Cork City Council is on target to meet our energy reduction commitments by 2030

Councillors at the Climate Action Committee meeting on Tuesday 14 January, learned that not only are we on target to reach energy reduction targets 2030, Cork City Council is leading the way amongst all 31 local authorities in Ireland. Damien Williams, Energy Engineer from the Operations Directorate, presented an insightful report to the assembled Councillors of the Climate Action Committee.

How has this been achieved?

Damien spoke about the concerted effort made by Cork City Council to achieve these goals.

• Diesel usage by the Fire Service is down 14,000 litres.
• Expensed car travel and commercial rail is down as staff have increased the use online meetings instead of travelling for meetings.
• Electricity and gas consumption is down. Some of this has been through hard interventions like LED replacements etc. However, many of the savings have been made through “better energy management” such as turning off equipment when not in use.

Two of the standout achievements were the street light upgrades and work at Bishopstown Leisure Work.  70% of our street lighting has been replaced with energy-saving LEDs. This reduced energy consumption by a total of 2,893 MWh which is enough to power almost 170 average Irish homes! (Source: SEAI based on 2022 figures)  The recent work at the Bishopstown Leisure World Complex that led to a 50% reduction in energy consumption.

The council web and ICT team are highlighting the impact of our website and stored files so we can reduce our digital carbon impact. Green Public Procurement has  added another important dimension to our work. This means that when we purchase goods or services, we will use sustainability considerations in how we award contracts.

Next steps for the Cork City Council:

Cork City Council will continue the work to achieve our “Net Zero” emissions. LED lighting replacement will continue. The Significant Energy Users (SEU) will be addressed by replacing diesel vehicles with a low carbon substitute called Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil (HVO). Cork City Hall will look to install submetering to reduce energy use in the building.  Leisure World Bishopstown has undergone a full investment grade decarbonisation report, and this has highlighted further measures to improve energy efficiency and reduce our carbon emissions.

Councillors were delighted to hear about the improvements being made, and that we are leading the way as a local authority. Overall, Damien’s presentation highlighted that with consistent, intentional actions, an organisation like Cork City Council, can make a big difference.

What is the Climate Action Committee?

The Climate Action Committee (CAC) is a monthly forum for elected Councillors to participate meaningfully in the preparation of climate-related policy, and stay up to date on the implementation of climate action. Councilors, and supporting staff, regularly hear from experts on climate action. This increases their knowledge, and supports their decision-making around climate action so they can lead the city in a evidence-based way on our “Net Zero” carbon emissions mission.