The fifth Sustainable Energy Awards were announced in Kilkenny yesterday (February 21st) and it was revealed that small businesses would be eligible for the award this year.

Last year, over 100 participating companies demonstrated energy savings in excess of Euro 23 million and it is expected that more will enter the event this year.

According to the SEI, rising energy costs and the challenge of tackling climate change have encouraged more firms to look at ways to reduce their carbon footprint and implement energy efficiency programmes.

“The diversity of the businesses entering the Awards each year continues to expand and with it so too do levels of innovation, resourcefulness and fresh thinking being demonstrated by the entrants,” explained Brian Motherway, head of industry at the SEI.

“This is very exciting to see because it shows that even in smaller businesses where dedicated energy management resources might not exist businesses are aggressively pursuing ways of improving levels of energy efficiency.”

Nominations for the award must be submitted by April 25th and the winner of the prize will be revealed in November.

James Cooper

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