In 2013 Waterford County Council assisted several companies in achieving €co Merit Status.
€co Merit – is a programme designed to help businesses (predominantly SME’s) to save on their energy, waste and water costs whilst becoming ‘greener’ in the process. They also achieve recognition through the award of an €co Merit – environmental certification.
€coMerit is provided by €conCertive (www.ecomerit.ie), supported by the EPA.
Dunhill Ecopark is located in the Copper Coast Geopark in Co. Waterford. It is accredited by EU and UNESCO and is one of three geoparks in Ireland and 100 worldwide. Dunhill Ecopark is owned by Dunhill Rural Enterprises Ltd which is a voluntary community based company limited by guarantee with charitable status. The enterprise centre includes a state of the art education facility with conference and meeting rooms, a café and full accessibility. Dunhill EcoPark is paving the way to support all its tenants to become green through the €co Merit certification programme.
Dunhill EcoPark’s EcoMerit holders’ are DREL (Dunhill Rural Enterprises Ltd), Elda Wild Irish Venison and Comerford and Foley.
Audi Waterford were awarded EcoMerit environmental certification in recognition of the environmental performance of their state-of-the-art terminal on Cork Road, Waterford. The design of this facility places great emphasis on energy efficiency, and it incorporates underfloor heating, natural ventilation, high performance glazing, and LED lighting. As a result the terminal uses 20% less energy than the equivalent conventional building.
The environmental performance of the terminal is not limited to energy considerations. The cars are washed using a filtered rainwater harvesting system fed from the roof. This saves 1,600 tonnes of mains water supply every year. The building also incorporates water-saving dual flush toilet cisterns.
For further information contact:
Anne Sullivan, Environment Section, Waterford County Council
Tel. 0868516227/
email asullivan@waterfordcoco.ie