As Ireland’s electricity grid operator, we are leading the island’s electricity sector on sustainability and decarbonisation. The success of our work programme is critical to enabling Irish society address the climate challenges by using electricity to decarbonise the broader economy. We are also examining our own internal processes to embed the principles of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals into our everyday operations.

Our approach to sustainability 

Drawing from international best practice, EirGrid has developed its first sustainability strategy, which is fully aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. These are a collection of interlinked global goals designed to be a ‘blueprint to achieve a better and more sustainable future for all’. There are a number of key pillars that underpin EirGrid’s strategy: 

Driving climate action through the transformation of the energy system. Driving climate action through the transformation of the electricity system is at the heart of our purpose and is also the most impactful contribution EirGrid can make in this area. Central to this is transforming the electricity grid so that it carries clean, renewable energy. This is a significant technical challenge. Our innovative work over the past 10 years has enabled up to 75% of instantaneous electricity requirements to be met by renewable sources. This is a world-leading achievement. EirGrid now has a programme of work, through our ‘Shaping Our Electricity Future’ roadmap, to deliver the network, operations, markets and engagement initiatives to increase this figure to 95% by 2030. This will help deliver the Government target for annual renewable electricity generation of up to 80% by 2030 

Demonstrative responsibility and science-based reporting. EirGrid has committed to publicly report on our sustainability performance. EirGrid’s targets have been validated by the international Science Based Targets initiative, making us the first public body in Ireland to have achieved this. Our verified targets are to:

● Reduce absolute scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions by 50% 

● Reduce scope 3 greenhouse gas emissions related to dispatch of electricity generation by 35% per megawatt hour within the same timeframe  

In Association with

● Reduce all other absolute scope 3 greenhouse gas emissions by 30% by 2030, using 2019 as a base year 

Commitment to a sustainable society. Leading by example, EirGrid’s operations will ensure the efficient use of resources and that the environmental impact of our activities is sustainably managed, such as our use of products, interaction with land, water, communities and habitats. 

Sustainable Education 

We have expanded our sustainability ambit to support the Sustainable Development Goal ‘quality education’. Through our partnership with SciFest, we are supporting a newly created energy and climate award to encourage the next generation of STEM enthusiasts. EirGrid is combining this with our longstanding partnership with the DCU Access Programme and Business in the Community Ireland. Under this partnership, EirGrid graduates mentor Leaving Cert students in Margaret Aylward Community College.   

Sustainable Procurement 

Our supply chain is a significant contributor to our Scope 3 emissions profile and the reason we chose to initially target this area. Guided by ISO 20400 , an action plan was created to embed sustainability into our procurement practices. In parallel, we assessed our supply chain in relation to modern slavery requirements. Plans are in place to scrutinise the life cycles of our supply chain, understand current practices and then implement procurement practices that will improve the sustainability of our supply chain.