Organisation information
Green Team Annual Report 2024
Published on
Last updated on
Published on
Last updated on
The Green Team operates under its Terms of Reference and Charter. It comprises of staff members from each of the component bodies in the Office of the Ombudsman organisation and meets on a regular basis.
The following are the members of the Green Team:
• Ciarán O’Donohoe (Chair) – CSU
• Aidan Moore (Secretary) - Executive Unit
• Colette Godkin- SIPO
• Conor Mulvihill – SIPO
• Aisling Burns – Ombudsman
• Shauna Watters – CPSA
• Elizabeth Swanwick – OCEI
• Alison Connolly - OIC
• John Spencer – ICT Unit
While the above-named staff are members of the Green Team, all staff have a responsibility to work together to help the Office to achieve its aims and help reduce the carbon footprint of the Office. In addition, Karen Roantree from the Management Advisory Committee (MAC) is the Energy Performance Officer and also the Climate and Sustainability Officer for the Office.
The Office of the Ombudsman is committed to responsible energy management and will strive to efficiently manage and reduce energy consumption. The Office will use energy in a prudent and responsible manner. This is fully supported by MAC.
To achieve our objectives, the Office:
This report is divided into the following sections
The Office Green Team has also been an active participant on the Green Committee for the overall building which is chaired by the landlord, IPUT. No meetings of the Green Committee took place in 2024.
The Green Team met on 7 occasions during the course of 2024. Their ambitious work programme translated into 39 action items on the Action Plan for 2024, many of which were central government requirements and required a substantial amount of work. 28 of the tasks were achieved, with many more having being considered but a decision was made not to pursue them. One outstanding item is training for senior staff members on Climate Action which has been scheduled for quarter 1 2025.
An effective communications strategy plays an important role in allowing the Office to create an awareness of green issues and initiatives and is central to enabling us to meet our targets and national climate action commitments. A formal Communications Strategy document was approved by MAC in late 2023 and this has been successfully utilised to promote awareness of green issues and how we can meet our targets; engage with staff to try to influence behaviour and to create a culture of green and sustainable behaviour.
The main communication methods are:
Intranet articles – The Green Team section of the Intranet was redesigned to allow it to be a resource for staff who are interested in green issues. This resulted in important standing items (e.g. Climate Action Roadmap, Energy Policy, Communications Strategy) to be put on one side so that they are always easy to locate and news articles on the other side so that issues move down the page as time goes on and it is time to focus on other messages for staff.
There were a total of 19 news and information items published on the Intranet during the course of the year. There was a range of interesting energy and green related information provided to staff through these articles and they also tied in closely with the government’s Reduce Your Use campaign.
Workshops - on climate related issues at section meetings. In 2024, there were 3 such workshops held on the topics of energy efficiency and biodiversity. In addition, a presentation was made on waste/ recycling to the entire Office at the Bi-Annual Meeting. All presentations were well researched, well received and very interactive.
MAC – The Green Team make six-monthly presentations to MAC on the work of the Committee and progress against the Green Team Action Plan. In addition, quarterly updates were being provided to MAC on how the Office is progressing against its energy efficiency targets. The source of this information was a smart metering feature which had been provided by the landlord. The landlord changed service provider, however, during 2024 and we are still awaiting access to the landlord’s new service provider’s system.
Presentations – General presentations on the aims and achievements of the Green Team are also given at Induction training and Transition Year Programmes. The Induction training provides a platform for the Green Team to share the importance of green measures to our Office, the fact that it is the responsibility of all staff and to provide a background on our obligations in terms of targets and reporting.
Notices – Notices are placed around the building on green themes such as energy use and correct recycling measures. In 2024, extensive material was placed around the building to provide information to staff on what can be recycled and what can go in the food compost bins. Getting staff to take care in disposing of their waste has been challenging but does seem to be gradually improving.
Reduce your Use campaign - The Office has signed up to the SEAI and OPW Reduce Your Use campaign for winter 2024/25. This is an energy awareness campaign for staff which is aimed at reducing energy use during the winter months. It also encourages staff to adopt measures that will assist them in reducing energy at home.
Green Public Procurement – An extensive note on the importance of considering Green Public Procurement measures in procurement processes was prepared and issued to all those who are involved in procurement. This also required updates to be made to the Procurement Checklist and Corporate Procurement Plan. All of these documents were approved by MAC before being issued.
One of the requirements arising from the government’s Climate Action Plan 2021 was that public bodies had to prepare a Climate Action Roadmap. The purpose of the Roadmap is to set out how the Office will meet the targets set out in the government’s Climate Action Mandate, including our plans to reduce energy related emissions from our operations in line with the Climate Action Plan 2024. This is a living document which was originally prepared by the Green Team and signed off by the Director General in March 2023. It was subsequently amended in September 2023. A further revised Roadmap was prepared in accordance with the revised public sector climate action mandate, which was published in the Climate Action Plan 2024 (CAP24) and published in October 2024.
An Energy Policy for the Office of the Ombudsman was prepared by the Green Team and approved by MAC during 2023. The Policy outlines how the Office uses a combination of energy efficiency audits, SEAI guidance, Smart Energy Metering, staff awareness campaigns, DEC ratings and other centralised guidance to frame its Energy Policy. It outlines the Office policy on Green procurement, air conditioning/heating, lighting and transport with a central focus on assisting the Office in meeting our government targets.
In 2023 and the earlier part of 2024, the Office used a smart energy monitoring system to continuously monitor the energy use in the buildings. We did not have access to such a system for the last few months of 2024 as the landlord changed service provider and there has been a delay in gaining access to the new system. The air conditioning/heating system works by taking in external air and the outside temperature has a significant impact on the level of energy used.
The energy efficiency targets for our Office have been set as follows:
• 50% energy efficiency savings target for public sector by 2030 (Government Climate Action Plan 2024).
• Annual energy saving target of a 3% reduction based on 2022 consumption (2022 Energy Efficiency Audit).
The Energy Efficiency Audit identified the issue of scheduling as a key way in which this Office could reduce its energy usage. Scheduling is carried out daily by Corporate Services Unit in an effort to provide a balance between comfort of staff and energy usage against our targets. Savings have already been achieved with regard to turning the system off on days in which no staff member is on-site (e.g. weekends, holidays). As we do not have access to smart energy metering and our usage figures supplied by the SEAI based on our meter usage are not available until May 2025, we cannot report on our effectiveness against targets at this moment in time. Even when we get access the data of the landlord’s new service provider, there will be a gap in usage for the period in which we did not have access to a system.
The SEAI figures are provided in the form of a scorecard for each organisation and they are reported upon through the revised SEAI Monitor and Reporting System. These figures are also published in a public sector annual report.
The Climate Action Mandate 2024 requires each public body to review their office space requirements from an energy saving perspective. In this regard, the OPW carried out a survey in December 2024 in which they looked at occupancy levels. The Green Team also carried out a review in 2024. This review resulted in a document entitled “Energy Savings Proposals to go to MAC” which contained a number of recommendations. This was approved in principle by MAC and the recommendation to default the heat to off in all offices and meeting rooms was implemented immediately with very positive results. The other main recommendation was to close certain areas on Friday’s, which are typically low occupancy days, and for staff to move to a particular area. The POs consulted with their staff on this proposal and it was suggested that the matters raised be considered by Partnership. This will be considered at the next Partnership meeting.
With the air conditioning system which we have, there are unique challenges in winter and summer but the general principles surrounding energy savings should remain the same. There have been constant problems with the system since we moved into this building. The main problem is that it takes up to 8 hours in many areas to reach the temperature setting. This results in staff complaints about the building being too cold and a huge amount of energy being used unnecessarily with little or no effect. In this regard, building 6 ground floor has been particularly problematic with temperatures in the summer reaching 28 degrees and in the winter a high of 16 degrees in places. OPW has agreed that the system is defective and that the main air conditioning needs to be replaced. While awaiting this new unit a limited number of selected units had to be permanently set to a temperature to run 24/7 for a period of 2 months, which resulted in very high energy usage for the period and which was outside our control and could not be scheduled.
As our energy efficiency targets were set against 2009 usage levels in a different building which was much less energy efficient gas fired system of heating in an older building, the figures are not really comparable. However, there is an expectation that the Office will reach the required savings year on year for the premises that we occupy. Meeting the 3% annual reduction identified in the Energy Efficiency Audit will, however, be more challenging. The SEAI produce an annual scorecard which is awaited for 2024.
The target for the public sector is a 51% reduction in carbon emissions by 2030. This is a new target and the SEAI have set baseline levels for each body individually based on 2016- 2018 average energy related C02 emissions. In the same way as with the energy efficiency target, the baseline (i.e. 2016-2018) predates the move by the Office to a more energy efficient building in 2019.
In our old building we had a gas powered heating system. The current system is electricity powered and therefore we do not use any fossil fuels anymore.
Our Greenhous Gas (C02) emissions are closely related to our energy efficiency. The SEAI produce an annual scorecard which similarly to the energy data is due to be provided by the SEAI in May 2025. The most recent scorecard (2023) showed that our total C02 emissions in 2022 had improved by 70%.
As part of the Monitoring and Recording (M&R) system, it was compulsory for the Office to enter its details on the Building Register in 2023. As part of this process, SEAI gathers details on the type, fabric, repair, age and heating systems of public buildings. The system provides data on energy use of buildings across the public sector. This information had to be updated and verified for 2024.
The Smarter Travel Mark, a National Transport Agency initiative, is an award system that assesses bodies commitment to changing attitudes and behaviours regarding walking, cycling and public transport usage by implementing measures that facilitate, support and encourage sustainable travel options for our staff and visitors.
In 2023, the Office applied and achieved a Smarter Travel Mark Bronze which shows our commitment to prioritising the importance and value of sustainable travel initiatives and the associated environmental benefits. The Green Team has put a review of this in the Action Plan for 2025 to see where there is scope for further improvement.
The landlord IPUT has put a 75% recycling target in place for 2024 for the 2 buildings in their entirety. There is no way of distinguishing between the waste/recycling rates of individual occupants. Once again in 2024, the Green Team has worked to increase the awareness among staff to use the correct bins and to reduce waste as far as possible. There has been a marked improvement in staff using the correct bins. The landlord recycling data for 2024 is expected shortly.
The Green Team drafted and got MAC approval for a Strategy for Effective Waste Recycling in 2024 which has been rolled out. The Green team also produced a document in 2024 aimed at the elimination of disposable cups, plates and cutlery and also the introduction of an Environmental Policy on Catering Supplies. The staff who are involved in ordering catering were notified of the contents of the policy and further general advice was provided to staff on the importance of phasing out the use of such disposable items. To support the Office’s green agenda, a stock of compostable cups were purchased and are available on site. They are intended for use in larger meetings as the Office has a supply of crockery and cutlery which is available for use in smaller meetings. The policy has been published on the Office intranet and all staff, and in particular staff involved in the procurement of catering supplies, are aware of the policy.
Apart from our information campaign and bi-annual presentation, the Office has installed trio bins throughout the building to encourage and facilitate correct recycling.
In addition, we have installed a Re-turn bin in the canteen for staff to place unwanted plastic bottles and aluminium cans to ensure that they get recycled. These bottles and cans are collected by a staff member and are used towards children’s sports activities.
It must be remembered that all packaging, whether recyclable or not, takes energy to produce and recycle and therefore this should be factored in by all staff in making purchases.
The National Climate Action Plan requires all public sector organisations to review their paper based processes and states that digitalisation will be the default approach.
A swipe card system was introduced for printing in the Office during 2023 and this appears to has further improved the performance of the Office in terms of reducing the number of pages being printed. In 2024, there were 197,000 pages printed which was an increase of 6% on 2023 levels or a massive 72% decrease on pre-pandemic levels in 2019.
A Travel Policy for the Office was prepared by the Green Team and Approved by MAC in 2024. This policy amalgamated the existing i) green focussed Travel policy; ii) Finance Unit travel circulars and rules policy; and, iii) the Health and Safety Authority focussed safety and insurance policy. This ensures that all staff involved in business travel are aware of the impact of certain forms of transport on the environment as well as outlining reporting and approval requirements associated with business travel.
Reporting
The Office is required to adhere to national reporting requirements for travel on the SEAI Monitoring and Reporting system. This outlines in detail all business travel undertaken by the Office, including road, rail and air travel. This has been extended to include travel by public transport. The return for 2024 was completed.
Circular 01/2020 requires public bodies to record the carbon emissions associated with official air travel and to pay an amount equivalent to the travel emissions impact into the Climate Action Fund. The circular also requires public bodies to appraise, monitor and ensure only essential air travel is undertaken and that the number of officers on any official journey is kept to an absolute minimum.
There were 7 official journeys by air taken by staff during 2024, involving a total of 15,000 kilometres. This resulted in an estimated 0.99 tonnes of C02 at a cost of €56.00 per tonnes resulting in a total payment of €55.44 to the Climate Action Fund for 2024.
Air quality monitors, courtesy of the landlord, IPUT, continue to be located in each of the 4 main locations within the Office. These provide data on air quality in the form of monthly reports and recommendations which are reviewed by the Green Team. Once again in 2024, overall, it was found that the air quality was good in the Office.