GMIT researchers help Carey Building Contractors win Corporate Social Responsibility Award

A prestigious award presented to Carey Building Contractors recognises an ongoing collaborative research partnership with the Department of Building and Civil Engineering in the Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology (GMIT), which has focused on benchmarking resource efficiency practices on a number of construction projects over the past two years.

Carey Building Contractors was named as the winner of the ‘Excellence in Corporate Social Responsibility by an SME’ award at the 13th Annual Corporate Social Responsibility Awards held in Dublin recently (1 Sept 2016).

The research carried out by Jan Gottsche and Dr Mark Kelly of GMIT, which was funded by the Environmental Protection Agency under the Green Enterprise Scheme, has resulted in the implementation of a number of energy reduction, water reduction and waste minimisation strategies resulting in significant cost savings and reduced environmental impact.

The award entry was based on the construction of the Podiatry Unit in Merlin Park Hospital, which was completed in February 2015. The implemented resource efficiency strategies on this project resulted in cost savings of approximately €8,000, a reduction in energy use of over 6,000kWhrs and the prevention and reuse of over 160 tonnes of material waste. 

Paul Carey, Managing Director, Carey Building Contractors, congratulated all those involved including the Carey Team, Site Manager Martin Connolly, together with Jan Gottsche and Dr Mark Kelly from GMIT.

“The information gathered through this project is now being implemented on other sites including the Connemara Visitor’s Centre, Furbo NS, new facilities for Zeltiq in Knocknacarra, Surmodics/Creagh Medical in Ballinasloe and several projects for the HSE”, says Mr Carey.

Carey Building Contractors and the Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology are currently exploring further opportunities to improve environmental performance that aims to move beyond linear systems to embrace more circular material cycles.

Dr Mark Kelly, GMIT Dept of Building & Civil Engineering, says: “The collaboration with Carey Building Contractors has allowed us to engage in applied research on a range of construction projects, which has proved invaluable in providing evidence-based examples of how to implement cost-effective strategies to improve environmental performance on site. This applied approach has been embedded into the curriculum in the Department of Building and Civil Engineering to provide real-world learning opportunities for the students who can engage in problem solving that is directly relevant to construction sector.”

The annual award ceremony hosted by Chambers Ireland recognises the significant contribution that Irish business makes to society through corporate social responsibility practices.

For further information on this collaborative research project, please contact Dr. Mark Kelly at Mark.Kelly@gmit.ie