Sustainability
Dundrum Town Centre is dedicated to its sustainability journey, with a strong focus on reducing consumption and emissions. Through various initiatives, including energy efficiency improvements, water conservation measures, and community engagement, we’re making significant strides towards becoming next zero by 2030.
ENVIRONMENTAL:
Electricity
Since 2019, we’ve reduced our electricity consumption by 36%. The energy saved could power 1,241 Irish homes for a year
Our onsite team constantly monitor energy consumption and look for opportunities to reduce usage. This includes turning off non-essential lighting and reducing the operating times on large energy users such as air handling units, travellators and escalators
We’ve completed several internal and external lighting upgrades in previous years throughout the town centre. Our lighting upgrade programme of works has been in place since 2021 and is still ongoing
External lighting controls are fitted with lux level sensors. This means lights will switch on or off automatically depending on daylight levels. External column, bollards and inground lights have all been upgraded to more efficient LEDs
In January 2024 we completed a major lighting upgrade in Dundrum Retail and Office Park (DROP).
In autumn 2024, we launched a lighting upgrade project in our back of house areas including all stair wells. This project involves a large percentage of the town centre’s lighting, so we will see significant savings in both consumption and costs once the project is completed. All lighting will be placed on sensors and upgraded to more efficient LEDs
In September 2024, we completed a 2-year lighting upgrade in the car park. This involved upgrading all existing lights to more efficient LEDs and installing dimming sensors. This project is estimated to save us over 2,000,000 kWh every year
Smart meters are installed on all landlord and tenant electricity meters. This gives us a better understanding of when and where we use most electricity and how we can make savings
To reduce our reliance on buying energy from the grid, we’ve installed solar panels on the roof. We increased our solar footprint for the fourth time in 2024 bringing the total solar field to 267kW. This means the energy we no longer purchase from the grid can power an additional 64 Irish homes each year
In addition to the green energy produced onsite by our solar panels, 100% of the energy we purchase from the national grid is from renewable sources. We’re also researching options to purchase a wind farm offsite to further reduce our reliance on buying energy from the grid
There are 13 EV chargers available for customer use. 4 charging points are located on level 2M red, 7 on level 2 Red and a further 2 on level -2 Green
Gas
In 2023 we used 78% less gas than in 2019. The installation of a solar hot water system in November 2023 significantly reduced our usage and gas is now only used to heat the offices. Removing gas is key for the town centre to reach net zero and this is expected to happen in 2025 once all existing major plant is replaced with more energy efficient alternatives
Water
Since 2019, we reduced our water consumption by 7%, which is enough to fill 13 Olympic sized swimming pools
Since August 2023, we’ve redirected water from a local river to fill our Mill Pond and fountains. This saves us approximately 14,000 litres of potable (tap) water every day. The water saved is the equivalent of 7,800 loads of laundry or 34,000 power showers!
All of our water meters are smart metered and we have a detection system that alerts us whenever there are any increases in usage
As part of our water saving strategy, we’ve installed low flush toilets, waterless urinals and low water use taps for handwashing
Waste
100% of waste is diverted from landfill
We have an average recycling rate of 78% and we’re aiming to increase this to 80%. According to Eco Merit, one of our external environmental accreditors, Dundrum Town Centre has one of the highest recycling rates of any shopping centre in Ireland
Nature & Biodiversity
We're looking at ways to increase biodiversity in and around the town centre as we're aware of the impact the built environment can have on nature. We commissioned a Nature Asset Plan, which gave a detailed analysis of how our business operations affect our natural environment and how we can lessen these impacts
We don't use pesticides onsite
There are three bug hotels (made from 100% recycled materials) installed in our perennial gardens
All new planting will include native species only. This is important as native plants provide pollen, nectar and seeds which feed the pollinators and wildlife living around the town centre. This includes butterflies, frogs, insects, birds and of course our own bees which live in beehives on the roof. We are looking at ways to replace some of our non-native planting with native varieties
We have internal and external living/green walls. Living walls increase biodiversity and are proven to improve air quality, regulate the temperature, reduce noise levels and reduce stress levels
We are a business supporter of the National Biodiversity Action Plan and the All-Ireland Pollinator Plan
We installed two pocket forests onsite with the help of children from Holy Cross NS. Pocket forests were designed for urban areas and they range in size from a car parking space to a tennis court. These tiny urban forests are extremely important as they provide nature corridors for local wildlife including squirrels, frogs, birds, butterflies and pollinators. They offer many benefits as they grow 10 times faster than conventional forests, generate 100 times more biodiversity and store 40 times more carbon
Our commitment to biodiversity is illustrated through our roof-top beehives. Since 2018 our roof has been home to seven beehives and Asheena, our beekeeper, visits each week to monitor the health of these colonies
SOCIAL:
We have two charity bursary partners and our current charity partners are the DSPCA and Southside Partnership
Giving Back Day is our corporate volunteering day which takes place in June each year. In 2024, 22 colleagues collectively volunteered 110 hours in Cintra, a day care facility run by St. John of God
We were the first Irish shopping centre to install a Changing Places facility which is located on level 1
We have a dedicated Family Room which is situated on level 2M
We partnered with BUMBLEance during our Super Car event in August
We partnered with Children in Hospital Ireland for our Christmas campaign, The Giving Tree
In 2024, we granted free mall space to 68 charities, community groups and local schools to fundraise and raise awareness. Collectively, they raised over €105,000
Each year we deliver the Cuchulainn Heart Challenge in St. Tiernan’s School, a business skills workshop for Transition Year students
In collaboration with the Dundrum College of Further Education (DCFE), horticultural students added to our existing pollinator-friendly garden by planting native shrubs and plants on the roof near the beehives
The children’s playground is located beside the Mill Pond
Dundrum Town Centre is a dog-friendly site
We installed a sensory room in December 2024, the first shopping centre in Ireland to do so. This is a significant milestone in creating a more inclusive experience for visitors to the town centre
Governance:
Sustainability is at the core of everything we do in the town centre and our many environmental accreditations are testament to this.
Dundrum Town Centre holds several environmental certifications. These include ISO14001 and ISO50001 which recognise excellence in environmental and energy management.
Dundrum Town Centre is audited each year by Eco Merit, an independent external environmental auditor. According to Eco Merit, we have one of the highest recycling rates of any shopping centre in Ireland
Dundrum Town Centre has been rated as one of the best in sustainable building practices. We achieved 95.2% (platinum level) in an internationally recognised green building assessment called DGNB. We’re also certified in BREEAM In-Use, which assesses the ongoing environmental performance of existing buildings.
To keep improving, we regularly measure the town centre’s eco-friendly performance against other similar properties. We do this through well-known comparison tools in the real estate industry (like GRESB, MSCI, and ISS ESG)
