Sustainable Construction & Building Performance Award

This award is open to organisations, design teams, developers, contractors, building owners, and construction professionals throughout the island of Ireland that can demonstrate outstanding sustainable energy initiatives or the delivery of carbon-efficient buildings through exemplary design and performance. The judges will want to know how energy efficiency and carbon reduction have been embedded throughout the design, construction, and operation of your organisation or project. You should explain what has been achieved so far, what you hope to achieve in the future, and provide evidence of an overall strategy with measurable targets, year-on-year performance improvements where applicable, and a clear commitment to long-term sustainability. Entry is by a 5 A4 page submission; the judges will be looking for freshness of content and clear information and evidence of delivery on core objectives, paying attention to the criteria listed below.

• Organisation or Project Background: Outline the size, nature, and scope of your organisation or project. Include the building type, scale, occupancy (where applicable), annual energy spend or energy profile, relevant energy performance targets, and any accreditation, benchmarking, design standards, or external validation.
• Strategy Background: Provide a background of your energy and carbon strategy, outlining how it was developed, its objectives, and the measurable targets set. Describe how energy efficiency, carbon reduction, sustainable materials, lifecycle considerations, and renewable energy were incorporated into the project or organisational strategy.
• Implementation: Provide an overview of how the strategy was implemented efficiently and effectively. Include measures taken to improve energy efficiency, increase the use of renewable energy, reduce direct and indirect emissions, utilise sustainable building materials, and deliver low-carbon design solutions such as passive design, high-performance building fabric, energy-efficient systems, and renewable technologies where applicable.
• Organisation Commitment: Describe the commitment made to collaboration, staff training, communication, and stakeholder engagement throughout the design, construction, and operational phases. Explain the level of buy-in from designers, contractors, building owners, occupants, and other stakeholders, and how energy performance is supported after project completion where relevant.
• Outcomes & Results: Summarise the practical benefits of your energy initiatives or building design, detailing the benefits to both the environment and the organisation. Include measured reductions in energy demand, carbon emissions, increased renewable energy use, building performance outcomes, benchmarking results, post-occupancy evaluation findings where available, and comparisons with previous years or design targets. Describe how impacts and benefits were measured and reported.
• Supporting Facts & Statements: Include any other facts or statements that you feel are relevant to support the entry, such as certifications, awards, lessons learned, innovation, or independent verification of performance.