Our Path to a People-Centred Energy Future

When talking about the energy transition, there can be a tendency to focus on investment, technology, or policy and regulation. Yet the most important driving force behind the transition is people. From those designing and building the future energy system, to the customers using renewable power in new ways, to the communities hosting critical electricity generation or network infrastructure – people are central to ESB’s mission to deliver a clean, secure and affordable energy system.  

As we work to bring our carbon emissions down to net zero by 2040, we need to do this in a way that is just, inclusive and trusted. This is why we place our commitment to people at the heart of all we do, as set out in our new strategic roadmap to 2030 ‘People-Centred Sustainability: Our Path to a People-Centred Energy Future’. 

What is People-Centred Sustainability?  

People‑centred sustainability describes how ESB delivers on its responsibility to people throughout the net zero transition. Reflecting our long‑standing commitment to supporting customers and communities through change, and building on just transition principles, it puts social outcomes at the heart of decision‑making – ensuring that environmental progress goes hand in hand with social responsibility.   

As Eileen Hyland, People-Centred Sustainability Lead at ESB, explains: “People-centred sustainability is about turning intent into impact. It focuses on how our strategies, decisions, and day-to-day actions shape outcomes for people, including those who work for ESB, provide goods and services to us, rely on our services, and live in the communities that host and depend on our infrastructure.” 

Our New Roadmap 

Since ESB was established in 1927, people have always been at the core of what drives us. We already embed people-centred sustainability across our operations through a strong foundation of established strategies, policies, and frameworks that define how we engage, act, and deliver value for the people and communities we serve.  

Now, our new strategic roadmap builds on this foundation by acting as an integrating framework – bringing together these existing elements into a coherent and consistent approach focused on delivering positive outcomes for people. It centres around four key social groups:  

• Communities: Our aim is to partner with local communities to deliver and share the benefits of a clean energy future through early engagement, trust-building and tangible local value. 
  

• Employees: We aim to engage with employees to support a fair and inclusive transition, prioritising safety, capability development, meaningful work and growth in a workplace that values every voice.  
  

• Customers: We will empower customers to be part of the energy transition and to benefit from reliable, affordable and clean energy. 
  

• Value chain workers: We will engage with suppliers to build strong and responsible supply chains that protect workers’ rights, improve livelihoods, and support a resilient and sustainable energy transition. 

Aligned with ESB’s Sustainability Leadership Plan and Net Zero by 2040 Strategy, the roadmap ensures that people-centred sustainability is embedded across our business. 

Measuring our Progress 

The new roadmap does not replace or duplicate ESB’s existing policies, strategies or charters. Rather, by providing a structured framework, it helps us to identify gaps, set clear ambitions across the four social groups, and translate those ambitions into practical actions supported by defined targets and measures. It also creates a shared understanding across ESB of how teams contribute to delivering people-centred outcomes. 

For each of the objectives across our four social groups, we will track our progress through defined performance measures, targets, and transparent reporting.