Why an SSE Airtricity energy audit was a game changer for Aran Woollen Mills on its net-zero journey
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The determination of Máire Hughes and her husband Pádraig to find a way to give much-needed employment to local people — and bring premium heritage Aran products from “Westport to the world” — has been the driving force behind Aran Woollen Mills (owned by parent company Carraig Donn), which they founded in 1965. A true family endeavour, all 13 of the couple’s children have worked at various stages in the business, now run by two of their sons, Pat and Vincent Hughes.
Today the company is the design-led global leader in the manufacture of made-in-Ireland traditional and contemporary Aran knitwear. There are three manufacturing facilities in the west of Ireland. The companies employ more than 130 people in Mayo and nearly 600 nationwide across its network of retail stores, manufacturing plant, warehousing and online businesses.
As a business which has constantly developed and innovated over the years, embracing contemporary ideas and practices in design and manufacturing, they are particularly proud to remain dedicated to their sustainable methods. All Aran’s wool is 100 per cent natural and biodegradable. The same emphasis towards promoting sustainability can be seen across supply and distribution where they use trusted, responsible suppliers for sourcing their wool, and eco-friendly packaging has become paramount in their operations to minimise waste.
Sustainability is now at the top of every business agenda, amid new Government policies on decarbonisation (a commitment to reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 51 per cent by 2030), an incoming Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (which will introduce mandatory and verifiable sustainability reporting for corporates), rising energy costs and shifting customer and employee expectations.
“Last year, we decided to review our energy consumption in greater detail, to find out what was driving it and how we could reduce it,” explains Olan McCarthy, who heads the finance department in Aran. “We started looking at sustainability best practice and how we could kick-start our green energy drive. We discovered there was brilliant support available from SEAI (Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland). Firstly, we availed of their excellent online workshop — to assist in creating an energy action plan — and then we signed up for an independent, high quality energy audit. Our energy supplier, SSE Airtricity, contacted us to encourage us to apply to the SEAI for a €2,000 voucher towards the cost of an energy audit, McCarthy continues. “The application and approval process was quick and easy. We were accepted and the financial support provided by SEAI covered the entire cost.”
“There were three main steps in the process,” says Cliona Donnelly, finance analyst at Aran. “On request, we collated a review of the energy data at our Lodge Road site in Westport; organised a site visit with Daniel O’Dwyer — the lead energy engineer from SSE Airtricity, and then he produced an Energy Audit Report with his recommendations a few weeks later.” The learnings from the main office, she says, have also been used for the Belmullet office. “It’s fair to say the audit has been the catalyst that has accelerated the business on our net-zero journey.”
First up was the establishment of an in-house green team. “This is a way of developing interest and gathering ideas from across the company on ways we can implement behavioural and systematic change,” explains Donnelly. “People from all areas of the company (from HR, production, operations and sales), united by a passion, are all given the opportunity to be involved in a real way in something they believe in. The green team is also a platform to roll out training initiatives for energy efficiency, a lot of which are freely available on the SEAI energy academy. The green team is looking into water conservation and waste issues too. It is both challenging and exciting and our biweekly meetings help keep the momentum up,” she adds.
According to McCarthy, one of the first wins after the audit was taking up Daniel’s low-cost recommendation for installing light sensors and smart meters throughout the building. Daniel’s big recommendation – investing in solar energy – will be the game changer though, helping to significantly reduce their energy costs and accelerate their sustainability goals. “After discussions with Daniel, we had structural engineers carry out roof inspections on both sites to assess suitability for the Solar PV load. We expect that the solar will generate just over 40 per cent of our energy requirements across both sites,” says McCarthy.
To further action some of Daniel’s recommendations, the team engaged with Enterprise Ireland who helped them apply for a Climate Action Voucher (€1,800 for a total of two days of advisory support) and source a suitable partner to develop the company’s Sustainability/Decarbonisation Plan.
“This gave us a lot more visibility on our sustainability roadmap and a clear idea on where specifically we can use monitoring and reporting, to reduce costs and optimise resources more efficiently across the site,” says McCarthy. “An application has already been put in for the Green Start grant to further flesh out the plan and map the site for smart monitors by the end of the year. Our next goal is to avail of the Enterprise Ireland Green Plus grant (up to €50,000 or 50 per cent of the eligible project costs up to a maximum of €100,000) to help us increase environmental best practice within the company.”
The knock-on effect of an energised sustainability commitment within the business has been noticeable in unexpected ways. “We took the learnings from the energy audit into our 45 Carraig Donn retail outlets,” explains McCarthy. “We worked with our air conditioning company to train the staff on using new thermostats and how to really control settings. It was a great success. Our managers are now happy they have individual controls in their shops and we have seen a reduction in energy consumption in the shops.”
“The joy of it all is that everyone here has been behind the project from the very start,” says Donnelly, “from a commercial, sustainability and employee point of view. What started as a cost saving exercise with a side opportunity to up our green credentials has evolved into a genuine passion in the business for a committed net-zero plan which will hopefully future-proof us and generations to come.”