Calor place sustainability at the heart of customer solutions

Irish businesses have learned more about flexibility in the last 18 months than at any time in history. They have demonstrated that necessity can deliver extraordinary change. They have proven that when we work together, we can meet any challenge. As CEO of a Company that was deemed an essential service during the pandemic, I saw first-hand the incredible efforts that businesses, including our Calor team, made to keep our economy and our society going.

The flexibility we have learned cannot be forgotten. The challenge of climate change is, in some ways, even greater than that of Covid-19. Decarbonising our society will require every person to play a role. We will have to change, how we work, how we travel, how we consume, how we live our lives each day. As businesses we will have to show leadership and we will have to bring people with us.

Calor understands that we have a leadership role to play. Our parent company SHV has published its intention to be carbon neutral by 2040. Calor’s goal in Ireland, is to be a carbon neutral energy supplier by our centenary in 2037.

In order to achieve this, we have set about building a culture of sustainability in our own business. We believe that we are better placed to help others become sustainable if we build that culture in our own business. In 2020, Calor was proud to be one of just six new recipients of the Business in the Community’s Business Working Responsibly Mark, an independently audited standard for measuring responsible and sustainable business practices.

As a leading supplier of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG), over many decades we have helped thousands of Irish homes and businesses to switch to a cleaner energy supply. For home owners, we have facilitated the switch from oil or solid fuels to LPG. This has not only reduced carbon emissions, it will have reduced particulate emissions which harm air quality. This is not only good for our environment; it is better for all our health.

Calor has also been there to support businesses in towns and villages located off the natural gas network. Thousands of businesses around Ireland access affordable, cleaner energy by using LPG. From small coffee shops to factories, our energy is helping thousands of businesses to operate.

For larger industries, we have launched Calor Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG). LNG, is natural gas in liquid, cryogenic form. LNG is a popular choice for large energy users as natural gas delivers a very high intensity fuel, suitable for industrial processes which use a lot of heat. By switching more from much more highly polluting fuel sources such as oil, to LNG, large energy users can make substantial emissions savings helping them achieve their sustainability goals.
Calor is proud to have been the first company to make a certified renewable form of LPG available to homes and businesses across the island of Ireland. Calor BioLPG offers up 90% less emissions than standard LPG and compares even more favourably with other fuels.

Calor BioLPG is produced from a mix of sustainable sources, including waste materials and sustainably-sourced renewable vegetable oils. As BioLPG is identical in use and performance as conventional LPG, it works seamlessly with existing appliances and equipment. It is delivered and stored in the same way as conventional LPG and currently accounts for around 10% of our products supplied. In the last year we have expanded our Calor BioLPG range to include cylinder gas for the leisure sector – and also for the transport sector, forklift truck gas and Autogas.

Over the past year the pandemic has forced us to pause and reflect on how we live our lives. It has allowed us the chance to be clear on our goals as a business. Our goal is to become more sustainable and to help other homes and businesses do the same. We want to help ensure that homes and businesses across Ireland are enabled to decarbonise in a just manner. I look forward to Calor continuing to work with others to achieve this goal.

Duncan Osborne
CEO
Calor