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EVERY time we use energy to heat our homes, run our cars, power our devices, not only is money leaving our

own pockets, but it is leaving our country. We import nearly all the energy we use, and that means we are dependent on others, and our energy use makes their

economies richer, not ours. What if we could keep that money in our local communities?

That’s exactly what communities all over Ireland are doing right now – taking money that used to leave the country to buy oil and gas, and spending it instead on local jobs

and technologies. They are upgrading homes and

community buildings so that they waste

less heat, they are updating equipment that costs much less to run, and they are making greater use of local, clean energy sources. All of this is saving them and Ireland

as a whole, huge amounts

of money. It’s not all about money.

Making Ireland more energy independent is also part of the solution to our greatest environmental challenge – climate change. When we use less energy, and use cleaner energy, we make a dent on Ireland’s emissions of harmful greenhouse gases, an investment in the lives of our children and grandchildren and the world they will inherit from us.

As the world increases its understanding of the science of climate change, the sense of how big the crisis is and how soon it will affect us , just grows. Our recent experience of severe storms reminds us of the devastating impact they can have, and our vulnerability to the weather. Are we ready to bequeath a world to the next generation where such events are more frequent and more severe? All of our discussions about energy – how we use it

and where it comes from – have to take place in the shadow of

this great environmental threat.

Irish people are taking

action. A quarter of a million homes have made use of our financial supports to upgrade their homes and reduce their bills, and we have also helped thousands of businesses do the same. Each time someone acts like this, they benefit and Ireland benefits. It means more local jobs and money staying within the local economy spent on upgrading buildings and services rather than paying for expensive imported fuels. In total, sustainable energy is keeping more than one billion euros in the Irish economy that would otherwise leave the country.

Ireland’s great strength is in its local communities, and they are answering the call to take back control of our energy. You will read in these pages about local community organisations, business and public bodies working together to reduce everyone’s bills. Whenever I visit these initiatives and meet the people driving these fantastic projects I am always struck by the local pride and spirit that makes them happen. When a

community group manages to bring together a range of people to work together to save energy. When a local business decides to spend the money it saves on funding upgrades local sport clubs and community buildings. When a community hall that used be almost too cold to use is now warm and cosy all year round. These are the real stories of what Irish communities are achieving.

The local stories you will read about here are just a few examples of what is possible when local people are willing to take on the challenge and achieve lasting benefits for the community. It is a great privilege for me and my colleagues to be able to help these communities achieve these dreams. For any community looking to take up this baton, we in SEAI can provide advice and support, and often funding too. Contact us to find out more by email at communities@seai.ie.

We all have a choice about Ireland’s future. We need energy to live our lives. Do we want it to be expensive and harmful to the environment? Do we want to be dependent on others for our needs? Led by local communities taking action for themselves we can create a new energy for Ireland.

‘GET Involved’ is an initiative designed to promote sustainability in local communities all over Ireland. The initiative was developed by 51 local newspapers through their representative associations — NNI Local and Local Ireland. The initiative includes a competition element and awards the projects judged to have made the most significant contribution to enhancing sustainability in their local area. Throughout this year, local newspapers, with the support of the SEAI, will lead and drive voluntary sustainability projects that will encourage citizens to come together to play a more pro-active and inclusive role in shaping the future of their

local area and economy. Get Involved projects are benefiting the local economy and the local environment by encouraging

a ‘low-carbon and resource-efficient’ society.

This year’s initiative has seven distinct themes and they are as follows;

BiodiversityWaterEco-tourismFoodSustainable EnterpriseCommunity Sustainable

EnergyResource Efficiency and

Green InnovationLocal newspapers are in a

great position to coordinate and promote local sustainability

projects plus they have the community’s best interests at heart. Get Involved 2014 will link projects with their local newspapers. The initiative aims to inspire and stimulate community collaboration

through voluntary efforts and also to foster ‘green’ enterprises through ‘community co-operatives,’ building local resilience and generating new livelihoods as a consequence. The competition is all about ‘getting involved’ and engaging with others to initiate projects that can be of benefit to the place you live and the people you live amongst.

This year I’m delighted to see more sustainable community driven ideas coming to the fore. For example we have a significant number of energy co-ops and community gardens in this year’s competition. In the years ahead I would love to see community owned businesses, community retrofit schemes, car sharing schemes, food co-ops, fuel clubs and water conservation schemes in the

competition. It is initiatives like these that are revitalising our localities and making our villages, towns and city neighbourhoods’ better places to live and they also ensure that money is circulated in the local economy. To get a taste of the projects in this year’s Get Involved competition please visit www.get-involved.ie.

Get Involved is a great opportunity for communities to support sustainable projects. Supporting communities in strengthening their resilience and helping to develop healthier and more liveable neighbourhoods is what Get Involved is all about. Collaborative initiatives can help us reconnect in real and meaningful ways and can also help us rediscover a sense of community.

Sustainable Energy is benefiting Ireland by up to €1bn every year

Ireland needs sustainable communities now more than ever

GET INVOLVED 2014 LIMERICK LEADER SATURDAY AUGUST 2 2014

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in action with

■ SEAI’s chief executive, Brian Motherway talks about how local communities are taking action to become masters of their own sustainable energy destiny

DUNCAN STEWART

SEAI’s chief executive, Brian Motherway

A UNIQUE community grocery is to represent the Limerick Leader at the 2014 Get Involved competition.

The Limerick Community Grocery co-operative, based at the old Esso garage in Mulgrave Street, is the only shop of its type, and has drawn from examples of similar businesses in Brooklyn, New York, Manchester and Mondragon in Spain.

An initiative of the Regional Newspapers and Printers Association of Ireland and sponsored by the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland, Get Involved is designed to promote voluntary sustainability projects aimed at creating jobs.

The winning project – drawn from towns and cities across the island of Ireland – will be awarded a bursary of €5,000, while two further bursaries of €1,000 each will be presented to the two runners-up.

Operating every Friday, the Limerick Community Grocery sells fresh vegetables, fruit, bread, eggs, herbs and wholefoods.

However, it is different from most other foodstores in that it is Limerick’s first co-operative.

Put simply, this means any money the company makes is instantly ploughed back into the business.

All staff members have a

direct say in how the company is run.

The team at the community grocery - which has grown from 10 in 2012 to more than 220 now - has exciting plans for the future, such as making it a five-day-a-week full service operation.

Until now, members had to fill in order forms and pre-order the goods they wanted.

One of the most active members of the co-operative, Bill Kelly, said they will be revamping the whole store in the late summer, or early autumn to make this part of Mulgrave Street a “co-operative hub”.

“We will be gutting the existing building, and really kitting it out. This is the next phase of our redevelopment,” he said, “It will coincide with the store opening five days a week. It will probably open from 9am to 7pm or 8pm in the evening, but that is to be decided.”

An average of five people a week are joining the community grocery, and the profile of its members is diverse, ranging from Irish people to Greeks and Italians.

“It is a cornucopia of Limerick people. You would have everyone from retired folk who want to

give something back. You would have folks who are working full time and part time, and those who are unemployed,” says Bill.

In order to help the unemployed, the grocery is investigating working with PAUL Partnership to allow those on benefits to receive top-ups when they volunteer in the co-op.

The team at the grocery has received help from a number of other successful initiatives across the world, including Mondragon in Spain, Dublin’s Food Co-op, and Manchester’s Unicorn Grocery, and the Park Slope Food Co-op in Brooklyn, New York.

Being selected to represent the Limerick Leader in Get Involved, he says, is a “vindication of what we are about”.

Leader editor Alan English added: “The pioneering local spirit of Limerick Community Grocery is something that deserves wide recognition throughout the city and county. It is a terrific initiative which we are delighted to be supporting and highlighting as part of the Get Involved initiative. Here is an idea that can be embraced by so many people and the benefits that it can bring are numerous.”

Community grocery all set to fly the flag for the Leader in the Get Involved contestNICK RABBITTS

in action with

Aine Nic Charthaigh and Bill Kelly, two of the most active members in the Limerick Community Grocery, with Alan English, editor of the Limerick Leader. Also pictured is a list of principles which govern a co-operative business Picture: Mike Cowhey

Once the site of a derelict petrol station amenity building, the team at the Community Grocery have transformed it into something a lot more colourful