Kingspan Water & Energy in Glenamaddy, County Galway, is the first manufacturing plant within Kingspan’s global network of 166 manufacturing sites to have its manufacturing process completely powered by renewable energy, following the installation of BioLPG.

Following the July installation of BioLPG, the Glenamaddy site is now 100% powered by renewable energy, closely followed by Kingspan’s manufacturing plant in Aston Clinton, England, which has also reached this milestone.

The move to renewable energy has been a gradual transition over the past five years, following the introduction of renewable electricity to Kingspan Glenamaddy in 2016. This accomplishment is aligned to the Group’s ground-breaking Planet Passionate sustainability objectives and helps Kingspan to move closer to its ambitious goal of achieving net zero carbon manufacturing* across the business by 2030.

Kingspan Glenamaddy manufactures storage solutions for numerous sectors including agri, water, domestic as well as specialist custom tanks as part of Kingspan’s Water & Energy Division. Peter Flanagan, Site Manager at Kingspan Water & Energy in Glenamaddy comments: “Over the past five years, the introduction of renewable electricity to our Glenamaddy site has delivered a significant reduction in our carbon emissions.

“This was the first step in transitioning the plant to meet its Planet Passionate targets, and we’re both proud and delighted that the introduction of another renewable and sustainable energy resource – BioLPG – has enabled us to reach our goal of the plant being powered by 100% renewable energy.”

Kingspan Glenamaddy also ensures that no waste goes to landfill and is now ‘zero waste to landfill’ and the business has recently installed rainwater harvesting on site as it looks to further integrate sustainable technologies throughout the Kingspan base in Glenamaddy. “Our rainwater harvesting tank is expected to displace the use of 100,000 litres of mains water per annum, reducing pressure on the local drainage systems and reusing a precious resource,” adds Peter Flanagan.

In 2020, Kingspan reduced overall emissions from operations by 5.2%. Speaking about the business’s 10-year sustainability programme, Planet Passionate, Aidan Roberts from Kingspan Water & Energy explains: “Our commitment to sustainability is embedded across the Group by our Planet Passionate programme. Our goal is to reduce carbon (CO₂e) emissions to as close to zero as technically possible in manufacturing, together with halving carbon intensity in our primary supply chain.

“By 2030, we have committed to net zero carbon manufacturing, and to reach this goal, it will require the transformation of Kingspan’s processes across its sites.

“The transition of our sites in Glenamaddy, County Galway and Aston Clinton, Buckinghamshire, to being entirely powered by renewable energy is an illustration of our commitment in reaching these goals and we’re delighted that these sites will be the first of many to be powered solely by renewable energy.”

Kingspan’s Planet Passionate sustainability programme is made up of 12 ambitious targets, addressing the impact of Kingspan’s business operations and manufacturing on four key areas of energy, carbon, circularity and water.

*Kingspan’s Net Zero Energy definition: Achieving Net Zero Energy means matching 100% of our operational energy use through the use of renewable energy and the purchase of renewable energy certificates to offset any remaining non-renewable energy use.

• Kingspan leadership on sustainability issues was also recognised in 2020 through its position on the Climate “A” List for a fourth year by CDP, the international not-for-profit that measures the environmental impact of thousands of companies around the world.  The company was also recognised by CDP as a Supplier Engagement Leader in 2020, placing them among the top 7% of the 8,400 companies assessed for supplier engagement on climate change².
• During 2020, Kingspan’s new LIFECycle product circularity framework was launched, which will be used to both evaluate and drive circularity in Kingspan’s products. Using LIFECycle, Kingspan is co-creating new concept products with suppliers with plans to launch pioneering circular insulation solutions in the near future.