Gas Networks Ireland was chosen as one of 20 Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) champions by the Department of the Environment and Climate in June. Adopted by the UN in 2015, the SDGs recognise that ending poverty and other deprivations must go hand-in-hand with strategies that improve health and education, reduce inequality, and spur economic growth – all while tackling climate change and working to preserve our oceans and forests.
The Irish SDG champions are committed to raising awareness of the importance of the SDGs as a roadmap for a safer, fairer, more prosperous and sustainable future for all, that leaves no one behind.
“Gas Networks Ireland is the first energy provider to be chosen as an SDG champion,” says Edwina Nyhan, Gas Networks Ireland’s director of strategy and regulation. “That was a real honour for us. We have supported all 17 goals since they were first adopted but we have aligned our business strategy to the six specific SDGs most relevant to our activities. As an SDG champion we will act as an advocate and role model for the application of the SDGs in our business activities. Through our actions, we will demonstrate that everyone in society can make a contribution to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.”
The SDGs along with their associated targets and indicators are aligned to the organisation’s business strategy. “We recognise that in order to thrive as a business, our business needs to be sustainable,” Nyhan explains. “Our corporate strategy is our sustainability strategy. By delivering on our initiatives, we are helping to meet the UN SDGs targets.”
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She points out that the two most obviously relevant goals for the organisation are SDG seven, affordable and clean energy, and SDG 13, climate action. “Our vision is to be at the heart of Ireland’s energy future and that future is to decarbonise with renewables. Our pathway to a net-zero carbon network outlines how we can transport 100 per cent renewable gas by 2045, playing an essential role in transitioning Ireland to a carbon-neutral economy. We are investing more than €150 million a year in capital projects, part of that investment is to decarbonise our own activities and infrastructure as well as to help industry to achieve its sustainability goals.”
Decarbonising the gas network will initially see increasing amounts of biomethane being transported on the network. This will be followed by hydrogen when it becomes available in commercial volumes.
“The State’s target is to have 5.7 terawatt hours of biomethane by 2030. That’s about 10 per cent of the total amount of gas we transport at the moment. Bia Energy has just launched an anaerobic digestion plant to produce biomethane in Huntstown, [Dublin] 15,” she notes. “We are working with partners like [them] to bring biomethane onto the network. We have contracted four anaerobic digestion plants in the past few months and have several more who are progressing connections. We have also sought expressions of interest for the supply of 80GWh of biomethane to be used for our own purposes. This will increase to 250GWh over time.”
While hydrogen may be some way off yet, Gas Networks Ireland is already preparing for it. “We are looking at what needs to be adapted for the network to be hydrogen ready. We have established an innovation centre in Dublin that is looking at how we on-board and safely transport hydrogen on the network. We are also working with external partners to get the best information on what’s happening across the industry.”
Electricity generation remains one of the biggest and most variable sources of demand for gas in Ireland. “When the wind isn’t blowing or the sun isn’t shining, Ireland still needs to be able to generate power. That’s where gas comes in. A key part of Government policy is to enhance the resilience and the reliability of the electricity system. 2GWh of additional generating capacity needs to be connected and that will be powered by gas. Gas will have a critical role in providing continued resilience to the wider energy system as more renewables are deployed.”
Gas Networks Ireland received an A-score from Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP), this highlights our leadership and collaborative efforts in addressing climate change. “This is a world leading body that assesses how well companies are doing in disclosing environmental impacts and making progress on reducing them. Only 362 companies in the world have achieved that rating. We are very proud of that.”
It also means the organisation has been preparing for the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD). “We’re due to publish our first report for 2025 in 2026,” says Nyhan. “We found that many aspects of our business had good policies and procedures which we are enhancing. We want to use the directive to help us to improve still further on our sustainability performance. We see it as an opportunity rather than a challenge.”
Of course, the SDGs are about far more than energy and climate change. Other key areas include decent work, health and wellbeing, and responsible production and consumption.
“The social aspect is very important to us both internally and within the communities we operate,” she says. “We have invested in very strong diversity, equity and inclusion programmes within the organisation and have achieved the Ibec Keep Well mark. In 2023 we achieved two million hours with no time off due to injuries at work. We want to make sure everyone can thrive at work and achieve their full potential.”
Community engagement is another area of focus. “One in five of our staff volunteers to participate in our community engagement activities,” says Nyhan. “We have achieved Investing in Volunteers accreditation, the national quality standard for good practice in volunteer management. One particular area of focus in our community engagement for us is on Stem education. We want to encourage more girls as well as boys to choose Stem subjects and careers.”
Gas Networks Ireland supports several charities, including Age Action Ireland. “Our relationship with them started during Covid. We regularly carry out work on elderly people’s homes in Cork and Dublin. Very recently, I had the opportunity to join some colleagues to work on an elderly lady’s garden in Cork. It was really practical stuff like pruning bushes and cleaning out rubbish that had been thrown into her garden. That lady is in her 90s and can’t get out into the garden to do that herself.”
Biodiversity is of key importance to the organisation. “We are a business partner with the All-Ireland Pollinator Plan,” says Nyhan. “We want to promote biodiversity on the properties we own and in the communities we operate. Our goal is to not only avoid harming biodiversity but to actively improve it. We strive to have a net positive impact on biodiversity in all our operations and infrastructure projects by 2025. We have seen rare flowers spring up in locations where we stopped cutting the grass and we planted our very first forest and installed ponds at one of our above ground installations at Baldrumman in Co Meath. Our employees helped with the planting and also work on maintaining the site. We don’t fell trees as part of our operations if possible. And when we do need to, we replace them ensuring we leave behind a net positive impact on biodiversity.
All of this is woven into the culture of the business, she concludes. “It’s about doing the right thing for our employees, for communities, for the environment, and for the planet. It’s not just about profit, it’s about having the right culture in the organisation to deliver sustainably.”
For more information, please visit gasnetworks.ie