Ireland’s Marine Institute unveils ambitious ‘Climate Action Roadmap 2025’

Ireland’s Marine Institute has launched its “Climate Action Roadmap 2025” outlining the organization’s ambitious plans and progress in sustainability, energy efficiency and carbon reduction across its operations.

The Marine Institute said its climate-action roadmap reflects the institute’s structured and proactive approach to meeting sustainability targets and delivering on responsibilities outlined in the government’s Climate Action Plan 2025 and Climate Action Mandate. 

Key achievements include:

• A 44.6 percent improvement in energy efficiency compared to the 2009 baseline.

• A 5.7 percent reduction in overall CO2 emissions, despite increased operational demands.

• A tenfold increase in the use of hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO), a low-carbon biofuel also known as renewable diesel that serves as a replacement for fossil fuels to power Ireland’s marine-research vessels. In 2024, approximately 20 percent of the fuel used to operate the vessels was this renewable alternative, which equates to 500,000 liters (132,086 gallons) of HVO.

In 2024, the institute’s research vessels spent 119 more days at sea than the previous year. 

Yet, thanks to the adoption of HVO, fossil CO2 emissions rose by just 0.7 percent.

This milestone underscores the transformative impact of cleaner fuels and, together with advances in vessel technologies, sets the stage for meeting and potentially exceeding the institute’s 51 percent carbon-reduction target.

Looking ahead, the roadmap includes:

• Installation of two additional solar PV systems at the Oranmore headquarters, expected to generate up to 26 percent of total electricity needs.

• Upgrades to HVAC systems, LED lighting and other energy-saving infrastructure.

• Increasing the use of HVO as a cleaner alternative-fuel source.

“Sustainability is at the heart of how we work in the Marine Institute,” said CEO Rick Officer. “It’s part of our mission of protecting Ireland’s ocean and it’s embedded in our culture and daily operations. We are extremely proud of our progress over the past 12 months in the vital areas of sustainability and energy. Our achievements result from the combined effort and innovation of colleagues working across the institute.”  

Toni Hollowell, the Marine Institute’s facilities manager, added, “It’s not about one single project. It’s about embedding sustainability across everything we do. We’re reducing our footprint by running our research vessels more efficiently, moving to cleaner fuels and powering our sites with solar energy. Just as importantly, it’s about our people, creating a culture where staff are engaged and proud to drive change.” 

The roadmap also showcases how sustainability is deeply integrated into the institute’s ethos:

• Six teams have earned My Green Lab accreditation, achieving top-tier green and platinum ratings for sustainable lab practices.

• Other initiatives include reducing food waste, metering water usage, installing EV chargers, digitizing workflows and eliminating single-use plastics, even in laboratory settings.

Through these efforts, the Marine Institute said it continues to lead by example in marine sustainability and climate action and builds on the core work of the institute in sustainable seafood, how we manage our ocean space (marine spatial planning), how we protect marine biodiversity (marine protected areas), offshore renewable energy (decarbonization of energy systems), and how the ocean impacts climate change.

The Climate Action Roadmap 2025 can be downloaded here.