Annual report & review 2006 - Shopic.com

Responsibility
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In Great Britain we are supporting the Waste & Resources
Action Programme (WRAP), which aims to promote
sustainable waste management practices by increasing
resource efficiency and reducing carbon emissions.
Through our partnership with WRAP, we have signed
up to the Courtauld commitment which focuses on
the development of new packaging solutions and
technologies, so that less packaging waste ends up in the
household bin.
Energy consumption
Energy consumption, particularly electricity use, presents
us with another significant challenge in terms of lowering
emissions of CO 2
and other greenhouse gases.
At a time of rapidly rising energy
costs, coupled with concern
regarding global supply, our focus
on energy use also makes sound
economic and business sense.
During 2004 and 2005, we completed an energy
audit of all of our facilities in the Republic of Ireland
and Northern Ireland, and as a result have introduced
a co‐ordinated energy monitoring and targeting
programme designed to improve energy efficiency and
lower consumption. We have also initiated numerous
capital projects to update older equipment with modern
energy efficient alternatives and we have sought to
increase the use of renewable energy systems. A good
example of this in action is the approach we’ve taken
to the design and build of our new head office in Cork,
which won Sustainable Energy Ireland’s Renewable Energy
Project award in 2006 (see box right). This will save
more than 250 tonnes of CO 2
annually from this one
building alone, whilst our recent Green Electricity deal
with Energia will effectively mean that all of our Republic
of Ireland warehouse and office facilities will be carbon
neutral from the beginning of 2007, saving more than
13,500 tonnes of carbon dioxide.
We are currently auditing energy use in our premises
in Great Britain and Spain with a view to extending best
practice in these markets.
‡
2006 Sustainable Energy Award
In 2006, we won Sustainable Energy Ireland’s
Renewable Energy Project award for ‘demonstrating
that, with proper enlightened planning, it is possible
to develop more sustainable buildings incorporating
renewable energy systems’.
At an early stage we decided that our new head office
in Cork should be as sustainable as practicable,
and incorporate both passive energy conservation
measures and energy efficiency technology to
minimise energy demand and greenhouse gas
emissions. Key features of the final design include:
n alignment of the building to reduce the impact of
the prevailing South-Westerly wind;
n increased insulation thicknesses and high
specification double glazing to reduce solar gain
in summer and heat losses in winter;
n internal layout of the building and the use of a
central atrium to maximise the use of ambient
daylight in offices and public spaces;
n a geothermal heating, ventilation and
air‐conditioning system, which accesses
renewable solar energy contained in ground
water;
n a solar/thermal water heating system,
incorporating roof-mounted panels to provide all
of the building’s hot water needs;
n a smart lighting system incorporating occupancy
and light level sensors;
n a building energy management system to
optimise all energy usage and operational
performance.
Early indications are that the building is performing
well ahead of expectations and consuming
approximately 50 per cent of its predicted energy
demand and a quarter of the energy that a
comparable building of its size would use.
Musgrave Group Plc Annual Report & Review 2006