Firms avoid €60m energy costs

Dublin: Ireland’s largest employers improved their competitiveness by avoiding €60m in energy costs in 2008, Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources Eamon Ryan said at the Sustainable Energy Ireland (SEI) global conference on energy management.

Energy experts from over 20 countries, including the US, Japan, Italy and Finland gathered to learn about the success of Ireland’s large enterprises in driving energy efficiencies through implementing Ireland’s Energy Management Standard.

Intel, Diageo, Pfizer, Glanbia and Tesco are among the 122 members of SEI’s Large Energy Network (LEN) who collectively reduced their energy costs by €60m in 2008. These savings are the latest in a strong trend that has seen some of Ireland’s leading companies improve their energy efficiency by 30% on average over the last decade.

Launching the annual LIEN report at the conference, Mr Ryan said: “Ireland’s large enterprises are developing innovative energy solutions and moving towards exporting their energy expertise.”