Sustainability in Engineering: Part 1 - Net Zero Nation

In this episode of Amplified, host Dusty Rhodes kicks off a special mini-series on sustainability with a powerful conversation about engineering’s critical role in achieving Ireland’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

He’s joined by Niamh Breslin of IDA Ireland and Richard Manton from the University of Galway.

Together, they explore the reality of decarbonisation, grid resilience, and the transformative influence engineers have—from infrastructure to leadership. With insights into green economy investment, education, and collaboration across sectors, this episode is both a wake-up call and a blueprint for a more sustainable Ireland.

THINGS WE SPOKE ABOUT
●   The central role engineers play in achieving Ireland’s climate targets
●   IDA Ireland and their support of transformative investments in clean energy
●   How University of Galway is driving change and embedding sustainability in education
●   The importance of lifelong learning for engineers to adapt to a changing world
●   The need for engineers to work with other scientific professionals, social scientists, and business leaders to solve sustainability challenges.

GUEST DETAILS
Niamh Breslin is Sustainability Manager at IDA Ireland. Niamh manages the development and implementation of IDA Ireland’s foreign direct investment Sustainability strategy, with a focus on decarbonisation of the FDI industry, and delivery of IDA Ireland’s commitments to the National Climate Action Plan.
Niamh has significant international experience and has successfully led teams in Dublin, London, Paris and Frankfurt. Niamh has a degree in Computational Linguistics from Dublin City University and a diploma in Business Management from University of Galway.

Connect with Niamh on LinkedIn

Dr Richard Manton is the Director of Sustainability at University of Galway, Ireland's leading university for sustainability and a National SDG Ambassador. He was previously the Registrar at Engineers Ireland and a Non-Executive Director at Bus Éireann. Richard is a Chartered Engineer and Fellow of Engineers Ireland with a BE in civil engineering, MA in financial management and a PhD in sustainable transportation. He is the current Chairperson of the Engineers Ireland West Region.

Connect with Richard on LinkedIn

MORE INFORMATION
Looking for ways to explore or advance a career in the field of engineering? Visit Engineers Ireland to learn more about the many programs and resources on offer. https://www.engineersireland.ie/

Engineers Journal AMPLIFIED is produced by DustPod.io for Engineers Ireland.

Further information is also available at research.universityofgalway.ie

QUOTES

"There are companies in Ireland today that will see their Scope 1 carbon emissions reduced by 100%. This is real. It’s happening," - Niamh Breslin, IDA Ireland

"Graduates are choosing employers based on sustainability. If your climate action plan isn’t strong, you’ll lose talent," - Niamh Breslin, IDA Ireland

"Even with all of these ambitious plans, we’re only on track to hit about 23% emissions reduction by 2030. We need to be more radical," - Richard Manton, University of Galway

"Electrification and public transport are the key. It’s not just about EVs—it’s about moving people, en masse, sustainably," - Richard Manton, University of Galway

"We need engineers who can speak finance—who can sit with CFOs and show where the savings are. That’s how we get buy-in," - Niamh Breslin, IDA Ireland

KEYWORDS
#SustainableDevelopmentGoals #NetZero #RenewableEnergy #GridResilience #OffshoreWind

TRANSCRIPTION
For your convenience, we include an automated AI transcription

Dusty Rhodes 0:00
Hello. My name is Dusty Rhodes, and welcome to AMPLIFIED, the Engineer’s Journal podcast and our special mini series on sustainability. With new warmest year records being broken and just six years left to the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals, SDG, deadline, engineers are no longer just problem solvers. They could well be the country's first line of defence every infrastructure project and design decision that's made today will determine how Ireland hits its net-zero targets, or maybe even watch them slip away. To fill us in more on the challenges of sustainable engineering, I'm joined by Niamh Breslin, Manager of Sustainability Client Transformation at IDA Ireland. She has a strong background in sustainability policy and go-to-market strategies. She's also a leader, a coach and a mentor on the teams that she manages and collaborates with. Also with us is Richard Manton, Director of Sustainability at University of Galway. He's a Chartered Engineer with a background in civil engineering and has significant experience in sustainable transportation and policy, including roles at Engineers Ireland. Niamh and Richard, you're both very welcome. Thank you for joining us.

Niamh Breslin 1:06
Thank you.

Richard Manton
Thanks, Dusty.

Dusty Rhodes 1:09
So let me just kind of set the scene with you both. 10 years ago, almost 200 nations agreed on the Sustainable Development Goals agenda, 17 goals of governments, businesses, institutions and tons of offices are committed to achieving by 2030 Niamh, can I ask you or and if you know Niamh, can you tell us why the SDGs were established?

Niamh Breslin 1:31
So I suppose you know, obviously, in terms of the SDGs, we're looking at the scientific side, and we're looking at what's happening globally from a climate mitigation, climate adaption, climate change point of view. So we've all read the horror stories. We've all seen the news. We all see what's happening on a day to day basis in our own personal lives that we can, I suppose, see as more tangible in terms of changes in weather, etc. And that's probably why these goals came about. So as we know this conversation, while it might seem like something that is relatively new, this conversation has been going on a huge amount of years, just maybe less known outside of the sustainability circle, until more recent times as always.

Dusty Rhodes 2:16
The same with the deadline, the closer you get to it, the more important it gets to more people. Richard, are you able to give us some examples then of some of these goals in the SDGs?

Richard Manton 2:26
Yes. Dusty, I think for me, the two core strengths of the SDGs are that they're a shared blueprint. So a blueprint in that they really set out a guide to action, that, again, recognising the challenge that we have, but that we now need to move into an action phase, and also that they're shared that this was 195 or so countries coming together to agree this blueprint. So I think you could certainly argue that engineers could contribute to all 17 of the goals in different ways. But there are probably a core set where engineers will very much lead the way. And even just looking at the names of the 17 and people will be familiar maybe with the coloured 17 goals grid. But for example, affordable and clean energy. Of course, it's going to be engineers leading the way in terms of renewable energy. If you look at clean water and sanitation, the whole area of water and wastewater, again, led by engineers, sustainable cities and communities, the built environment, sustainable transport and so on. Again, engineers and leading role industry, infrastructure and innovation. Again, engineers to the forefront. That's not even getting into all the goals regarding biodiversity or health or education or gender, but even those core four or five, I think engineers will really have to lead the way.

Dusty Rhodes 3:42
Niamh, do you find with the investments that the IDA is working on that these goals are now being reflected in engineering developments in Ireland today?

Niamh Breslin 3:51
Absolutely, and I might just start by giving a bit more background for those who might not know who IDA are. So IDA Ireland is the Irish government agency that's tasked with winning foreign direct investment into Ireland. And then the key is supporting those clients here as they grow and build capacity. And then we work with them as they transform and they become more strategic. And this is done through upskilling or DNI and of course, their sustainability journeys. And we recently launched our new strategy for the next five years, which is called adapt intelligently, a strategy for sustainable growth and innovation. And through that, we are looking at how our client companies can play a core part in shaping Ireland in terms of being the location of choice for green powered enterprises. And so when you talk about those STD, DG goals, and how our clients are feeding into those I suppose we have to look at them in how we boil it down to kind of six key areas where we support them, and those six key areas which for us are in line with the EU taxonomy on sustainability. So they're greenhouse gasses or decarbonisation, the efficient use of water. Here, circular economy and waste, pollution, control, biodiversity and adapting to climate change. So each of those measures looks at a different area of environmental concern, and we look at those with our clients in terms of how as an organisation, IDA, is feeding into Ireland's SDG goals, so into Ireland's National Climate Action Plan. And as you will both know, and the main goal there is to reduce emissions by 51% by 2030 and to be carbon neutral by or net zero by 2040 or possibly 2050 and so with our clients, when we're looking at having those conversations, I suppose they're saying to us, what is eligible within those those conversations? And it's a number of different things, but mainly, we're looking at energy efficiency measures in different processes. We're looking at electrification of heat, if that's by heat pumps or electric boilers. We're looking at on site, renewable generation, storage to displace fossil fuels, water reuse, biodiversity so beehives, restoration of ecosystems, etc, and hydrogen production, use and storage as well. So engineers play a significant part in those areas and in those investments, and on how we talk to those clients.

Dusty Rhodes 6:24
Can you give me an example then, of the significant parts that engineers do play?

Niamh Breslin 6:29
Yeah, I suppose, in terms of examples that we're seeing with clients, and we've already talked about how a lot of companies, obviously, they have their sustainability agendas and they have their own corporate climate action plans, and a lot of them have site specific action plans as well. And that's, I suppose, where we come in. And so in terms of companies, for example, in 2025, so far, so in the first 656, months of this year, so far, we've had a couple of companies who have implemented innovative investments that will see them reduce scope one carbon emissions on site in Ireland by 100% so this is happening. This is real. It's happening. There are companies in Ireland today that will see their scope one carbon emissions reduced by 100% and that's fantastic. And that's done through investments in solar panels, heat pumps, wind turbines, electric boilers, battery size, storage inside, etc. And the engineers are a huge part of this, obviously, in terms of the conversations we have, generally the IDA on my team, we start out by talking to the managers, the engineers on that side who are working with that so that they are the first port of call, because they're the people who know what's happening. They're the people who understand these efficiencies. But it's not just all around the physical side. So the solar panels, the heat pumps, the wind turbines, et cetera. Huge amount of this is around the process efficiency and how the engineers are looking at things to make whether it's sustainable products or sustainable processes. So a lot of them are looking at using AI to make intelligent decisions that might be to do with the organisation's priorities or goals. They're maximising the AI driven decision making in their global network management, they're looking at more efficient systems in terms of using energy, using fewer resources, therefore consuming less power, and that all comes to a reduced system demand, and all of that leads to effective efficiencies across the organisation that the that the engineers are at the forefront.

Dusty Rhodes 8:34
And Richard, can I ask you about your experience? Because Galway University, where you're based, is a national SDG ambassador, and you're committed to net zero emissions. What are you doing in Galway to reach that goal?

Richard Manton 8:46
Yes, so firstly, our role as a SDG ambassador is where we were appointed by the Minister for Environment, climate action and communications to really lead the way on the SDGs. We try to promote awareness of the SDGs amongst the public, and then act as that good practice example. So we use a framework that we call learn, live, lead. So in the learn that we try to embed sustainability into our teaching and research live, how we operate the campus more efficiently, both in terms of energy and greenhouse gas emissions, but also enhancing biodiversity on the campus, and then lead that. We try to lead the way through community partnerships and so on, looking specifically, then at energy and greenhouse gas emissions, we have done quite a lot of work in the what they call the direct emissions, with the scope one emissions which come from fossil fuel burning, mostly for heating on campus. So we've managed to reduce our fossil fuel emissions by 38% against our statutory baseline. So we're well on our way to the statutory public target of 51% and we're aiming to far surpass that. But it's in the indirect area that we really have some major. Challenges. So for example, when you start to look at the procurement of goods and services, commuting or business travel, that those really are very difficult areas to tackle, because while scope one can be challenging in and of itself, in terms of replacing boilers and retrofitting some solar and so on, actually fundamentally changing behaviour when it comes to often, quite sticky systems that may be outside of the control of an organisation. For example, commuting is quite difficult and really needs a full system change. It's about working with engineers, of course, in bodies like the NTA transport infrastructure Ireland local authorities to try to engineer a more sustainable transport system, or then wider behavioural systems.

Dusty Rhodes 10:46
And when you're talking to those people, I mean, are they open to this?

Richard Manton 10:52
Oh, not only are they open, there are some concrete, very positive things happening on the ground. So for example, for us here in Galway, the bus connects project is starting to roll out. Part of that will serve the campus along University Road, and we will really improve the frequency and accessibility of public transport. We're also developing a greenway through the university grounds that will hopefully go on to my Colin oak, Terre and on to Clifton that will facilitate some commuting by bike. And then look, really, we need more measures that make the city safer to cycle. But that said, there are some things that are very much outside the control of both ourselves, in the university and the transport authorities, and that is a simple fact that the housing crisis is forcing people to live further outside of the city, and unfortunately, is making it much more difficult to walk or cycle to campus.

Dusty Rhodes 11:47
I want to ask Niamh in a minute more about working with third parties, as you were saying, your challenges there, but just on the educational side of things, in which ways do the SDG influence the teaching of engineering at the University?

Richard Manton 12:02
So that is driven very much by students, by the teaching staff, but also engineers Ireland has a major role here through the accreditation process, and that was a process that I previously managed in my role as registrar with engineers Ireland that within The accreditation the each engineering a program to gain accreditation, for example, at the Chartered Engineer standard, must meet certain program outcomes, and many of those are very strongly aligned with sustainability, whether it's in terms of design or problem analysis, or even on the the ethics and communications and management side. So engineers Ireland is from one side really driving this, but also we're seeing that the teaching staff, through their own experience, through their own knowledge, are very firmly embedding sustainability, whether that's at the theoretical side, some of the science of climate change, but also then developing these practical solutions, be they new technologies or infrastructure, or even dealing with other professions and social scientists to properly understand how we can embed sustainability across society.

Dusty Rhodes 13:07
And have you seen a change in the mindset of student engineers over the years?

Richard Manton 13:11
I think so. I think there's probably been a major change in the last 10 to 15 years. I think you see students are raising sustainability even coming into courses much more they've been some very positive moves at a second level. So third level isn't existing in a vacuum. I think students are really driven by the fact that they will be working as engineers. So if they graduate in 2025 they'll be working right through, likely into the 2050s and 2060s that could be a very different world. We would hope that that would be a zero-carbon world. So the skills that they gain in university today will hopefully set them up for that, and then they should engage in lifelong learning, because the world could and probably should be a very different place. And by the time they finish their careers,

Dusty Rhodes 13:59
and these students are coming out into a world now where Niamh and the IDA are emphasising green economy investments. Niamh, can you tell me a little bit more and maybe give me an example or two of the green economy investments that the IDA are working on?

Niamh Breslin 14:13
Yeah, so we talked a little bit about decarbonisation there, and I suppose that is our bread and butter, because that is the key at the moment, in terms of Ireland's National Climate Action Plan is that decarbonisation goal. But I suppose what we're seeing are new trends. So the deeper we're getting into our new strategy, we're kind of seeing new trends coming up there that it's not just carbon that's becoming a talking point for our clients. In fact, water is becoming very, very topical at the moment, one client this year talked to us about their plans for a wastewater treatment plant. So water efficiency was a big part of their agenda, to reduce use, recycle more, have less waste, and with our support, the company has undertaken. In a project that will see them recycle 12 to 15,000 litres of water daily, and that will have a scope three saving of about 700 tons of carbon per year. And it's also the first of its kind to optimise on site water usage that will significantly reduce the need for wastewater treatment off-site. So that's a big change that we're seeing. But it's not just the manufacturing companies. I guess that's another change that we're seeing in terms of the projects that we're working on. And a lot of people, when they hear us talking about sustainability or what we're doing with our clients, immediately think of, you know, the big Pharma companies, the big tech companies, the big engineering companies. But it isn't just the manufacturing companies, and we are starting to see more services companies looking at their sustainability strategies. Definitely, it's a fresh focus, I would say. And we've recently worked with a services client on different measures in their building, such as heat pumps and air conditioning units and installation of EV charging points that has resulted in some scope two savings that are in line with their sustainability goals. The key here is, how do we do all of this against a backdrop of increased competition, geopolitical uncertainty and of course, that rapid technological change as well, and I guess that's kind of the spot that we're in at the moment. How do we marry the idea that we want to keep Ireland as a competitive location where companies want to set up their businesses and to grow but how do we do that while also hitting our carbon goals and our SDGs.

Dusty Rhodes 16:44
So do you have the same thing that Richard was saying, where direct stuff is easy to deal with, but it's the indirect side of things? Do you have more difficulty with that?

Niamh Breslin 16:54
I suppose when we're looking at it, we're looking at it from our client's point of view. And scope three is certainly an area that's getting more and more talk at the moment, and some companies find it a little bit easier depending on what they're doing. So of course, the company that we just mentioned there, around there the wastewater that scope two emissions, but they were also looking at some scope three emissions and savings in terms of the vehicle use that would be used to transport the goods or the wastewater, etc. Biodiversity is increasingly popular, I would say, but it's more difficult. It's less tangible. It's more difficult to kind of put a pin in, but it's definitely a conversation that's coming on for sure. Scope three is more difficult, but I think what we're seeing is that the things that maybe 235, 10 years ago certainly were difficult, are now actually becoming the norm. And that's important to see that the gap is reducing between what was seen as good to have a few years ago and now is just a regulation or B. Absolutely we have to have that.

Dusty Rhodes 18:01
And from your point of view. Niamh, how can the engineering profession be a catalyst to making things move faster and to overcome the challenges?

Niamh Breslin 18:11
I think Richard touched on it really well there when you talked about the next generation of engineers coming out of university. And we see that. Because if you think about the clients, a lot of times, clients will come to us, or people will say to us, why should I be interested in sustainability? What's it adding to my business? And there's a lot of really obvious answers here. I mean, you know, obviously improved risk management, because you're looking at your environmental and your social issues, and that can prevent incidents or make sure there's stability long term, there's enhanced financial performance. It has been shown that it leads to better financial performance due to increased efficiency and reduced costs. Regulatory compliance, of course, stay ahead of us. It's all coming down the line with CSRD, etc, and these companies are staying ahead of us. But the big one is that attracting and retaining talent, that's what we hear companies talk about. These engineers coming out of university now, they want to work in a company that's attractive to them because of their sustainability stance. Because of that, what they're doing, from a global point of view, in terms of having their climate action plans, that is really, really important for graduates, and that's where I see the engineers making a big impact. We know the power of movement. So engineers coming out saying, I only want to work for a company that has strong sustainability initiatives, that is committed to their climate action plans, that's committed to net zero. That's really going to put pressure on companies to ensure that they're doing these things if they wish to attract and retain the talent that they already have.

Richard Manton 19:48
And if I could maybe add to that Dusty, because I think it that very much applies to universities, also, first of all, in terms of attracting students, be they leaving cert students or be. Day international students, that we want to be able to show that we're putting our money where our mouth is in terms of making our campus greener, both on the energy side and the biodiversity side, and that we're undertaking some very cutting edge research related to sustainability, and that we've dedicated courses on sustainability, that we want to be able to attract some of the best research staff, best teaching staff and best students. So I think for us, really having green credentials is quite important. And we're certainly very proud to be ranked as the number one university in Ireland and top 50 in the world for our action on sustainable development goals. And again, that whole perspective of reporting and transparency is very important for us as a university, as it is for companies.

Niamh Breslin 20:42
And I think that's a great point, because it's important to note as well that there are companies in Ireland who are obviously subsidiaries of their corporate bodies elsewhere, and who are best in class in sustainability. There are companies in Ireland who are leading the way in their corporate infrastructure in terms of sustainability, there are people sitting in offices all across Ireland who hold global sustainability roles for their organisations, and to think of Ireland as a leader in the green economy. I think that's really, really refreshing, and it's also really motivational.

Dusty Rhodes 21:20
Well, I think we definitely are, because we're seeing stories left, right and centre, how renewable energy is something like 41% of electricity in Ireland today is generated from renewable sources, which is fantastic, Dave. Can I ask you? Because you probably more on the power grid resilience kind of side of things with the projects you do with the IDA. How are we working today on renewable energy sources to improve that power grid and the resilience? Because the problem I've heard with a lot of the power grid is that the power can be generated from waves and wind, and it's fantastic, and then it goes into a battery, and then, well, the battery doesn't really hold a charge for that long. So how are we dealing with problems like that?

Niamh Breslin 21:59
I think it's important to look at Ireland's position for renewable the renewable sector as a whole, first of all, and it's honest of me to say that our position for renewables is ambitious. And of course, offshore wind, as you mentioned, is a key part of that, but it's just one part of the government's commitment to industry and to our decarbonisation goals, of course, and we are seeing growth of onshore wind and solar, and all of those feed into our transition to net zero, but specifically on offshore wind, this is a really challenging sector, and it's relatively nascent in all countries, and not Just in Ireland. It requires significant change, and it requires very significant investment, not just to Ireland's energy systems, but the energy systems in all countries. So it's very challenging. Essentially, what you're doing is moving power generation away from population centres to our coastlines. And as we know, the infrastructure isn't necessarily readily available to be scaled or invested in there. So you know, if you if you think about Ireland, the best place to locate a wind farm, it's where the wind flows most often. And just so happens, I'm on the west coast of Ireland, and that's where the wind flows most often. I know it well. And of course, the vast majority of Ireland's infrastructure and population is on the east coast. So how do we move the energy from the west coast to where it's possible it's needed? But this isn't just Ireland. I mean, it's the same in Germany. It's the same, same in every country. And as you touched on, the primary constraint for all of this is aligning development with our grid capacity and our grid development. And the same challenges are there. You know, we need to develop more grid infrastructure faster to allow for wind and renewable growth and investment.

Dusty Rhodes 23:48
Are you finding a demand from engineers wanting to migrate to renewable energy sources, or do you have to talk them into it?

Niamh Breslin 23:55
No, no, I don't think we have to talk them into it. I think engineers understand the power that Ireland can have and the very strong presence that Ireland can have in the renewable sector going forward. So I think people want to be a part of that. And yes, it may sometimes feel like the engineers may feel like they're knocking down a door that doesn't want to be answered, It doesn't want to be opened, but like any change, it's not going to happen overnight. You know, you're talking about big infrastructure at scale, as quick as possible for us to maximise our potential. But it still stands. If you look at any map of Europe at the moment, Ireland is one of the best locations in Europe for renewable energy, and so in the next couple of years, as we set off down that road, and let's remember, the government does have a plan in place for renewable energy that will see us at, I think about 40 gigawatts of capacity by 2040, roughly. And I think rough four at the moment. So that's a that's a big change. So there is a plan in place. Is, but it'll start. And all plans need to start somewhere. But I do think that the engineers themselves want this as well, for sure.

Richard Manton 25:07
I'm very glad that you've brought up the challenge of investment in our electricity grid. That sometimes in these conversations, there can be the desire to focus on the positives, but sometimes we can miss the fact that, look, this is a gigantic challenge, and to be honest, we're not on track that. Recent EPA projections show that we're even with all of these very ambitious plans implemented, we're going to achieve less than half of our emissions reductions by 2030 that will will hit around 23% whereas we should be aiming for 51% and just the reality is that we're not moving quickly enough and that we're not being sufficiently radical. Again, I do think engineers have a major role to play there, for example, in sectors like transport and heat and maybe perhaps less so agriculture, although I do think there is a role there. Also that really we do need to even further ramp up our level of ambition and take on some radical approaches. And again, that really want to encourage engineers to be part of that.

Dusty Rhodes 26:13
You mentioned electric transport there. How can engineers develop kind of the transport infrastructure here in Ireland, everybody's talking about electric cars, all right, and those annoying little scooters to go along around by the side of the road. But how can engineers kind of think beyond that and other ways of moving people en masse using electric vehicles?

Richard Manton 26:34
Well, I think large-scale public transport is the first place that my mind would go, even before we get on to individual EVs that it is the most efficient way of moving people, particularly within urban areas and between urban areas. And again, planning has to support that in terms of generating demand, that, of course, there are some of the big ticket items, like the Metro link, but also even one of the most efficient ways of moving people is using our bus services, be that bus, air and Dublin Bus, or some of the private operators that I think the bus connects, projects around the cities have major potential, and it's great to see that bus connects in Dublin has now brought all the corridors through planning. So again, what we want to see are high volume, high frequency, good quality bus links that then could serve hundreds of 1000s of people each day. I think getting people out of cars is the number one thing. Number two then is the public transport should then where possibly electrified. And for example, a bus Aaron in particular, has done a lot of work to electrify its fleet. For example, Athlone, relatively small service that's fully electric, and Limerick is moving fully electric. Galway will be not too long behind then as well. Quite a lot of work goes into managing those services that it's much more complicated than having diesel run busses, but again, I think having a clean and attractive bus services will help to move people out of cars.

Dusty Rhodes 28:07
It's brilliant to speak to both of you, because you're both kind of looking at the SDGs, but from different points of view. So Niamh, I would say you're kind of more in the foreign direct investment, and Richard is kind of more with the engineers who are coming up through university. From what he has said today, what would you like to ask him to follow on? Just to add to your knowledge,

Niamh Breslin 28:29
I think it's really interesting. And I think what University of Galway is doing is fantastic, from a sustainability point of view. I think what we need to see, and it's been touched on is kind of the ambition that that's the really important part, and the scale and the speed at which which we we get to where we need to go, in terms of Ireland's National Climate Action Plan and our goals within that. And question I might have for Richard is in terms of the courses and beyond the engineering side. And I know this is specifically for the engineers, but what kind of sustainability courses are you guys implementing or looking at for leaders in general? Because outside of the engineers, who are fantastic and as I said, our first port of call when we're talking about site specific climate action plans, tends to be the engineers and the heat managers, etc, and that's all great, but without leadership, without leaders within those organisations who are willing to get behind and get the corporate buy in, who are willing to get the funding, this stops. So is University of Galway looking at leadership courses around sustainability that will empower and help the organisations within to help win these projects and to help get that scale?

Richard Manton 29:51
Absolutely first of all, I think again, this is an engineering podcast, but it's important for us to recognise that engineers working alone certainly would. Be capable of solving these problems, many of which may take the input from other scientific professionals, from social scientists, from business leaders and so on. So I think that is important to recognise at our undergraduate level, we offer, I think about 65 to 70 programs that are listed on the CAO. We've mapped all of those to the SDGs. And actually, I'd encourage you to go onto our website and you can see which SDGs are hit by each course. Or if you go to Research dot, University of galway.ie, you can see our research mapped to the SDGs. But then I think, Nir, maybe your question is more than at the postgraduate level, particularly for those who are already in the world of work. So two programs that come to mind. One is a master's in sustainability leadership that's delivered by our business school, and again, it's particularly targeted at business leaders. And there's also a program on management and sustainability. But then there's also one, a master's in environmental leadership, which focuses more on the scientific side and environmental leadership. So they're just two or three that come to mind. But again, there is a wide variety of shorter courses. And again, there has been the move to micro credentials, where you might, you might want to take on a full Masters, but you could take on a five or 10 credit module. And again, several of those relate to sustainability.

Dusty Rhodes 31:20
And that's developing leaders and Richard, then I would say the same thing, because Niamh was probably coming from a financial side of things, I was going to say, from what she has said, Is there anything you'd like to ask her?

Richard Manton 31:30
So I think one question, of course, is, and it's a difficult question, is the role of data centres. Of course, are large consumers of electricity, but I don't think we should shy away from the difficult questions. So my question would be that, what is the role of data centres and electricity consumption in the IDA strategy?

Niamh Breslin 31:53
So it’s a difficult question for sure, but one that IDA in general doesn't shy away from. I think we've been quite vocal in terms of our response on it. So as you may know, Ireland has about 80 odd data centres, I think, in the moment, at the moment, and scattered around the island, covering different companies, covering different industries, etc. Some of these are standalone. Some of these are belonging to companies themselves, etc. Data centres are an important part of the islands of Ireland's investment strategy, and they have been for a number of years. This isn't a new phenomena. And certainly, if we look at data centres as a whole, they're not the worst business in terms of they're actually a very clean business in terms of their setups and infrastructures and where they're based, etc. And of course, they are large energy users, as you mentioned. And IDA, along with other public bodies, we are represented on the large energy users task force of the government. So we meet monthly and discuss what we're doing across the whole entire large energy users across Ireland to discuss what they're doing in terms of their decarbonisation and in terms of hitting our national climate action plans. The reality is that with the advent and the rapid increase of AI, more data centres globally will be needed. You often see the number saying it's 10x roughly in terms of energy usage. So I don't think it's something that we're shying away from. We did recently in Ireland, see the update on guidelines in terms of data centres, and those guidelines we've been waiting on for a couple of years, is my understanding. And those updated guidelines are very clear about new data centres being built in terms of them having the equivalent on site storage that they would use from the grid. So there are new regulatory rules being put in place, from a government perspective, for new data centres being built and for current data centres in order to take pressure off the grid.

Dusty Rhodes 34:00
And that is exactly one of the problems that engineers need to stick into brain and come up with solutions. And I think, as you said, there Niamh, where they have to have on site the same amount of energy as they will be taking off the grid. It's kind of knocking one off the other. The net zero kind of a result is what you're getting with that. Can I ask each of you then just to wrap up, because there's lots of challenges ahead. All right, if you had a magic wand where you could just fix it all tomorrow, what two or three say? Two or three things would you do to kind of accelerate the path for engineers to deliver on SDGs? Who'd like to go first with that?

Richard Manton 34:40
Well, I think electrification is a major part of this that, again, if we look at our challenges in transport or in heating, I think electrification is is a big part of that puzzle. And then, of course, increasing further, increasing the amount of renewable electricity generation. I. Think engagement with the planning sector is incredibly important, again, that engineers don't just deliver projects on their own. I think further engagement with the planning profession and the legal profession, of course, enabled by political engagement, would make the deliverability of projects far improved. And then a word, maybe specifically about the West region of engineers Ireland, that I'm honoured to be the current chairperson of the West region, that I think we have quite a strong record in terms of advocating for sustainability, both within engineers Ireland and in our region, for example, within the Council of engineers Ireland, and then leading some exhibitions like our realised vision, vision exhibition all the way back to 2000 or the engineering the West projects in 2010 So our plan is to continue to engage with engineers in our region and to really advocate for sustainability in the west of Ireland.

Dusty Rhodes 35:58
It seems to be that a role of engineers is to take things on, think of solutions, and then even just talking to other people, as you say, like planners, then starts making them think about it. And then everybody is going around that way. Niamh, can I ask you your magic wand? If you're able to go whoosh and fix two or three things, what would you fix?

Niamh Breslin 36:17
Yeah, I would totally agree with Richard there in terms of its collaboration. You know, no one group is going to solve the constraints or the issues that we have around sustainability in Ireland or globally. And what we need are engineers. We need the science based people who can talk to the finance based people. And I think that's really, really important. We often, you know, talk to CFOs, and it comes down to, how does this save me money? So we need engineers that are comfortable having that conversation, understanding where the cost reduction is, understanding where the efficiencies are in terms of the cost, so that those conversations can can go right to the very top of the value chain, per se. And I think that collaboration is really important, not just internally within their organisations, but externally, as Richard said, with the other stakeholders, the other bodies involved with this. And I think that's really important. So I guess it's engineers becoming more fluent in maybe a language that isn't necessarily their first language.

Dusty Rhodes 37:22
Well, listen, we'll leave it there for today. If you'd like to find out more about Richard and Niamh and some of the topics that we spoke about today, you'll find notes and link details in the description area of this podcast. But for now, Niamh Breslin, Manager of Sustainability Client Transformation at IDA Ireland, and Richard Manton, Director of Sustainability at University of Galway. Thank you so much for joining us. Thank you. Thank you. If you enjoy the podcast today, do share with a friend in the business. Just tell them to search for engineers Ireland in their podcast player, and we will have the second in this special mini series, which will focus specifically on transportation in Ireland, coming from you shortly. Our podcast is produced by dustpod.io for Engineers Ireland for advanced episodes, just check out the website at engineers ireland.ie, until next time for myself. Dusty Rhodes, thank you for listening.