Ireland’s energy savers win big at Business Energy Achievement Awards

Energy saving has never been more important. The Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland reported that business electricity prices rose by 33 per cent and business gas prices by 22 per cent in the first half of the year – after three years of double-digit rises. That makes the winners of this year’s Business Energy Achievement Awards the superstars of Ireland’s economy.

The 16 hotly contested awards saw entries from across Ireland’s economy. The winners were cheered at a prestigious ceremony with more than 100 guests, hosted by comedian and podcaster Jarlath Regan at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, Santry in September.

Taking top spot and securing the overall energy achievement award was Swords Pavilions. Ian Hunter, centre director, said: “Winning the award was fantastic. Our team were delighted. We didn’t expect it. It was our first time entering this award, but we’ve done a lot of work. It’s great kudos for the work that the teams do and fantastic to get the recognition from this.”

The best energy management team was named as Thermo Scientific Cork. Edel Collins, general manager, said: “Our ambitious sustainability programme is a great source of pride on site. We have a brilliant energy management team co-ordinating the programme but the secret of our success is that everyone is invested and involved in delivering it.”

And the best energy manager award went to Andrew Mullen of Dairygold Co-Operative Society. He recommended others apply for awards in the future: “I wasn’t expecting to win this award but I’m glad that I’ve won. It’s a huge team effort that goes on. I would highly recommend that everyone applies for every award going. Why not put your name out there and get recognition for what you’re doing?”

Another award winner was ABP Food Group, which nabbed the best energy achievement in food & beverage award. John Durkan, environmental & sustainability manager at ABP, said the awards would inspire his team to further improve.

“This is a fantastic achievement for the team. It’s a team effort to look at energy, to deliver energy savings, and to deliver energy efficiency programs within our facilities. This is exceptional in terms of momentum, enthusiasm, and delivering to the team that enthusiasm to deliver more energy-efficient solutions within our processes,” he said.

Garret Farrelly, head of energy and natural resources at law firm Matheson, was named energy leader for 2023. His citation read: “Garret advises on all aspects of projects and project financing, including PPPs; privately financed energy and infrastructure developments and privatisations; electricity, gas and telecommunications network infrastructure; M&A and financing in the renewable electricity sector. Garret is consistently ranked as a Tier 1 energy lawyer and has been described as ‘one of the most impressive energy lawyers’.”

Farrelly praised everyone working to save energy across all sectors of business. “The sector is going to have significant challenges over the next 10 or 15 years to try and achieve our goals but, with the people in the sector, we’re definitely going to rise to the challenge together,” he said.

This was just the second year for the Business Energy Achievement Awards and the first to be held in person. This provided a great networking opportunity and the chance to share best practice and learn lessons from other parts of the economy.

The awards were judged by a distinguished panel of experts drawn from all areas of the business energy industry.

Full list of judges

Conall Bolger, chief executive, Irish Solar Energy Association
Aidan Byrne, sustainability and utilities manager, Aviva Stadium
Paul Monaghan, group head of sustainability, Mannok
Gerard Mullaly, associate and principal investigator, lecturer and deputy head of department of sociology and criminology, University College Cork
Katherine Valery, senior sustainability engineer, Jacobs Engineer