Herlihy's Centra Fermoy: Climate Action for the Community
Herlihy's climate ambition is to reduce energy costs, fossil fuel usage and greenhouse gas emissions in their own store and in their local community as well.
Key Achievements
Giving Back to the Community
Herlihy's donated €43,000 towards energy upgrades at Fermoy Rowing Club and Fermoy Community Centre.
Upgraded Refrigeration Units
Installed new energy efficient refrigeration units.
The Project
Herlihy's Centra teamed up with the SEAI Communities Grant programme to implement energy upgrades in their HQ store in Fermoy, Co Cork and support two local community organisations to upgrade their buildings to a high stand of energy efficiency.
The SEAI Community Grant is the government's national retrofit initiative and supports businesses, homeowners and local community services who are looking to deliver energy savings. SEAI encourage companies like Musgraves, which Centra and SuperValu are part of, to include a strong community benefit as part of their grant application and donate a percentage of their grant to worthwhile causes in the community.
In 2018 Herlihy's set about identifying energy upgrades opportunities within their own store as well as in their local community in Fermoy. They were already familiar with the process as they had participated in the Communities Grant programme in 2015 when they upgraded the stores lighting to energy efficient LEDs. This time the focus was on refrigeration andinstalling all new energy efficient refrigeration units.This measure alone enabled them to reduce energy consumption leading to lower energy bills and reduce carbon emissions by 80,170 KgCo2, highlighting their passion for greener and more sustainable operating practices.
Giving back to the community
As well as implementing energy upgrades within their own store, Herlihy's pinpointed community buildings in their area to donate funds towards the upgrading of their facilities. The two community groups selected were Fermoy Rowing Club and Fermoy Community Centre and together they received in excess of €43,000 towards their own energy upgrades. Without the support of Herlihy's the two community groups would not have had sufficient funding to implement the upgrades.
Both of these community buildings installed new LED lighting, resulting in Fermoy Rowing Club saving €1,104.30 year on year from their energy bill and Fermoy Community Centre generating energy savings of €5,623.95 per year - the combined savings is the equivalent to powering over six houses for a year.
Herlihy's investment not only put money back into the pockets of these very worthwhile causes, but due to their reduced yearly energy bills, the rowing club and the community centre were able to improve their facilities, making them more comfortable for their members and visitors.
The community grant project was a huge undertaking of both time and capital, but one, which Herlihy's Centra feel extremely passionate about, especially as they see the difference it makes in their local community.
"Here at Herlihy's Centra Fermoy we have an ongoing commitment to creating a sense of togetherness and energy reduction within our local communities. We firmly believe that this should begin in our own store. We hope that our contribution and that of SEAI, who we are delighted to partner with, helps Fermoy Rowing Club and Fermoy Community Centre to generate much-needed savings, that will allow them to continue their fantastic work." Brian Herlihy, Herlihy's store owner says.
SEAI Communities
Herlihy's Centra Fermoy were one of 13 Centra and SuperValu stores across Ireland who rolled out the 'Building Sustainable Communities' initiative. Musgraves donated in excess of €325,000 to national charities, local clubs and community groups, resulting in a total savings of almost €32,000 on yearly energy bills across the chosen organisations.