Acting up for change

COP26 has called time on procrastinating on climate change. Emma Deighan looks at where Northern Ireland sits in the drive to net zero: from Stormont to the factory floor.

The world’s leaders and ministers gathered in Glasgow to discuss mobilising funding for rapid, large-scale climate action at COP26.

Pledges and projected funding figures were issued at what was the most pressing commitment to tackling rising temperatures, green innovation, landmark deforestation and more.

In theory, the promises were positive, but a tangible effort through action must be made to realise the goals laid out at the historic summit.

First Minister Paul Givan said: “The scale of the challenge is such that everyone across society has their part to play. Governments, businesses and individuals must all shoulder their responsibilities to create a cleaner environment…”

He said the Executive’s Green Growth Strategy for NI, which sets out the long-term vision for tackling the climate crisis, will be key in Northern Ireland playing its part.

It has been developed by all Ministers and government departments and in collaboration with external stakeholders – from local government, the private sector, voluntary and community sectors and others.

In the strategy, 10 ‘Green Growth Promises’ are laid out. This includes laws for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, the development of a climate action plan, the creation of green jobs, the reduction of emissions in Government buildings and vehicles and an all-Ireland approach to emission reduction, as well as a solid system for tracking of the latter promises.

Meanwhile two competing climate change bills are being considered at Stormont – one aims for net zero carbon emissions by 2045 and completed the first stage in the Assembly in March. The second bill completed its first stage in July, and calls for an 82% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

The stalling of passing one specific bill makes NI the only region in the UK without a clear-cut climate change plan. In spite of that, many businesses here have already taken the lead in setting their own targets.

Translink is one of those firms having recently pledged £30m in Foyle Metro in Derry.

The cash injection will see the city’s entire urban fleet replaced with electric buses making it one of the first cities in the UK and Ireland to have a fully zero-emission bus fleet when all the vehicles go into passenger service in 2023.

Chief Financial Officer at Translink, Patrick Anderson, told Ambition the transport organisation plans to be fully carbon neutral by 2040 in Belfast and 2030 in Derry.

“We know people want that from a transport provider,” he said.

Hydrogen buses, which are the work of Ballymena-based

Wrightbus, will feature heavily in those efforts.

Wrightbus showcased its hydrogen vehicles at COP26, winning contracts including a lucrative deal with England-based transport firm Go-Ahead to supply 20 of its hydrogen fuelled single decker buses.

Meanwhile Wrightbus boss Jo Bamford launched a £200million hydrogen investment fund, the HYCAP fund, part of Vedra Partners, earlier this year.

At the time, he said: “We are hardworking people and we need to get Northern Ireland into that space. The reason we are doing this is to get hydrogen production embedded in the economy and Northern Ireland will certainly be a place we will be looking to put money into but we need the Executive to be on-board.”

Northern Ireland’s banks and lenders are also tweaking their lending power in sync with green drives, with many now offering mortgages targeting buyers of more energy efficient homes. This includes Danske Bank, Ulster Bank, Santander and AIB.

And to support the conversion to Electric Vehicles, Maxol has a list of new forecourts in the pipeline here that will accommodate “a real need for access points” said Maxol CEO Brian Donaldson.

Meanwhile the world’s biggest soft drinks brand, Coca-Cola, here in NI, has been investing millions of pounds to set industry standards.

Clive Wilson, supply chain director at Coca-Cola HBC Ireland and NI, says the household name has more than an obligation to give back to the community. Among its achievements is its new keel clip technology investment which sees its multipacks of cans come with less packaging.

“That’s eliminated 600 tonnes of plastics from the supply chain,” Clive revealed.

“We are now looking, as a group, to the next phase on how to reduce plastics on our PET packaging and that’s where our area of development will be in the immediate future, not products but the next stage of our sustainability journey.”

The company has a “Circular Packaging Vision 2030” which includes several commitments including all packaging being 100% recyclable by 2025 and all PET bottles to contain 50% recycled content by 2025.

In the fuel sector, Balcas, the major sawmill and carbon neutral energy provider, has written its own macro green story. Its initiatives are far-reaching.

CEO Brian Murphy said: “Balcas is a true example of a manufacturing contributor to the circular economy. Every log it uses originates from a sustainably managed forest. The forests throughout Britain and Ireland not only capture carbon but sustain rural jobs and provide leisure and social outlets for our citizens.”

Balcas generates twice as much electricity as it consumes too. The heat left over from the generation process is used in Balcas’ timber drying kilns and to dry more of the left over fibre to convert into wood pellets.

Balcas pellets are currently used to heat hospitals, care homes, distilleries, supermarkets, schools, hotels, office buildings, National Trust properties, farms, and private homes. And every year Balcas’ wood pellets displace the equivalent of 100m litres of oil. The planting process then restarts the green Balcas cycle.

“What we’re trying to do now is help others do the same,” said Brian, who explained wood pellets are a reliable part of the answer to the decarbonisation of heat. And while he is aware of the reputational issues borne from the botched RHI scheme, the benefits of wood pellets as an energy source far outweigh the notoriety of that scheme, he added.

Materials processing equipment manufacturer for the quarry and mining industry, CDE, is telling its green story too. Marc Jennings, CEO at the firm said: “We will focus our efforts on key strategic growth markets, on continuing to develop and deliver sustainable solutions with customers, and on the development of talent coming through our industry. CDE can create multiple solutions in this area; that’s where new growth is and where new markets lie.”

And construction firm GRAHAM, has set its own green targets ahead of the UK’s 2050 deadline. John McDonald, managing director of the company’s investment projects said: “We have established four core pillars which form the basis of our CSR strategy; the environment, communities, people and ambition. Reducing our carbon emissions as part of our environment pillar is our number one priority and we are working hard to remove carbon from our business. We project a 50% reduction by 2030.”

To support its ambition, the company has rolled out “carbon literacy training” to help its staff make informed decisions on everything from selecting materials to cost impacts.

Perhaps one of the most ambitious climate change drives here is Harland and Wolff owners, Infrastrata which has a goal to develop an underground gas storage facility in Islandmagee.

John Wood, CEO at Infrastrata told Ambition Magazine that H&W will provide the metal fabrication for the project, saving the company millions of pounds but allowing the shipyard to reach a new potential, possibly drawing in new clients outside of the marine sector.

The facility could be the focus of hydrogen storage when infrastructure is ready to convert.

And Phoenix Gas is ready and waiting for that conversion, Jonathan Martindale, director of business development said.

“When greening up the gas network you think what else can be put into that infrastructure instead of natural gas and the two options are biomethane and hydrogen.

He said blue hydrogen would “green up NI’s gas network”.

“It’s the most abundant molecule in the universe and always attaches itself to something. The gas we use has the chemical composition CH4 and one option is to take the hydrogen out of that, strip the carbon out of it by using sequestration and when that’s burnt by the end user there is no carbon produced.

“There is a different organisation looking at that. Then there is the option to use Green Hydrogen, which is more environmentally friendly. Water is one option – split the H2O and sell the oxygen for other uses, or if you use the excess energy created by wind turbines when no end user needs it – that can be another solution.”

The opportunity for Phoenix to be part of the green revolution is huge and Jonathan says that while big players across the water are also looking at solutions, he adds: “I think the big momentum is the realisation that Northern Ireland can take ownership of this. Instead of waiting we can be pioneers in this.”