How some simple changes saved Cork Airport a cool €4 million since 2009

Cork Airport is leading the way when it comes to energy savings.
Management at the travel hub, the second busiest in the country, has revealed that a cumulative energy cost saving of approximately €3.9m has been made since 2009.
A series of actions resulting from a long-standing partnership between Irish-owned climate technology company ActionZero and Cork Airport have helped to reduce the airport’s carbon emissions by more than half in the decade up to 2019.
The airport’s carbon emissions were reduced by 56 percent, or 4,003 metric tonnes, which equates to taking more than 800 cars off the road for a year. Cork Airport has also successfully achieved ‘Reduction’ status as part of the Airport Carbon Accreditation programme every year since 2011 and is working towards net-zero emissions.
The savings were achieved thanks to a comprehensive carbon management plan that promotes energy efficiency throughout the campus and supports other scheduled energy reduction, water conservation, and waste reduction initiatives.
This year, Cork Airport was ranked as the best performing commercial state body in Ireland for energy savings by the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland.
“We’re fully committed to reducing our carbon footprint and our impact on the environment,” said Roy O’Driscoll, Acting Managing Director at Cork Airport.
“We’re delighted to work with ActionZero (formerly Energy Services) to achieve our 2030 energy reduction targets as set out by the Climate Action Plan. Together, I am confident that we can reduce our greenhouse gas emissions by 50 percent compared to 2018.”