Leadership in Public Sector Decarbonisation and Energy Efficiency
Are you part of a public sector organisation that has demonstrated achievements in energy efficiency and decarbonisation? The Public Sector category is made for you.
About the Award
The Leadership in the Public Sector Award is aimed at public sector organisations that are demonstrating leadership in mobilising action to achieve the 2030 targets.
Entrants should set out their strategy, current and planned programmes, project pipeline, achievements to date, and outline why their approach is an exemplar for their sector
Who should apply?
Applications are welcome from all public sector organisations.
Previous project finalists under this category include:
An Post
An Post has a presence in every Irish community. It is the first postal operator in the world to achieve ISO 50001 for all operations. An Post has committed to ambitious carbon reduction targets. It plans to reduce carbon emissions by 50% by 2025 and reach net zero carbon emissions by 2030. With leadership focused on collaboration, key decision-makers are involved in all processes. An Post has embedded climate action and energy management into every facet of their business. Since 2022 its sustainability team has been driven by the Chief Transformation Officer. The Sustainability Forum meets quarterly to ensure its policies, practices, and initiatives align with An Post’s values, strategy, and stakeholder expectations. An Post plan is to spend €100m on sustainability capital expenditure by 2025. All capital asset programmes are assessed from a sustainability perspective.
Since 2018, they have spent over €24 million on sustainability capital expenditure. An Post fleet includes 1,010 EVs and 155 e-trikes. This consists of a 7.5-tonne electric truck. They have over 1,300 chargers. In 2021, they were the first company in Ireland to trial hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO) for fleet fuel. Currently, 28% of their fleet runs on alternative fuel sources, aiming to reach 50% by 2025. 62% of drivers have now completed eco-driver training, contributing to the increased fuel efficiency of their fleet by 5.7% compared to 2020.
Bus Éireann
Bus Éireann is Ireland’s national bus operator and, in 2019, carried 89 million passengers. It has aligned its strategy with the Climate Action Plan 2021. Bus Éireann is committed to improving its fleet’s energy efficiency. It also wishes to decarbonise public transport. Its sustainability strategy outlines a roadmap with targets and performance indicators. By 2021, approximately 230 more energy efficient, low/zero emissions vehicles were purchased, representing an upgrade of 20% of the fleet operated or owned by Bus Éireann. The fleet transformation has involved replacing older Euro IV and Euro V engine vehicles with more energy efficient and lower emitting Euro VI, Hybrid and Hydrogen Fuel Cell Electric Vehicles.
In 2021, there were over 240,000 emissions-free kilometres completed. The associated emissions reduction is more than 90 tonnes of CO2. 63% of Bus Éireann’s total fleet are Euro VI cleaner emissions standards. By 2035, 100% of the fleet operated by Bus Éireann, on behalf of the National Transport Authority, will be zero-emissions vehicles.
We're really proud to have received recognition from SEAI for this work. I'd really like to thank the postmen and women in An Post, as well as every other employee that is involved in achieving our sustainability ambitions.
Application guidelines
- Please submit your application online by 5pm Friday 7th July.
- You are eligible to apply under more than one category. Simply follow the online guidelines and copy and paste your application to a new category and amend your answers as appropriate.
- Please ensure all mandatory fields are completed before you hit submit.
- Please complete the 'Data' section to the best of your ability.
- Once you submit, you can still edit your application up to the deadline date.
- Please keep attachments to 5MB or less.
- Shortlisted applications will be announced in August.