In October, Intel and County Kildare Chamber announced Ireland’s first ever climate action championship – Sustainable Kildare. The project, which is sponsored by Intel, was launched by Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Leo Varadkar with Martin Heydon, Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture and Kildare South TD, County Kildare Chamber Chief Executive Allan Shine and Intel’s External Relations Manager Lisa Harlow.
The championship, which will run in phases, invites small and medium businesses in the county of Kildare to sign up to participate in an interactive environmental challenge. The first phase of the campaign concluded on November 9th. This first phase of the campaign lasted three weeks and encouraged staff to save as much CO₂ as possible by registering daily, eco-friendly activities and making small changes in their lifestyle.
A total of 22 businesses participated in the first championship with 206 individual participants taking part. In total, 19,290 kgCO₂e was saved during the campaign which was achieved through participants taking on a 12,780 activities. This saving is equivalent to using 125,000kWh of energy or is roughly the same as using your oven for 2,264 days.
On November 12th a special virtual ceremony took place to celebrate the completion of the first phase of the campaign. The ceremony was attended by Mayor of Kildare, Naoise Ó Cearúil who announced the winners of the first championship;
1st Place – Zinon IT Solutions
2nd Place – In Sync
Extraordinary Effort – Kilkea Castle
Highly Commended – Sap Group
Speaking on the topic of sustainability Naoise Ó Cearúil remarked; “We need to look at environmental actions from a personal perspective and not just from a business perspective, but what this challenge has shown is that businesses can set the example and are stepping up to the mark when it comes to sustainability”.
Also speaking about the challenge, Intel External Relations Manager Lisa Harlow said; “It has been incredible to see how companies in Kildare have embraced this challenge and made a real impact through their efforts – our congratulations to each of the participants in this, our first ever championship. Intel is delighted to sponsor this initiative and to work together with our local communities here in Kildare to support environmental sustainability”.
Jennifer Forster, Marketing & Communications Manager at County Kildare Chamber added: “Congratulations to all the businesses that took part in round one of the Sustainable Kildare Championship. Well done to all involved! Almost 13,000 sustainable activities were carried out by Kildare business and that is something to be proud of. We encourage businesses in the county to take part in round two which kicks off in February 2022, to continue to play a part in the fight against climate change”.
For every company that participates in the challenge, there will be a number of trees planted in a Barretstown, Co. Kildare to ensure that the inittaive has a lasting effect in the county. Additionally, trees will be planted close to the equator in Tanzania which will ensure a lasting carbon legacy from the project.
The second campaign will begin in early February 2022. Businesses located in Kildare who would like to take part in the challenge can email Jennifer@countykildarechamber.ie.
Additional information about Intel is available at:
Web – intel.ie | Twitter – @Intel_IRL | Facebook – Intel Ireland
Media contact: Sarah Sexton | sarah.sexton@intel.com | + 353 1 606 8537