Article by Sylvia Thompson – Published in the Irish Times – Sat. 4th June 2016. Making our homes more energy efficient is a good first step towards mitigating climate change. It also helps to lift vulnerable households out of energy poverty. Upgrading our homes and offices so that they use less energy is one […]
Cross-sector group meets to discuss the pressing need to retrofit Ireland’s homes
A cross sectoral group of organisations from government, local authorities, industry and charities met to develop an ambitious strategy to improve the quality of the Irish existing housing stock. The residential sector currently accounts for 27% of all energy usage in Ireland and emits 10.5 million tonnes of CO2 annually, making it the single largest […]
Co-Creating Ireland’s National Renovation Strategy – Presentation Commercial Buildings Sector Workshop
The presentations of our first Build Upon’s workshop, focusing on large scale deep-renovation in the commercial buildings sector are now available. Build Upon: Initial Commercial Buildings Sector Workshop from Irish Green Building Council
Irish Business meets to design an ambitious renovation strategy for Ireland’s Commercial Building Stock
Tuesday 12th April: Fifty leading Irish businesses met today in Google’s European headquarters, Dublin to assist Government in decarbonising Ireland’s building stock. This represents the first major attempt following on from COP21 agreement to develop an ambitious action plan for the building sector – a sector that is responsible for up to 30% of Ireland’s […]
Ireland to join world’s largest collaborative retrofit project to cut emissions from buildings
Ireland has joined the world’s largest collaborative project on building renovation in a bid to tackle one of the country’s biggest climate challenges – its existing buildings. After more than a year of preparations as part of the BUILD UPON project, the Irish Green Building Council is launching a series of events across Ireland that aim […]
New energy poverty strategy to target people with acute health conditions and those in rented accommodation
Minister for Energy Alex White published A Strategy to Combat Energy Poverty on Tuesday (2nd February), which outlines new measures to improve the living standards and conditions of citizens experiencing energy poverty. The new strategy includes a €20 million pilot project to improve energy efficiency in the homes of people with acute health conditions. It […]
Retailers can improve customer experience & potentially increase profit through greener stores, WorldGBC report finds
Retailers can improve the shopping experience for their customers and potentially increase their profits by providing greener, healthier stores, according to a major report from the World Green Building Council. The report, Health, Wellbeing and Productivity in Retail: The Impact of Green Buildings on People and Profit, says that although there is a surge in […]
EU unveils new green building policy objectives
The European Commission has started building the foundations of a common language around green building with the release of a major new working paper. For years the mainstream “green” building debate in Europe has centered heavily on energy, leaving voluntary green building certification to fly the flag for the wider sustainability agenda. However, in a […]
Putting people in green houses
Article by Sylvia Thompson – Published in the Irish Times – Sat. 12th December 2016 As we digest the warnings and promises from the UN Climate Change Conference in Paris, there is one industry that is poised for major change in Ireland and abroad: construction. “Every newly built house in Ireland now has to have an […]
Shining the Light on Buildings at COP21
On Wednesday, 4th November the IGBC organised a “Shining the Light on Buildings at COP21” briefing at Europe House, 12-14 Lower Mount Street, Dublin 2. The presentations focused on the potential of buildings to lower emissions and examined the chances of a positive outcome from the negotiations. Speakers on the Day included: Ciara Kirrane, Friends of […]
COP 21 – Make Your Pledge!
With the most important COP in decades coming up in December, the Irish Green Building Council is working hard to make the inaugural “Buildings Day” at COP really count in the fight against climate change. Buildings account for 32% of global final energy use – 19% of all greenhouse gas emissions. As a key stakeholder […]