Sunday Business Post | Irish Business News

Breaking News Business Ireland World Sport Weather

Navigation (Home)News News Features The Market Technology Media & Marketing Comment & Analysis Computers In Business Profile Property Motoring Agenda Letters

People In Business Done Deal Budget Forum Events / Conferences Company Reports Tools Crossword Search the archives Newsletter IMODE RSS

Text-Only

Green Business: Thriving in a competitive market
Sunday, February 08, 2009
Premium Power is a leading provider of energy-monitoring and -management systems, power quality solutions and critical load management systems. Established in 2001, it supplies, integrates and supports enterprise energy management systems for utility, industrial, commercial and IT customers. Premium Power provides integrated, enterprise wide and web-enabled solutions, and supports revenue certified metering, power quality management, load control and energy monitoring for all utilities.

‘‘Premium Power has the expertise to identify and manage mission-critical electrical engineering issues for utility, industrial, commercial and IT systems,” said Colin Wright, project director of Premium Power. ‘‘We can analyse difficult engineering problems, then design, specify and project manage cost-effective solutions.

We have expertise in all of the technologies and tools required to improve the reliability and uptime of electrical power systems and supply.” Premium Power offers its customers expert knowledge and comprehensive support for the systems, products and services it supplies.

‘‘Our engineers and IT specialists have excellent project management skills and a track record in completing large projects successfully,” said Wright. ‘‘We can also provide advanced training on mission critical electrical system and energy management issues.”

Among its portfolio of products and services, Premium Power offers enterprise-wide energy management systems, electrical monitoring systems designed for energy management and mission-critical applications, and portable power analysis for customers who wish to use such units in place of permanently installed instruments.

Premium Power also offers SynuSoft Energy System (ES), an energy-monitoring and targeting system that also provides documentation control to support the IS393 standard.

‘‘SynuSoftES is a web-based rich client application solution used on company intranets,” Wright said. ‘‘It monitors energy consumption and acts as a central repository for enterprise energy bills and energy related data. ES allows for the data gathered from metering systems to be organised into a hierarchical structure that is easily understood by users.

‘‘By making the enterprise energy cost and consumption data transparent, we can profile the data and therefore assign targets on the process cost, emissions and consumption data.

‘‘Managers want to know what each process uses in order to have the ability to track and budget for future cost and to identify possible savings. Energy management systems are now capable of giving a breakdown of energy consumption per unit of production, or per throughput for commercial and IT processes.”

For further information, see www.premiumpower.ie or tel: 01-8105032

Corporate responsibility is crucial

This week, Helena Hurley, corporate responsibility consultant with Business in the Community Ireland (BITCI), the country’s leading organisation dedicated to corporate social responsibility (CSR), called on Irish businesses not to allow the recession to cloud their responsibility towards climate change.

BITCI has over 55 of Ireland’s leading companies as members, including, Glanbia, Intel, IBM, Abbott, Diageo, Hibernian Aviva, Microsoft, Irish Life & Permanent, Vodafone and Pfizer.

‘‘A key aspect of any CSR strategy is identifying, measuring and managing a company’s impact on the environment,” Hurley said. ‘‘Business in the Community Ireland works with member companies, providing advice and guidance on the development of environmental policy and strategy to assist members to manage and improve their environmental performance.

‘‘While fostering greater environmental awareness and enabling behavioural change in the workplace improves the environmental performance of our member companies, it can also encourage employees to reduce their environmental impacts in the home, which is a really positive benefit for the environment.”

In the current economic environment, many questions are being asked about corporate responsibility.

‘‘The economic crisis cannot be allowed draw our focus away from the responsibility business practice has with regard to climate change,” Hurley said. ‘‘Business has a critical role to play in the fight against climate change. Even in times of financial turmoil, climate change, perhaps more than ever, is a strategic issue for companies.

In October 2008,Business in the Community Ireland convened Ireland’s first CEO Forum on Climate Change, which was attended by over 80 of Ireland’s chief executives and senior executives. As a key outcome of the forum, BITCI is producing a report later this spring, which will highlight the key issues and challenges facing business in Ireland.

For further information on Business in the Community Ireland, visit www.bitc.ie or tel: 01-8747232

WED has the wind in its sales Limerick-based Wind Energy Direct (WED) is negotiating with a number of large energy users with regard to installing on-site wind turbines.

‘‘Energy costs have hit companies’ competitiveness, and this is driving the move towards the onsite wind model which breaks the link with energy inflation,” said Dominic Costello, managing director of Wind Energy Direct.

WED’s model promises to deliver day one cost savings of at least 10 per cent and up to 25 per cent within five years. It aims to create and maintain an increasing discount to future energy prices from the grid.

WED hopes to have 15 turbines in place across Ireland within the next four years and expects the first turbine to be operational this year. WED will manage, finance, develop and maintain the projects. This turnkey solution is delivered without any capital outlay from the customer. ‘‘We install wind turbines on customers’ sites,” Costello said.

‘‘The electricity produced is then sold to our customers at a significant discount compared to their retail rate. It makes excellent financial sense, with the potential to deliver substantial savings, with no capital outlay.

‘‘Suitable organisations are likely to have significant 24/7 base electricity loads such as: factories, quarries, hospitals, data centres, and companies with large refrigeration/ heat requirements.”

Costello believes that many large energy users occupy sites that could ideally accommodate a wind turbine.

‘‘Our engineers assess each site carefully, to ensure a wind turbine is the right choice for the particular location,” he said. ‘‘After installation, we maintain and operate the turbine as part of our all inclusive service. It couldn’t be simpler.

‘‘Our team has extensive experience in the renewable energy industry, and will finance and manage each project from start to finish, so there’s no financial risk, no capital outlay and no maintenance costs.

‘‘Wind turbine technology will provide a real alternative that will not only deliver significant cost savings but will also help reduce a company’s carbon footprint. As part of the agreement, we pay for, install and maintain the turbine for the company and then sell surplus power generated to the national grid.

‘‘A medium-sized industrial energy user can save up to €1 million within five years of installation of a turbine on site.” Check out the energy saving calculator which is available online at www.windenergydirect.ie to find out just how much your company could save

Building to create a greener future

Founded in Dublin in 2005, Delap andWaller EcoCo (DW EcoCo) is an award-winning consultancy that offers integrated sustainable design solutions for the built environment. DW EcoCo is a joint venture company formed by EcoCo and Delap and Waller Services Engineers, born from a shared commitment to the belief that a truly sustainable building requires an integrated approach to the building design and its services.

‘‘Our original business plan defined the company as ‘a creative continuous learning environment’, and we have lived up to this aim by allocating time for research, employing a full-time researcher, supporting staff attendance at conferences and allowing for flexible working for staff who want to pursue postgraduate studies,” said Jay Stuart, managing director of DWEcoCo. I n 20 08, DW EcoCo achieved ISO 9001 certification and membership in the Environmental and Sustainable Construction Association (EASCA).

‘‘Both these achievements speak volumes for our ability to provide a reliable, high quality service,” Stuart said. ‘‘Uniquely, our ISO 9001 policy manual incorporates our commitment to the principles of the ‘Natural Step’ framework in all our project work.”

The Natural Step is a proven, scientifically robust methodology for assessing sustainable options that helps organisations make pragmatic decisions to move toward a defined sustainable future.

‘‘Through this approach to work, our expertise has developed from the original premise of integrating ‘building design and services’ to include innovative solutions for energy efficient building strategies and designs,” Stuart said.

‘‘These include, innovative passive ventilation systems, ecological wastewater treatment with integrated landscaping, water and planting designs, low carbon construction methods, passive building design and analysis, renewable energy systems, biochar for energy, soil improvement and carbon sequestration, design for disassembly, energy auditing, urban design masterplanning and preparing sustainable policy papers for public bodies. ‘‘Our work is both technical and educational. We are asked to provide technical solutions and to educate clients and design teams on the sustainable potential and design options for each project.”

In recognition of its leading edge position in the area of sustainable design, the directors and consultants working for DWEcoCo have become popular speakers at seminars and conferences, where they share their views and experiences on sustainable awareness and knowledge of the industry.

Ultimately though, DW Eco Co measures its success by the quality of the projects to which they are invited to contribute, the quality of its clients and the end results. ‘‘We work for local authorities, the main large contractors and developers and the most prominent architectural practices in the country,” Stuart said.

‘‘We believe we have been successful in achieving our sustainable objectives and as such have contributed to the greening of the building industry in Ireland.”

The high-profile awards won to date by this still relatively new practice include the Green Organisation Award 2008/Irish Green Awards Competition, SEI Sustainable Building Award 2007 for the Sisters of Mercy residence and Mater Orchard, Mater Hospital, Dublin.

DW EcoCo have also been members of design teams that have won several competitions for new buildings that are currently under construction including the Department of the Environment offices in Wexford, the Department of Defence Headquarters in Newbridge, the Fatima Mansions redevelopment in central Dublin and the Greystones Harbour development. Eager to point out that DW EcoCo is serious about its environmental approach, Stuart said: ‘‘Our own office is in a naturally ventilated converted school building. We use recycled paper and we recycle our paper. We have indoor plants beside every workstation, specially selected for their ability to improve air quality, and, most of our staff use bicycles to get to work.”

Click here for Sunday Business Post stories before this date