ESB’s 2013 Sustainability Report was launched today by Pat Naughton, Executive Director, Group People and Sustainability. The report highlights the key achievements that ESB has made in 2013 in embedding sustainability in the business. The report is aimed at customers, staff, investors, analysts, government agencies and other stakeholders. It focuses on the sustainability issues of greatest concern to these stakeholders and to our business. 

Key highlights include:

• CO₂ emissions from Power Stations reduced by 1.5 million tonnes from 2012.
• 1.4 TWh of electricity generated from renewable sources.
• Commissioning of two new wind farms at Mynydd y Betws (35MW) in Wales and Carrickatane (21MW) in Northern Ireland.
• Consumption of fleet fuel reduced by 3.9% (over 190,000 litres).
• 2,579kms converted from 10kV to 20kV in 2013 with each km of overhead line converted saving on average 5,000 kWh per annum.
• Connection of 541MW of renewable generation to the electricity networks.
• Over 1,300 electric vehicle charge points installed across Ireland.
• Total recycling rate of 93.3% across our business activities.
• Launch of Energy for Generations Fund committing €2 million per year across a range of community and issues based initiatives.
• ESB’s reaccreditation to the Business Working Responsibly (BWR) Mark which ESB first achieved in 2011.
• 33,850 training events delivered as part of staff development during 2013.
• On-going collaboration with technology and academic partners cross industry initiatives in high-speed broadband services, smart grids, electric vehicles and emerging generation technologies.

Speaking at the launch Pat Naughton, Executive Director, Group People and Sustainability said: “Sustainability performance in ESB remains deeply rooted in our overall business strategy. It has extended from a relatively narrow focus on environmental issues to a broader approach integrating economic, social, environment and governance requirements within the sustainable development framework. I am pleased with our achievements in 2013, we have made a lot of progress and sustainable and innovative thinking has delivered us many successes over the course of the year.” 

This report is an increasingly important document for ESB and along with our Annual Report provides a comprehensive picture of how ESB is embedding sustainability within our business. For the first time the report was issued in draft form to a number of key stakeholders as part of our engagement process and their feedback received was incorporated into the final report. In addition, the report has been independently reviewed by DNV GL, specialists in sustainability assurance and contains the required set and number of disclosures for Application Level C in accordance with the Global Reporting Index (GRI) 3.1 requirements.*  

The report outlines progress against each of the 24 Sustainability Objectives that were agreed in 2013 as part of the new sustainability strategy as well as focussing in on the key aspects of sustainability that support our overall Corporate Strategy.

The 2013 Sustainability Report is available at: http://europe.nxtbook.com/nxteu/zahra/esb_sustainabilityreport2013/

ENDS

* The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) is a leading organization in the sustainability field. GRI promotes the use of sustainability reporting as a way for organizations to become more sustainable and contribute to sustainable development.