The Pensions Authority Climate Action Roadmap 2025

1.    Introduction

The purpose of this Climate Action Roadmap is to highlight the Pensions Authority’s commitment to reducing our environmental impact and demonstrating our responsibility as a sustainable organisation. The Roadmap sets out how we aim to meet the requirements of the Public Sector Climate Action Mandate 2025.

The Public Sector Climate Action Mandate applies to all public bodies that fall under national decarbonisation targets. It outlines a set of key climate action objectives that these organisations are expected to prioritise in their operations and planning. The Mandate serves not only as a framework for compliance but also as a directive for public sector bodies to lead by example in addressing climate change. Under the Mandate, public bodies are required to take meaningful steps to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, enhance energy efficiency, transition to renewable energy sources, and adopt sustainable practices across all areas of their work. This includes setting clear targets, monitoring progress, reporting on achievements, and integrating climate considerations into procurement, infrastructure, and service delivery.

Leadership in climate action is a central tenet of the Mandate, with public bodies expected to visibly demonstrate their commitment and progress in line with national climate goals. The Mandate is dynamic and will be reviewed and updated on an annual basis to reflect evolving policies, technologies, and best practices in the field of climate action.

This Roadmap will be reviewed and updated annually within six months of the publication of the Government’s Climate Action Plan.

1.1   Organisational context – The Pensions Authority

The Pensions Authority is a statutory body established under the Pensions Act. The Authority oversees compliance with the Pensions Act 1990 by trustees of occupational pension schemes, trust RACs, PRSA (Personal Retirement Savings Account) providers, registered administrators and employers, and it investigates suspected breaches, conducts inspections, and can initiate enforcement action when needed. In addition to supervision and enforcement, the Authority also advises the Minister for Social Protection on pension policy, and offers guidance, information and support to trustees, scheme members, employers and the public.

The Authority’s Statement of Strategy 2025-2029 sets out the organisation’s vision, mission and values and the strategic objectives and high-level strategies that will underpin the Authority’s work programme for the next five years.

1.2   Progress to date

The Authority’s senior management team is committed to the Public Sector Climate Action Strategy and compliance with the Public Sector Climate Action Mandate. The Authority is a small public body, with electricity being the only energy source used. The Authority monitors and reduces, where possible, both its energy and water consumption.

From 2025, the Authority replaces any laptops with re-manufactured laptops, thus reducing electronic waste, lowering the carbon footprint, and contributing to overall energy efficiency as the energy required to re-manufacture a laptop is a fraction of that needed to produce a new one.

In recent years, the Authority has moved most of its physical servers to virtual machines and cloud infrastructure. The small number of physical servers that remain are newer, more energy efficient, and operate power saving policies.

As part of our ongoing commitment to the climate action mandate, the Authority has over recent years undertaken a number of energy savings initiatives as follows:

• LED lighting has been fitted throughout the building.
• Air conditioning – auto function removed, and default temperature has been set to 19 degrees.
• AC/heating is turned off one hour before staff leave the office.
• All water heaters are temperature controlled and fitted with timers.
• Solar film has been applied to the IT comms room windows to prevent unwanted solar heating.
• New window blinds installed to reduce solar heat in the summer.
• Office photocopiers/printers power down when not in use.

The Authority’s Annual Report 2024 provides an overview of the Authority’s activity including progress in the areas of climate action and energy use.

2.    Our targets

The Authority is committed to achieving the targets set out for public sector bodies as follows:

• Reduce energy related GHG emissions by 51%[1] in 2030.
• Improve energy efficiency in the public sector by 50%[2] by 2030.
• Update Climate Action Roadmaps annually within six months of the publication of the Climate Action Plan. Develop Climate Action Roadmaps if none are in place.

The Authority participates in the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) Monitoring and Reporting (M&R) system, which tracks the energy consumption and carbon emissions and compares it with the baseline years[1]. The Authority’s performance in 2024, per the SEAI reporting system, shows the progress made towards achieving energy efficiency and greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets:

• Total energy consumption (kWh) in 2024: 97,325 kWh (primary energy), a reduction of 121,823 kWh (55%) from the 2009 baseline (219,148 kWh).
• Total carbon emissions in 2024: 25,592 kg CO₂, a reduction of3% from the 2016-2018 baseline of 64,481 kg CO₂. The 2030 target is 14,220 kg CO₂.
• Energy efficiency: By 2024, the Authority’s energy performance had improved by 80.5% since the baseline. (The 2030 target is 50% energy efficiency improvement.)

Figure 1 – Data from SEAI M&R System

[1] The 51% reduction in energy-related greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2030 is to be measured against the 2016-2018 average baseline.

[2] The 50% improvement in public sector energy efficiency by 2030 is compared to a 33% target in 2020, using a baseline energy efficiency improvement achieved by that year. 

3.    Our people – leadership and governance

The Authority’s senior management team is committed to the Public Sector Climate Action Strategy and compliance with the Public Sector Climate Action Mandate.

3.1    Governance structures

The Climate Action Mandate requires that leadership and governance structures for climate action are set up, and that staff are engaged with climate action and have appropriate training. The Authority has a governance structure for decision making and management of climate and sustainability matters in place and includes the following roles:

• Climate and Sustainability (C&S) Committee: The senior management team will act as the C&S committee for the Authority and oversee the implementation of the Roadmap.
• Energy Performance Officer (EPO), David Malone, Head of Operations is the nominated EPO and will provide oversight and leadership to ensure that the action plan is implemented and that successes/challenges are communicated to the Committee.
• David Malone, Head of Operations is also the nominated Climate and Sustainability Champion and will manage the implementation of the actions in the Roadmap.
• The Authority has an established and resourced Green Team in place, reporting to the C&S Committee. The role of the Green Team is to implement practices to help reduce the Authority’s energy/environmental footprint and to promote energy efficiency practices.

4.    Engaging staff

In July 2025, the Authority’s senior management team completed a dedicated Climate Action Leadership Training course, delivered by the Public Affairs Institute (PAI).

The Authority is committed to engaging staff on sustainability and energy related emissions and wider climate matters. The Authority will comply with the Mandate and incorporate appropriate climate action and sustainability training into learning and development strategies for staff, as outlined below.

4.1    Staff training plans

The Authority commits to conducting training on climate and sustainability, as follows:

• provide climate and sustainability training for staff including technical, behavioural, and green procurement training as appropriate;
• incorporate relevant training into the annual Authority’s learning and development plan; and
• deliver climate and sustainability information and awareness workshops for staff.

5.    Our way of working

A key goal of the Public Sector Climate Action Mandate is to continue to monitor and report on initiatives to reduce consumption of energy and other resources. The Authority is making good progress to reduce energy use, waste generation, and to reduce reliance on paper, eliminate single use plastics and increase recycling and composting.

5.1   Energy management

The Authority’s energy management programme includes annual reporting of energy consumption to SEAI via the M&R system. The main energy used in the Authority relates to air conditioning, lighting, and electrical equipment.

5.2   Green public procurement

The Authority adheres to the Office of Government Procurement (OGP) guidelines for Green Public Procurement (GPP). The Authority’s procurement policy incorporates the OGP guidelines on best practice in GPP by integrating sustainable and environmentally friendly criteria into our procurement processes, where relevant. The Authority also avails of OGP frameworks, wherever relevant, including electricity contract, print services contract and purchase of recycled paper which ensures that goods and services procured have a reduced environmental impact.

Green procurement training has been completed by the procurement team, which helps ensure that environmental and social considerations are incorporated from the earliest stages of the procurement process and that staff are equipped with the knowledge and tools needed to make sustainable purchasing decisions.

5.3   Food waste

Food waste generation within the Authority is minimal, as no on-site catering services are provided. However, to support proper disposal of food waste brought in by staff, compost waste bins are installed in all kitchenette areas. Signage is prominently displayed to guide staff in the correct segregation of waste, helping to ensure that recyclable, organic, and general waste are placed into the appropriate waste bins.

5.4   Single use items

The Authority has eliminated the purchase of single use plastics from the office. Glasses, reusable cups and utensils are provided for staff use.

5.5   Paper and paper-based processes

The Authority has eliminated paper-based processes as far as is practicable and implemented digitisation where appropriate, thus reducing the need for printed materials.

All printers are configured to encourage responsible use: users must log in to release print jobs, helping to eliminate unnecessary printing. The default settings are double-sided printing in black and white to minimise paper and toner usage.

In line with the targets set out in the Climate Action Plan, all paper used in the office is now manufactured from 100% recycled fibres and is procured through the OGP framework for recycled office paper for printing and photocopying.

5.6   Water

The Authority has provided suitable drinking water refill points throughout the office for staff use.

The Authority works with its landlord in monitoring water usage in the building to ensure no leaks or water loss occurs. 

5.7   Waste management

The Authority’s landlord provides waste management services, which includes waste segregation into general waste, recycling waste and compostable waste.

In addition, the Authority avails of the OPW service for the recycling and re use of surplus office furniture.  

5.8   Organic food

The Authority will endeavour to ensure that catering supplies meet the minimum 10% organic food requirement.

5.9   Procurement of ICT equipment

The Authority procures ICT equipment via the approved OGP supplier.

6.    Our buildings and vehicles

6.1   Vehicles

The Authority does not own or operate any vehicles, so is not subject to procurement, monitoring, or reporting requirements related to fleet emissions.

6.2   Promoting cycling and shared mobility

The Authority provides secure and covered bicycle parking, as well as shower and personal storage lockers, to make cycling and walking to work accessible and convenient for staff. Additionally, employees are eligible to participate in the Cycle to Work Scheme and the TaxSaver Commuter Ticket Scheme.

The Authority is working towards achieving the National Transport Authority’s Smarter Travel Mark.

6.3   Phasing out parking

The Authority has reduced its car parking spaces from five to four spaces.

6.4   Procurement of zero emission vehicles

The Authority does not own or operate any vehicles, so is not subject to procurement, monitoring, or reporting requirements related to fleet emissions.

6.5   Buildings

The Authority’s operates from a leased office building located at Verschoyle House, 28/30 Lower Mount Street, Dublin 2. The building is shared with one other tenant. The landlord is responsible for the physical upkeep of the building, the maintenance and servicing of all building plant and equipment and the provision of waste management services.

6.6   Fossil fuel heating system

There are no fossil fuel heating systems installed in the building that the Authority occupies.

6.7   Display energy certificate

The Authority’s landlord has provided a Display Energy Certificate (DEC) for the building and it is on display in the building lobby.

6.8   Procurement of cleaning services

When tendering for its next cleaning services contract in 2026, the Authority will include a requirement for cleaning services tenderers to specify the training that will be put in place to ensure that all staff involved in delivery of the contract have the knowledge and skills to apply cleaning methods, which will reduce the environmental impact of the services.

6.9   Stage 1 building stock plan

The Authority has submitted its Building stock plan to the SEAI, as required under public sector climate obligations.

7.    Review

This Roadmap will be reviewed by the Authority’s C&S committee (senior management team) annually and updated within six months to reflect any amendments to the Government’s Climate Action Plan.

8.    Approval

This Roadmap is approved by the Pensions Regulator.