As part of the Murphy @75 Strategy the company has committed to a sustainability strategy – including social value and climate action. Murphy is committed to playing its part in protecting the planet for future generations through climate action.

From its electric vehicle fleet, wide range of emission-free and low-emission construction equipment and compact machines, to the repurposing of old slings, and the recycling of aggregates, Murphy has been making significant gains on the road to sustainability.

How

Over the last decade, Murphy has consistently worked to decrease carbon emissions associated with fuel and electricity by:

• Upgrading plant and equipment to be greener and more efficient.
• Monitoring and adapting vehicle usage – fitting all commercial vehicles with trackers, new vehicles with speed restrictors and investing in more efficient vehicles.
• Investing in bespoke energy-efficient eco-cabins for site accommodation.
• Undertaking major refurbishments in its offices.

Green Plant and Vehicles

Murphy introduced its first electric vehicles in 2019 and installed electric charging points at its Newbridge office and selected projects to encourage more employees to drive electric vehicles.

The company has also purchased a number of Hybrid Excavators, which can reduce carbon footprint and fuel consumption by 30% and replaced its entire HGV Fleet with Euro 6 Engines, including the first Mitsubishi Eco Hybrid Pick-up Truck last year.

All Murphy Ireland’s 250 CFM Compressors are now Stage 5 and all Generators are Stage 3A low emissions super silent generators, while the company awaits Tier 5 models to be released.

Murphy Ireland Managing Director, John G. Murphy, said: “We are committed to protecting our people, the environment, and the communities in which we operate. Murphy Ireland is proud to champion construction methods and practices that put sustainability and the environment first and I encourage all of those working in construction to work and plan future projects with climate action in mind.”

Project Innovation: Waste To Wealth

• On the recent R445 Newbridge Orbital Relief Road project for Kildare County Council and LIDL Ireland, several innovative and green methods were used. During the excavation of the existing R445 carriageway, large quantities of aggregates were excavated. These aggregates were recycled, tested and reused onsite as class 600 material. Careful programme management ensured that there was no resulting programme clash, demonstrating how environmental concerns can be successfully addressed without losing valuable time on projects. All other excavated materials were reused onsite to form embankments and berms, this saved many hundreds of vehicle movements to and from the project.
• In July 2020 the client requested repair works on Sequence Batch Reactors in Skerries to be carried out. Murphy Ireland used a new mobile separator that had come on the market for wastewater, to separate the water from the waste and reduce the quantity of waste being sent from site. Using this process instead of the old method, reduced waste from the job from 400t to 19.5t. Other advantages were: less vehicle movements and lower carbon footprint.
• At Murphy’s site in Ballough the company is diverting 100% of its waste away from landfill.
• In 2020, Murphy partnered with Lynn Haughton of the Upcycle Movement to repurpose old industrial slings into furniture for its Newbridge offices.

Biodiversity

Murphy is also committed to protecting Biodiversity and striving for net positive impact on Biodiversity across all company activities. It is a supporter of the All Ireland Pollinator Plan and has recently become a founding member of the Irish Business Biodiversity Platform.

The company employs a range of measures to enhance biodiversity including initiatives such as installing wildlife corridors/buffer strips, planting wildflower areas for bees and insects, protecting streams and aquatic life during works, safeguarding trees and hedgerows from design to works, and enhancing reinstated areas with native plant and sapling mixes.

Biodiversity is also being championed by Murphy employees – some of whom did a beekeeping course to tend to its beehives in Newbridge. More hives are also being installed on a number of its projects.

One small, but powerful change made as a Group has been to change its default search engine on all internet browsers to ‘Ecosia’. Each time a search is made using the Ecosia search engine, money is donated to reforestation and conservation, resulting in approximately 45,000 trees planted each year.