Greener Living | Spring 2023

SPRING 2023

GREENER LIVING

How to live and work more sustainably in West Cork

WELCOME to the Spring 2023 edition of Greener Living, where we once again look at ways to live and work more sustainably in West Cork, and so help conserve our environment, tackle climate change and generally make the world a better, healthier place to live.

The mantra ‘small actions, big changes’ is as relevant now as it every was – the idea that even the smallest adjustments in our individual, daily lives can lead to massive results due to the collective effort by many. So as you strive to live more sustainably, start small, set achievable goals, and you will make a difference.

In this issue of Greener Living, we have lots of great advice on financing your home retrofit or upgrade, and The Southern Star’s motoring columnist Brian Byrne sets out his top picks for electric, hybrid and plug-in hybrid cars while also looking at what’s on the market generally in terms of eco-friendly vehicles.

We look at just some of the amazing organisations and community groups in the area that are doing their bit for sustainability and a healthier, safer world for all, and there’s great food for thought when it comes to domestic energy generation and the advantages not only for the environment, but for your pocket as well. All this and lots more ... enjoy!

– The Southern Star team

In keeping with the ethos of Greener Living, this supplement is, as always, printed on paper made exclusively from recycled materials, and don’t forget that you can continue to recycle it once you’re finished reading!

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Just keep calm and retrofit!

THERE’S simply no avoiding energy cost anxiety these days. All costs are increasing, with those of fuel and electricity undergoing eye-watering increases – the figures leaping before our disbelieving faces in black and white on our electricity and fuel bills.

It means that everyone is now looking at every way possible to keep our costs down and prevent any heat we create from escaping our homes. But it requires money and it’s not easy to spend the seemingly large sums required if we don’t have it because we’re spending every last spare cent on keeping up with escalating bills.

Thankfully, the Government (with some assistance from the European Union Regional Development Fund) is trying to help. They have made

it a priority to convert as many homes as possible to the higher A-rating in the Building Energy Rating (BER) system. Many Irish homes are in the ‘C1’ category or lower (some 70% of all homes built between the 1970s and the early 2000s, according to the Central Statistics Office) and the Government is actively encouraging people to make their existing homes more energy-efficient.

SEAI GRANTS

The Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) is the governmental agency that administers grants to help people make their home more energy efficient.

There are grants available to everyone, with the level of aid being prioritised for those on

lower incomes. If your home has been built and occupied before 2006, for example, and you’re in receipt of certain welfare benefits (such as Jobseeker’s Allowance for over six months with a child under seven or Carer’s Allowance or Fuel Allowance), then you could be in line for Fully Funded Upgrades.

This scheme prioritises the older homes, starting with those built before 1993. Once you check your eligibility and apply online for the grant (on seai.ie/grants), the SEAI kicks off the process by sending a surveyor to assess your home’s requirements in terms of an energy-efficiency upgrade.

The SEAI then appoints a contractor from their panel of operators to carry out the upgrade works. These can cover the following areas:

• Attic insulation

• Cavity wall insulation

• External wall insulation

• Internal wall insulation

• Secondary works such as lagging jackets, draught proofing and energy-efficient lighting

• New heating systems and windows (which are occasionally recommended) One thing you need to be prepared for – no matter what level of assistance you’re applying for – is the fact that you will have to wait. Normal waiting times can stretch well into 18 months and beyond before you get the green light to get the upgrade works carried out to your home. With the Individual Upgrade Energy Grants,

If you’re thinking long-term when it comes to saving on energy and living sustainably, then upgrading your home’s efficiency has got to be a consideration. However, if the cost is something that’s proving problematic, then help is at hand, writes Conor Power

Grants are available for a wide variety of retrofitting projects including attic insulation and exterior wall insulation. These grants are available from the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland. Proposed upgrades will be assessed by the SEAI beforehand and work will be carried out by an SEAI-appointed contractor.

there is no means test and any homeowner or private landlord is eligible for them. The homes must have been built and occupied before 2011 to qualify for the insulation and heating controls and before 2021 to qualify for the area of heat pumps and renewable systems.

These grants cover a broad range of works –from attic and wall insulation to heat pumps and heating controls, as well as solar thermal and solar PV systems.

The grants won’t cover the entire cost but they will go a long way towards the cost of the project and you must get approval before the works begin.

Grants range from €700 for attic and cavitywall insulation and can go as far as €8,000 for external wall insulation. For a 1970s bungalow, properly insulated walls and attic can yield annual energy savings of up to €700 so although

it will involve a big spend, it can be an area well worth investing in.

Solar PV (photo-voltaic) panels are becoming increasingly popular in Ireland – particularly as more and more people realise that you don’t actually need sunshine for them to create power.

The grant given is €900 per kWp (the kilowatt peak of a system) up to a cap of €2,400. A good shorthand example would be to say that if you were installing a typical system on a detached bungalow involving a 6-panel 2.43kWp, the cost would be in the region of €10,000 and would be reduced to roughly €8,000 with a grant of just under €2,000. The savings on your electricity bill should be in the region of €350 per year.

Solar thermal units use the sun’s energy to specifically heat water and there are grants of up to €1,200 available for their installation, providing 50-60% of your annual hot-water needs.

GREEN FINANCE

If you don’t have the cash to have your retrofit done, you might want to look at financing the operation.

It’s an option that many people are opting for and the lending market is responding with approaches that are specifically designed for the green age we live in.

Many lending institutions are making it easier for people to make their homes more energyefficient, with some of them offering to manage the entire process from start to finish, including the process of applying for the relevant grants and offering customers a competitive ‘green’ interest rate at the same time.

With An Post, for example, they offer such a service in conjunction with SSE Airtricity (the well-known Scottish-based energy company that have been operating in Ireland for some time

now) whereby your grant application is managed by someone else – a tempting cherry for anyone who detests the whole form-filling process.

Many lenders are also tempting mortgageholders away from their current lenders by offering them the carrot of a competitive ‘green rate’ if their house qualifies.

For example, AIB will give you a five-year fixed green rate starting from 3.65% if your home has a BER of between A1 and B3 and you want to switch over to them. Not to be sniffed at in these days of rising rates.

At your credit union, meanwhile, there’s more opportunity to avail of competitive green-tinged loans. They even have a helpful blog dedicated to the subject of retrofitting your home, with input from RTE’s Roisin Murphy (of ‘Home Rescue’). See creditunion.ie/house2greenerhome for more details.

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Pumping insulation into cavity walls is another way to boost the energy efficiency of your home. Solar panels are an increasingly popular option, along with domestic wind turbines. For more information on the latter two options and how you can now get credit for any excess electricity generated and supplied back into the national grid, see page 14 of this supplement.

West Cork groups meeting climate change head on

WEST CORK has long been recognised as a prime region in terms of its natural beauty, clean air and healthy way of life. Pollution levels are low, natural eco-systems for both flora and fauna are generally well preserved and the people here are very mindful of trying to preserve all of that. There are a number of local groups and organisation dedicated to protecting our local environment, both by the work they do and the examples they set for others.

The West Cork Doughnut Economy Network

First things first. In basic terms, a circular economy is one where manufacturers design products to be easily repaired and thus reusable. The West Cork Doughnut Economy Network expands on the circular economy concept to include human well-being. ‘We are like the circular economy but with bells and whistles,’ explains organiser Moze Jacobs. ‘We investigate ways to change behaviour, to take small practical steps and encourage change that will steer the economy to allow all people to thrive, to meet the needs of people without exceeding the limits of the environment.’

Moze went on to give the example that her local repair shop tried in vain to find a replacement cable for her speaker, because the speaker was obviously manufactured not to be repaired, causing strain on resources, the environment, and on the consumer while only benefitting the profits of the manufacturer.

The ‘Stepping Into the Doughnut’ workshops held at 49 North Street in Skibbereen, helps people get used to finding products already available that are long lasting; a practice that can ultimately steer the economy to benefit both consumer and the environment.

As sometimes happens, like-minded people organise with other like-minded people until you find a web of complementary organisations working toward a common goal.

‘There is actually an emerging ecosystem of environmental groups in West Cork and probably all around the country,’ says Moze who also works with Sustainable Skibbereen to help protect and enhance the environment.

They have launched a tree planting project at the Skibbereen District Hospital and Sustainable Skibbereen also maintain the pollinator beds behind Field’s Supervalu, driven by herbalist Jacqueline Kilbride of Ballydehob who grows plants to populate the beds.

Green Skibbereen & Centre of Excellence for Climate Action and Sustainability (CECAS)

Another group, Green Skibbereen, aims to move the community to low-carbon energy. To this end they have established a Centre of Excellence for Climate Action and Sustainability, or CECAS, at

Myross Wood in Leap. Volunteers are upgrading the woodland and developing the gardens to improve biodiversity and sustainability while Myross House itself is used as a venue for events that promote a circular economy and cutting-edge solutions for the climate crisis.

The Bandon Environmental Action Group (BEAG)

The Bandon Environmental Action Group (BEAG) strives to make a positive contribution on a range of issues that affect the environment of the greater Bandon area. Working from a Biodiversity Plan, BEAG organises events to engage people so that they want to learn more and do more to tackle the climate crisis. A recent well-attended tour of the River Bandon included a lecture on the recovering ecology of the waterway post recent flood works, and an entertaining overview of local landmarks with accompanying historic tales. Upscaling and recycling are integral to healing the planet.

Cycle Sense

Cycle Sense, established in 2007 by Ruth Bullough and Katie Mann, promotes the benefits of cycling by organising cycling events and by training children, adults and groups to cycle safely.

Later they opened a workshop in Skibbereen where partner Karl Watkins repairs bikes. This is where people can learn to repair their own bikes and where unwanted bikes go for rebuilding so they may never see a landfill. Cycle sense would like to see cycling and walking replace the short car journey and support the circular economy.

‘We also continue to collect paint from the Civic Amenity Sites and create a brand called Relove Paint reducing that waste,’ says Ruth.

Tidy Towns

Tidy Towns organisations across West Cork continue to encourage communities to make their area a better place to live, work and visit while also evolving with the times.

‘Tidy Towns has become a bit of a misnomer these days,’ says Clonakilty Tidy Towns co-chairperson, Diarmaid Cregan. ‘Tidy Towns is all about biodiversity, sustainability and community involvement.’

Clonakilty won Ireland’s tidiest small town in 2022. Diarmaid says they are learning as they go to make the small changes that can make a big impact. For example, they know now to plant less bedding plants because they require more watering.

Last year they contracted an ecologist to survey the flora and

fauna living in Clonakilty. The detailed report discovered some rare residents and, overall, it helps knowing what they have so that they can conserve and protect accordingly.

Bennett Mill Field Biodiversity Garden on the Western Road is purposely not maintained says Diarmaid. ‘We leave wild areas and don’t cut the grass in 70% of it, and only cut it back in the end of the season.’

Some people complained that it looked untidy, but ‘we have to re-learn that nature needs space to go wild,’ explained Diarmaid who was delighted to report that there are now otters living behind Dunnes Stores. The presence of these beautiful creatures is widely recognised as an indicator of clean water and a healthy local ecosystem.

Also in Clonakilty, work is being done by the Tidy Towns group, in cooperation with Birdwatch Ireland, to protect the swifts who come to the town every year.

As a result, they received funding for a swift mural which has received fantastic public feedback. ‘Before that we all thought they were swallows! Did you know that swifts do not land to sleep or eat? Only to breed.’ explains Diarmaid.

Tidy Towns in Clon are now partnering with Transition Year students from Clonakilty Community College to plant trees along the Clonakilty Greenway and are also currently helping CoAction to design and build a sensory garden.

Similarly, Liz Wakefield of Goleen Tidy Towns reports that their verges are maintained with native wildflowers, and that they grow their own plants from seeds and cuttings, not only to enhance the beauty of the village, which in itself, ‘improves people’s sense of well-being,’ but also to encourage biodiversity.

In an interesting collaboration, the Ballydehob Jazz Festival will again team up with Ballydehob Tidy Towns on their litter picking tour of West Cork beaches and roadways.

This now annual event is especially genius because the festival’s ‘creative decorations team’ re-use the remnant rope, buoys and plastics to decorate jazz festival signage.

These organisations represent just a fraction of all the groups, schools and individuals who are doing their part to help Ireland reach its goals to halve our emissions by 2030 and reach net zero by 2050.

Why not do your part, get involved and make a difference? It’s easy – just check locally for details and join one of these, or another of the amazing community initiatives around West Cork. You might even see an opportunity to start a new group in your area. It all helps!

Sarah Canty takes a look at some of the local organisations that are doing their bit to maintain and protect the West Cork environment, and consequently, the globe

Take small actions – see big results!

Try getting broken machines and/or devices repaired before discarding them in favour of new ones

Invest in products that are made to last and choose the highest energy rated product you can afford when replacing home appliances.

Make a habit of bringing your own reusable coffee cup and/or water bottle when you go out and about

Bring a bag with you every time you go for a walk on a beach or in the countryside and pick up rubbish along the way.

Where possible, buy from companies that manufacture ethically and who adhere to the idea of a circular economy.

Consider walking or cycling to work or the shops. Use public transportation for longer trips.

Replace old light bulbs with LED bulbs.

Shop at secondhand and charity shops for anything from clothing to furniture

Try growing your own vegetables or at buy from a local producer.

Attend the wealth of workshops available (locally at places like CECAS in Leap and online) to learn more about ways you can help save energy, lower emissions and build a more sustainable environment.

Use large appliances outside of peak hours. This kind of thinking is more relevant than ever with smart metering technology becoming more prevalent.

Plant native trees and wildflowers and allow portions of your garden to grow wild to encourage the local, natural ecosystem to thrive.

Turning your thermostat down by just one degree Celsius equals energy savings of up to 13%

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Are you on the road to sustainable motoring?

By Brian Byrne

FOR sustainability in cars the buzzword has become electromobility. Not just pure electric vehicles, but all powertrains that use electric energy in some form or other to reduce the environmental effects of internal combustion engines – mostly as hybrids, thanks to the original innovation by Toyota with the Prius from way back. Every major carmaker now offers, in addition to a growing catalogue of electric cars, hybrid with everything.

Personal automotive transportation can never be the most sustainable form of moving people around. But for many it’s still the best we have. Electrification has helped mitigate automotive emissions that are part of pumping up the planet’s temperature and global climate but there are arguments about the environmental costs of actually producing cars.

The truly pure option is walking or cycling, both good for health and the environment — but not so much for commuting to and from the work that allows us to be productive and sustains families, communities and countries. We have to be realistic, especially for those who don’t have the benefit of decent public transport where they live. The personal car is going to be around for a long time yet.

Sustainability is complicated

As individual motorists we can do things to ease the burden on the planet. We can think before we drive, ask whether the journey actually requires the car or could be reasonably done on foot or on the bike? We can also choose the kind of car that matches both our family life needs and a minimised carbon cost. That might mean an EV is not the best choice, for instance. Sustainability is complicated, balancing cost, capability and environmental impact. Everybody has to do their own sums, and the reality for most of us is that we won’t be able to afford the ideal option. A straightforward petrolpowered car might be the only affordable choice, especially in small cars where price sensitivity doesn’t allow for viable electrification.

To hopefully help in some way, here’s a Rough Guide to some of the most popular electrified cars on the Irish market.

Pure electric

Let’s go pure electric first. Volkswagen were the 2022 brand leader here, with their ID.4 (from €44,343) and ID.3 (€42,212) models being first and fifth respectively in the top five EV registrations.

Hyundai were next with their Ioniq 5 (€40,995), then Tesla with the Model 3 (€44,990), and finally Kia’s EV6 (€54,300). All of those are at the high end in price, reflecting that electric car motoring is still a preserve of the better off.

Smaller penetrations of individual models at the middle-lower ranges – where Nissan’s pioneering Leaf (€28,145), Renault’s new Megane E-Tech Electric (€37,495), and the Stellantis Group’s Opel, Peugeot, Citroen and DS small EVs (ranging €31,995€43,562 upwards) are all sparking – are tempered by ICE options as well as a bigger percentage cost difference among those offering ICE versions against their EV variants.

Hybrid

In the petrol-hybrid arena, Toyota is not unexpectedly king of the road. Apart from their smallest Aygo, the carmaker offers a hybrid version of all their passenger cars and they dominated the top five hybrid models in 2022, with Corolla (€34,415), C-HR (€34,065), RAV 4 (€42,015), Yaris Cross (€29,700) and Yaris (€27,990) taking the slots (and one of that last was my own purchase, make of which what you may).

In brand terms Ford came next, their Kuga being the only selfcharging hybrid in their catalogue, followed by Hyundai with Tucson (€40,245) and Kona (€32,545) as the next best sellers.

Plug-in hybrid

There’s a substantial upmarket shift in the plug-in hybrid space, not surprising as adding this electrification element is an expensive extra technology. It is also where premium brands tend to go rather than provide self-charging hybrid, because their margins

allow higher profits if they do. So BMW topped the brand PHEV sales in Ireland last year, their X5 (€87,685) and 3 Series (€54,995) collectively taking that podium spot from Hyundai. But Korean companion brands Hyundai and Kia dominated the top five PHEV models, with Tucson (€43,945), Sorento (€56,500) and Santa Fe (€57,945) taking first, third and fourth places respectively, and Volvo filling the fifth space with their XC60 (€72,595).

Now driving well into 2023, the pure EV options number around 25, with models available, apart from brands already mentioned, from BMW, Skoda, Toyota, Cupra, Porsche, MG, Audi, Mini, and Mercedes-Benz.

For those looking towards self-charging hybrids, in addition to those I have mentioned there are also models from Lexus, Suzuki and Jeep.

And PHEV offers apart from brands already mentioned are available from Mercedes-Benz, Kia, Ford, Lexus, Porsche, Range Rover, Mazda, Audi, Stellantis Group brands, Volkswagen and Mini.

My brief for this sustainability piece was to provide some direction on the electrified cars available from among the rest of the pack. As you can see, because almost all carmakers are now more or less in the space, it might have been easier to look at those who aren’t. It would have been a much shorter piece.

FORD KUGA

KIA EV6

IONIQ

RENAULT MEGANE ETECH

VW ID4

KIA SORENTO

NISSAN LEAF

TOYOTA COROLLA

Southern Star motoring columnist

Brian Byrne gives his very own recommendations for small, medium, large and premium picks from the electric, hybrid and plug-in hybrid ranges

ELECTRIC (EV)

Small: Renault Zoe (€35,399)

Medium: Nissan Leaf (€33,145)

Large: Hyundai Ioniq 5 (€40,995)

Premium:

Mercedes-Benz EQB (€67,705)

PLUG-IN HYBRID (PHEV)

Small

Renault Captur (€29,120)

Medium:

Kia Niro (€37,700)

Large:

Peugeot 508 (€51,995)

Premium: Volvo XC60 (€72,590)

AT A GLANCE

HYBRID ELECTRIC (HEV)

Small:

Toyota Yaris (€27,990)

Medium:

Ford Kuga (€46,343)

Large:

Toyota Highlander (€82,090)

Premium: Lexus UX 250 (€48,130)

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Love

Electric Transport

As petrol and diesel prices remain high, many of us are thinking of ditching the car for a cheaper alternative. You could always go the old-fashioned route of getting on your bike, but if you love a gadget then an electric bike or scooter should suffice.

What is the difference between the two? A fully

Boiling Tap

charged electric scooter will last about 50km. Not a huge distance if you live on the outskirts of town but it is ideal for buzzing around city streets.

On the other side a fully charged electric bike will last you up to around 100km. Factors such as weight and terrain could reduce the distance. It will cost you more but you get more mileage.

Since the pretty extreme rise in energy bills in recent times, we have become a nation obsessed with how much it costs to boil the kettle. It’s around €0.07 a time, so around €120 a year. A boiling water tap could help could cut this cost by half.

Almost eliminating the need for a kettle entirely, the boiling tap produces cold, hot and

boiling water. It can hold enough boiling water to produce 25 cups of tea an hour. It also uses up to 50% less energy than traditional kettles. The updated version also produces sparkling water. If you’re a lover of the bubbles this is a great option as it allows you to fill your bottle from home – not only cost-effective but better for the environment too with a lot fewer plastic bottles in use.

Slow Cooker

Sometimes it’s the simple things in life that make all the difference. It might not be groundbreaking but the slow cooker is revolutionising our modern lives.

Thanks to the rise in energy bills and TikTok, this 1970s favourite is having a comeback every ’90s pop star would be envious of.

When it comes to saving energy, using a slow cooker as opposed to your oven is a no-brainer. It would take using your slow cooker for 15 hours to use the same amount of energy an electric oven does in just an hour. Not only does it put more money in your pocket, a slow cooker gives you the gift of time, something we all appreciate in today’s busy world.

Smart Plug

As part of our quest to make our homes ‘smarter’, the small yet mighty ‘smart’ plug is making waves. Who knew that plugging our devices into an intelligent piece of gadgetry would make our busy lives easy while saving the environment.

Connecting to your wifi, the smart plug allows

you to manage your gadgets from an app on your phone. Setting it up is as easy as popping one in a socket, pairing it with your network, and then using it to control any appliance attached to it. So, if you fancy a cuppa once you’re in the door, or need to turn the lights on for security when you’re away, a smart plug is the device for you.

gadgets? Here are six great examples to help you make your life more environmentally sound

Heated Desk

This is a game-changer for those working from home or if you’re running a small office-based business. Anybody who has worked in an office with others knows the biggest gripe is often the temperature of the room. It’s either too hot or too cold.

According to Grand Designs presenter Kevin McCloud, the Ökoform heated desk is one of his ‘green heroes’.

The desk uses a radiant heating element that works by heating you directly rather than the surrounding air.

It also uses electricity much more efficiently than fan heaters. At just 260W the desks are 90 per cent cheaper to run than the average 2,500W to 3,000W desk fan heater.

For those working from home it allows you to stay warm without having to heat the rest of the house.

Composting

When we think of being eco-friendly, composting is one of the first things that comes to mind. It sounds idyllic but if you have ever lifted the lid

For the novice composter a Food Cycler is a great place to start. It’s a nifty gadget that is about the size of a toaster oven. After filling the removable waste bucket with food scraps, it heats, dries,

Green for Micro programme outlines the big benefits of sustainability for small businesses

As a small business owner, the Green for Micro Programme will help you understand the growing importance of sustainability, both in business and in the world around us. What you may not understand are the significant benefits that it can have for your company, on everything from efficiencies to cost savings.

Green for Micro is a FREE programme that Cork County Council’s Local Enterprise Office offers to helps small businesses take the first step towards becoming more sustainable, giving you access to a green consultant who’ll show you the small changes that can have a big impact.

Developing a ‘greener’ policy can offer many benefits to your business, including:

• Increased cost savings

• Improved resource efficiency (for example: using less energy, water, and materials)

• Reduced environmental footprint and greenhouse gas emissions

• Opportunities for higher and additional value on products and services

• Increased access to customers, improved corporate image and reputation.

• Increased resilience to climate change impacts.

Kevin Curran, Head of Enterprise, Local Enterprise Office Cork North & West said ‘Small businesses today hear a lot on how to become “more sustainable”, “green” and “climate change”, but what does

that mean for their business? The answer to this would be that businesses cannot afford not to implement these strategies as part of their everyday operations.’

Kevin advises ‘customers are more aware of sustainability and its impact on credentials of

SMALL CHANGES. BIG IMPACT.

products and services; however, it is important for businesses not to feel confused about the language used around sustainability.’

‘Green For Micro is designed to help small businesses and I am confident that this programme will assist business

owners in learning everything they need to know on how to take that all important first step, while enjoying the benefits of the programme.’

Eligibility

Projects eligible for support include:

• Open to Micro-enterprises with up to ten employees (excluding those involved in activities that the Local Enterprise Offices consider as ineligible.

• Turnover is in excess of €30,000 annually in either 2020 or 2021.

• The business is trading in excess of 6 months.

• Companies forming part of a holding group, franchise, linked companies etc. are only permitted to make one application. Multiple applications will not be considered.

• Businesses with 10 employees or more may be eligible, please contact your Local Enterprise Office advisor for more information.

Scan the QR code for more information:

As a small business owner you’ll understand the growing importance of sustainability, both in business and in the world around us. What you may not understand are the significant benefits that it can have for your company, on everything from efficiencies to cost savings. Green for Micro helps small businesses take the first step towards becoming more sustainable, giving you access to a green consultant who’ll show you the small changes that can have a big impact on your company - and the world around you.

To discover how Green for Micro can help your business, visit localenterprise.ie/green

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Signposting the way for progressive farming

Teagasc is setting up a new, targeted advisory programme to support climate and sustainability actions on farms. This new public good programme will be available to all farmers.

It will build on the network of Signpost Demonstration Farms of which there are 12 in Cork West, by providing enhanced advisory and training support to farmers who commit to, select and implement climate and sustainability actions that will be appropriate and impactful on their farms. Participating farmers will be given the opportunity to commit to taking action for their farms.

The overall aim of the programme is to empower farm families to adopt new and existing technologies and production systems that will allow agriculture to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 25% by 2030 while maintaining farm profitability. There are four steps to the programme for participating farmers:

1. Farmers register for the programme at www.teagasc.ie or by contacting a local Teagasc office.

2. A baseline assessment of the current actions being implemented on the farm will be calculated.

3. Farmers will have the opportunity to see the total emissions figures for their own farm (Know Your Number). This is an important starting point. It’s hard to change what you don’t measure.

4. An action plan for the farm will be developed in conjunction with an advisor (Make My Plan). Creating this action plan will be supported by being able to assess, select and commit to the actions that are most appropriate to the farm. Farmers will be supported to enable them to make the plan happen through a range of advisory supports, including both group-based and individual follow-up and advice.

The target for the programme is to register 10,000 farmers each year with 50,000 participating in the programme between now and 2030.

There will be two full-time climate action and sustainability advisors working alongside the West Cork advisory team to support farmers in West Cork reduce their farm emissions.

Participation in the programme will be for three years. Farmers will be supported during this three-year period in adopting the key technologies identified in the Ac-

tion Plan for the farm. The service will be free of charge to all farmers and will also be closely linked to the ongoing advisory support services currently in place, ensuring consistency and good integration into existing advisory programmes. However, additional advisors will help boost the support available to all farmers.

It has always been an ambition of the Signpost Programme to combine the network of demonstration farms with a dedicated advisory campaign to maximise the reach of the Signpost programme.

The launch of this new advisory programme is the realisation of that original objective.

The network of 12 demonstration farms in Cork West as part of the national web of 120 demonstration farmers will play two critical roles in this programme:

1. They will be amongst the first to adopt climate mitigation and adaptation technologies, supported by their advisors; and

2. They will be central to farmer-tofarmer learning, sharing their experiences with other farmers through farm walks, events, articles, videos, media etc.

SIGNPOST Farmers for Climate Action

The Signpost Programme is a collaborative programme to lead climate action by Irish farmers and support the transition towards more sustainable farming systems.

The main objectives of The Signpost Programme are to:

• Reduce greenhouse gas emissions

• Reduce ammonia emissions

• Reduce nutrient loss to the environment and contribute to improved water quality and biodiversity

• Save farmers money and improve efficiency of production systems

The Signpost Programme is a collaborative partnership of farmers, industry and State Agencies, working together for climate action.

For further details of the partners please refer to www.teagasc.ie/signpost

This new public good programme will be providing enhanced advisory and training support to farmers to commit to, select and implement climate and sustainability actions that will be appropriate and impactful on their farms. (Photos: Shutterstock)

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