much more convenient for all road users. According to the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, ‘’The estimated cost to install cabling in new houses with a car park space within the property boundary is in the order of €150 per house. This is estimated to be 0.06% of construction cost. Home recharging is considered the primary method of recharging the majority of electric vehicles in Ireland. Recharging at home at night is very cost-effective and it is to the benefit of the electricity system as demand is generally lower at these times’’.

Last year (2020) the Irish Government introduced new regulations requiring  all new buildings with more than ten parking spaces  to install  charging points. Also, from 2025, the Government is committed to having non-residential buildings with over twenty car parking spaces installed with charging points. 

With so many Electric Vehicles already on our roads, people are now a lot more enthusiastic about  having and using a cleaner and a greener (better for the environment) transport. 

So, let’s all get ready for the EV generation!

About McKeon Group

Established in 1950 and ISO certified for more than two decades, McKeon Group offers expert construction, fitout and building services. The family-run Group delivers projects, services and maintenance across a range of sectors for State, local authority, FDI and private clients. For more information, contact: www.mckeon.ie