ESB’s Marguerite Sayers is a Fellow of Engineers Ireland and has recently been elected as President for 2019/2020. In her upcoming Presidential Address, Marguerite will be examining the interplay between climate change, global infrastructure and the role of engineers.
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Tackling Climate Issues with Engineering Innovation
The industrialised world has contributed to the significant increase in emissions over the past 200 years with more than 98% of scientists now agreeing that human activity has caused global warming and as a result, climate change. The wider engineering community recognises its role in contributing to climate change - no matter how unintentional over time.
Engineers have always worked to enhance the condition in which all humans live - the need for such innovation has never been greater. Engineers are now increasingly creating energy solutions which look to maintain the current quality of life while reducing the negative impacts of industrialisation and carbon emissions.
At present, the impact of increasingly severe weather events on global infrastructure means that adapting to climate change is going to be an unavoidable engineering priority for the coming decades. The costs of this challenge are significant and the need for engineers is now unprecedented.
This will be the theme of the Presidential Address by the newly elected President of Engineers Ireland, ESB’s Marguerite Sayers.
Engineers Ireland
The voice of the engineering profession in Ireland, Engineers Ireland is one of the country’s oldest and largest professional bodies. At 180-years old, the organisation has more than 26,000 members across every discipline of engineering, from students to fellows of the profession.
Engineers Ireland continues to provide a recognised expert voice and opinion on important topics such as climate change and engineering standards ensuring that the public and other key stakeholders are informed by the profession.
Marguerite Sayers, ESB’s Executive Director for Customer Solutions
In 1986, Engineers Ireland ran A Women’s Year in Engineering, this involved recently qualified female engineers meeting fifth and sixth year honours maths students - it was here that Marguerite Sayers discovered her passion for engineering.
“I went along to one of these evenings and as an engineer explained her job, it made total sense to me - there and then I decided to study engineering. Little did I think on that evening 32 years ago in a school in Tralee, when I first seriously considered engineering - that I would one day have the distinction of becoming President of Engineers Ireland.”
In 1991, Marguerite graduated from University College Cork with a BE in Electrical Engineering and since then has spent her entire working life in ESB – “I have often said that I joined ESB and that I forgot to leave.”
Marguerite was appointed ESB’s Executive Director for Customer Solutions in 2018. Prior to this role, she held the position of Managing Director for ESB Networks DAC for over three years. In her current role, Marguerite leads the energy retail company, Electric Ireland and is also responsible for ESB’s Telecoms, ecars, and Smart Energy Services businesses, which deliver low-carbon products and services to customers in Ireland and the UK.
ESB has a proud history in revolutionary energy engineering projects such as Ardnacrusha Power Station and our Rural Electrification Scheme - which transformed the lives of the customers and communities we serve. As part of our Brighter Future strategy, ESB is leading the transition to reliable, affordable, low-carbon energy. Marguerite, through her fantastic work in ESB and with Engineers Ireland, is at the forefront of this transformation.
Marguerite will make her Presidential Address at 6pm on Tuesday, 24th September at Engineers Ireland, 22 Clyde Road, Dublin 4. Fore more information, click here.
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