energystore unveils plan to invest £2million to reach net zero by 2028

Headquartered in Holywood, energystore designs, manufactures and installs insulation systems for floors, walls and roofs and is the leading supplier of high-performance EPS (expanded polystyrene) bead insulation products to the UK and Irish construction industry.

The company has launched its “Emission-less Mission” – a strategy which will see energystore invest £2 million in measures that will help it reach net zero across its Scope 1 (direct) and Scope 2 (indirect) emissions within five years by removing 1,346 tonnes of carbon across fuel, electricity and vehicle use.

energystore has already committed £700,000 to reducing its carbon footprint by lowering energy consumption, eliminating packaging waste and manufacturing at sites close to its customers to cut emissions from logistics.

Connor McCandless, group sales and innovation director of energystore, said: “This is a significant commitment for a manufacturing company, but it is one that fits with our wider mission to develop and install insulation products that create a cleaner environment and improve energy efficiency wherever they are used.

“The construction industry has a massive role to play in addressing the climate crisis and a responsibility to take action. The average house produces around 8.1 tonnes of CO2 annually, with 39,000 tonnes of CO2 produced while a home is being built. energystore’s products are introduced into over 800 homes every week, so we’re already playing a part in helping reduce those numbers.

“Our goal now is to make rapid progress to reduce our own carbon footprint every day. For example, a recent machine upgrade at our Preston site resulted in a 60% reduction in fuel needed to manufacture products and we’ve identified similar potential upgrades at other sites. We are acting now, not pushing net zero out into the distant future and we will go even further beyond 2028.”

The firm has pledged to reach net zero by 2028 by implementing a number of new initiatives, including increasing the use of renewables like solar power and operating wastewater recovery systems at its sites.

The also plan to switch to 100% green electricity across the business, converting production sites away from gas and oil to electric by 2027, replacing machinery to make the manufacturing process more efficient, while making all company cars fully electric by 2027.

Other initiatives features are converting its commercial fleet to run on fossil free Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil (HVO) by 2027, continuing its tree planting initiative with Northern Ireland Forest School, which has seen it plant over 6,000 trees in the last three years and introducing a new end of life scheme for old EPS products.

energystore has almost 50 years of experience in the insulation business and the company is committed to creating warmer homes by improving the standard of cavity wall insulation in all properties.

Earlier this year energystore introduced the energystore+ product range, which uses sustainable biofuels at the raw material stage, a low-carbon alternative to fossil fuels that is independently verified by RedCert2, significantly reducing the amount of carbon emissions in residential or commercial buildings.

This innovative UK-industry first product range has been recognised by the Energy Company Obligation (ECO4), a UK government energy-efficiency scheme, designed to tackle fuel poverty and help reduce carbon emissions. This means the product range and all emissions associated with making it are carbon neutral.

energystore operates from six locations across Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland and Great Britain, employing 90 people and supplies homeowners and commercial customers, including construction companies, new build developers and housing associations.