Kingspan has beaten its target of using renewable energy to meet at least half of its aggregate energy use by 2016, keeping it on track to become a net zero energy company by 2020.
The building materials company used on-site generation and procurement of renewable energy to meet 57% of its total global energy use last year.
The company’s own generation from solar, wind and biomass technologies jumped to 32.2 GWh, an increase of over 387% from 2012, meeting 7.6% of Kingspan’s total energy use.
Where renewable energy can’t be produced on-site, Kingspan has procured it from full-certified sources.
In 2016 all the electricity used at manufacturing sites in North America was procured from certified renewable sources while globally in 2016, the group used 164.2 GWh of renewable electricity, almost a six- fold increase from 2011.
The company’s achievement was also achieved through a comprehensive energy efficiency programme which has seen Kingspan’s overall lighting and heat costs reduced by over 30%. Its carbon intensity levels have also decreased four-fold.
Gene Murtagh, chief executive of Kingspan CEO, said: “We are very pleased to have exceeded our targets on our path to operating as a Net Zero Energy company by 2020, hitting 57% renewable energy in 2016.
“In the five years since launching this initiative we have seen multiple benefits including reductions in costs, less reliance on fossil fuels and demonstrating the business case for our systems and solutions.”
Kingspan is calling on other members of the industry to take action against climate change, stating that currently the building sector contributes 30% of global annual greenhouse gas emissions and accounts for 40% of global energy consumption.
“Without more action from the corporate sector, greenhouse gas emissions will continue to rise and the impact of global warming will become a bigger threat for future generations,” Murtagh added.
