The overall winner was St. Catherine's Senior Girls' School in Cabra, who partnered with their catering company, Glanmore Foods to consider how the business could improve energy efficiency and reduce its carbon footprint.
The young students, aged between 7 and 12, from St. Catherine's Senior Girls' School conducted a site visit and energy efficiency audit at Glanmore Foods and proposed a range energy-efficient suggestions including: turning appliances off standby, changing to CFL light bulbs where possible, turning machines off when not in use in the factory and encouraging staff to walk and cycle to work.
Furthermore, the girls calculated that the school used 15,170 plastic water bottles each year, which they felt was wasteful, so together with Glanmore Foods they considered some energy efficient alternatives and are now fitting water filters in each classroom. This has resulted in a reduction of bottle usage to 189 per year, leading to a massive energy saving as the bottles no longer need to be produced or recycled. In recognition of their creative solutions, the school was awarded the top prize of €4,000 by Susan Kinane, Business Markets Manager, ESB Electric Ireland.
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An Taisce Green-Schools Energy Project sponsored by ESB Electric Ireland is a schools initiative that educates young people about the benefits of energy efficiency. The project is targeted at national schools that are already in the An Taisce's "Green Flag" programme and brings local businesses and schools together to demonstrate the practical application of energy efficiency.
This year saw schools from all over the country partnering with local business, such as Colgage Palmolive and the Nenagh Guardian, to develop projects illustrating the practical application of energy efficiency.
Speaking at the prize giving ceremony Susan Kinane of ESB Electric Ireland said: "ESB Electric Ireland is committed to working with businesses and households to improve energy efficiency and reduce waste. The ease with which the companies were able to adapt to the children’s energy conservation suggestions demonstrates how simple improving a business's energy usage can be. Each year we see that young people have the creativity and determination to seek solutions that will enhance how we consume electricity. I would like to congratulate all of the students that submitted projects this year; the standard was very high and choosing an overall winner was a difficult task."
(CD/BMcC)
