Bank of Ireland has announced that it is investing over £600,000 to retrofit energy-efficient LED lighting in its 13 Northern Ireland branches and wider office estate across Belfast and Bristol.

The works will enable the bank to reduce its carbon footprint, contribute to a more efficient and sustainable operation and reduce its energy consumption by around 60 per cent.

The retrofitting of LED lighting aligns with the ISO 50001 standard on energy management, which sets out how organisations can improve their energy use and conserve resources.

Gail Goldie, Chief Executive Officer, Bank of Ireland UK said: "We are investing in a more sustainable future, and our energy-efficient LED lighting programme is a further example of this. This programme will help us to significantly cut our lighting energy consumption, further reducing our environmental impact. All of this is helping us make progress in meeting the ambitious green targets we have set for our business."

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Eamonn Hughes, Chief Sustainability and Investor Relations Officer, Bank of Ireland, stated: "Energy efficiency is an important pillar of our ESG strategy and we believe that this investment not only benefits our bottom line but also underscores our commitment to reducing our environmental impact and contributing to a more sustainable world."

In December 2022, The Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) confirmed the Bank of Ireland's goal to slash its greenhouse gas emissions from its own operations (Scope 1 and 2) by 49 per cent by 2030, aligning with its larger objective of achieving net zero emissions by the same year. Overall, Bank of Ireland has made significant progress in reducing scope 1 and 2 emissions, reaching absolute emissions reductions of 90 per cent since 2011, and a 42 per cent reduction on the 2020 baseline.

Bank of Ireland has also recently invested £3 million to deliver a new fleet of energy efficient ATMs to replace its existing network which will see its ATM energy usage more than halved.