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      Sustainable cities treat the environment as an asset to be protected rather than as a resource to be depleted. The importance of low carbon energy security, effective waste management, clean air and water, biodiversity and robust flood protection to Dublin’s resilience cannot be understated. 

      Rising costs, geopolitical stresses, and feelings of individual powerlessness in the face of change and crisis, can all hinder the relevance of sustainability to city businesses and citizens alike.

      However, sustainability will be a key determinant of Dublin’s human appeal and its ability to secure its future in a resource constrained world.

      Just under two in five (39 percent) feel the city does well on sustainability, with 44 percent of respondents feeling it is a very important issue.

      Clean air and water are seen as the key priorities and remain the sustainability aspects Dublin performs best on. 

      In addition, there seems to be quite a high level of uncertainty on how well the city performs on a secure low carbon energy supply and robust flood protection, with almost 4 in 10 (36 percent) stating neither well nor poorly. 

      Sustainability indicators

      What should be prioritised vs how well it is performing

      Secure low carbon energy supply

      What matters


      Ireland’s energy transition provides a transformative opportunity for Dublin. An upgraded grid, supporting a growing population and increased economic activity, whilst allowing households and businesses to supply renewable electricity back to the grid, is part of the potential reward.

      Ireland continues to import over 80 percent of its energy, despite progress in renewables and our renewable potential exceeding domestic demand. This leaves us vulnerable to price fluctuations and supply shocks, both exacerbated by geopolitical issues.

      As noted, nearly 40 percent of respondents are unsure about the city's secure low-carbon energy and flood protection. This uncertainty likely stems from the hidden nature of these challenges, such as energy grid issues.

      For Colm O’Neill, Head of Consulting at KPMG, this highlights a key challenge. “The city’s electricity grid is outdated and under capacity and the scale of the remedial action required isn’t widely understood.”

      O’Neill says that government and business leaders need to better communicate the scale of investment and likely disruption “as a big dig type of inconvenience is coming our way and the benefits are not being sufficiently sold to the population.”

      Meanwhile, as our fossil fuel consumption remains high, notably in transport, we are failing to meet our carbon targets. Russell Smyth, Head of Sustainable Futures at KPMG puts it succinctly.

      “Dublin, and indeed the whole island, is blessed with the natural resources necessary to generate all the renewable energy we’ll ever need, along with access to proven technologies to harness and deploy it. Therefore, the only thing holding us back is our own level of ambition and national prioritisation.” 

      Solar panels and the Dublin quays
      The city’s electricity grid is outdated and under capacity and the scale of the remedial action required isn’t widely understood.

      Colm O'Neill

      Partner, Head of Consulting, Global Head of Power and Utilities

      KPMG in Ireland

      Making it happen


      To secure Dublin’s energy future, we need a compelling vision of what it will mean to people, their communities, and for jobs. It’s important to persuade residents that the right infrastructure will guarantee our future. Opportunities include:

      • Significant investment to upgrade the aging distribution and transmission grids to meet the increasing demands of renewable energy and electrification in heat and transport. Recent outages in Spain and Portugal show how vital this is.
      • Transition to a Two-Way Energy System: where consumers can generate and feed energy back into the grid.
      • Accelerate plans to increase electrification in the city and take carbon heavy transport out of the equation.
      • Unlock planning delays which are severely impeding the progress of vital renewable energy initiatives.

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      Sustainable Waste Management

      What matters


      Cities that embrace a circular economy not only score higher on sustainability but also have the potential for significant business value and competitive advantage, as well as increasing their liveability scores.

      There is a major opportunity for Dublin in the shift from the traditional linear economy ("take, make, dispose") to a circular model focused on sustainability.

      As highlighted in our recent From Waste to Wealth report, this approach emphasises resource efficiency, product longevity, closed-loop systems, reduces waste disposal volumes and can positively impact on issues such as littering. 

      In our research, sustainable waste management scored as the number two sustainability priority, slightly behind clean air and water and effective biodiversity with almost a third (32 percent) of those surveyed choosing it as their top area of focus. 

      Inevitably, shifting Dublin to a circular economy has its challenges. Universal barriers include cultural resistance, lack of infrastructure, and the need for new business models.

      However, the success of the recently introduced Deposit Return Scheme show that it is possible to make behavioural shifts the norm. Elsewhere, best practice examples to help inform policy include, from Melbourne, where the advancing of smart city waste initiatives incudes the installation of over 400 solar-powered smart bins with sensors that alert when full.

      These technologies aim to improve urban efficiency, sustainability, and public engagement.

      Binman and truck

      Making it happen


      From a business perspective, promoting new revenue streams, reduced costs and enhanced brand value, can be persuasive in helping shift attitudes.

      At a community level, potential new employment opportunities and a cleaner local environment for the city, can help generate support for change. We suggest the following:

      • Encourage entrepreneurship by highlighting real world examples of companies successfully adopting circular strategies, such as using recycled materials or designing products for disassembly.
      • Promote technologies such as AI, IoT, and blockchain can help digital waste tracking , improve recycling, and enable product-as-a-service models.
      • Further assessment of potential legislation, incentives, and public-private partnerships, based on the Deposit Return Scheme and tethered plastic bottle caps, to reduce the negative impact of single use packaging, products and excess food waste.
      • Community Involvement: Engage citizens through education, participatory planning and rewards for low-waste behaviour.

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      Clean air and water, and biodiversity stewardship

      What matters


      Dublin occupies an enviable geographical position with a temperate climate. In the case of water, as the city grows, demands on its aging water infrastructure remain at a critical level.

      Data from Uisce Éireann shows that 84 percent of the city’s water comes from the River Liffey, and approximately a third (33 percent) of water leaks before reaching consumers. This is unsustainable and puts supply at risk with a growing number of water critical days with attendant concerns for both residential and business customers. 

      Air quality, a key determinant of city liveability, has improved in recent decades, but traffic related areas of particularly high nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and fine particulate matter (PM2.5) remain in many city centre areas.

      The EPA notes that these particles, mainly from burning solid fuel in homes, and traffic, are linked to respiratory and cardiovascular health issues. 

      Meanwhile, biodiversity stewardship is also under threat as Dublin’s rivers, coastal areas and natural habitats, face intense pressure from human activity. The implications are significant in terms of disruption to nature and risks to ecological systems.

      Wildflowers

      Making it happen


      As the capital continues to expand, it faces several environmental challenges in areas such as clean air, water and biodiversity. Suggestions for improvement include:

      • Expedite the Shannon to Dublin water project to reduce Dublin's reliance on the River Liffey and meet projected water demand increases of 34 percent by 2044. 
      • The most recent air quality report from the EPA indicates that there are 1,600 premature deaths in Ireland annually due to poor air quality. Current regulations and legal limits on fossil fuel emissions require active enforcement to support public health.
      • Reinforce protections for Dublin’s green infrastructure network which includes designated habitats of national and European importance, including Dublin Bay and the Phoenix Park. 

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      Robust flood protection

      What matters


      Coastal cities worldwide are at increasing threat of flood risk, and Dublin is no exception. Rising sea levels and more frequent extreme weather events  can have catastrophic human, environmental and economic consequences. 

      Dublin is one of five counties highlighted by the Central Bank of Ireland in its recent report on Ireland’s flood protection gap — the shortfall between the cost of flooding and what is covered by insurance. The difference is set to widen with just five counties accounting for 54 percent of that gap risk.

      The costs to Dublin business and the State from severe floods are likely to climb significantly in future decades. At the same time, one in 20 buildings across the country face difficulties in obtaining flood insurance.

      While our research shows less apparent focus on the need for robust flood protection (only 14 percent flagged it as their top sustainability priority), it is notable that the issue resonated with respondents as the third most preferred initiative that would protect their business in the long term. 

      Studies show that as the city expands to the west, it will encounter further flood risk associated with the River Liffey. In the city centre, urban rivers including the Dodder, Tolka and Poddle, have caused significant flooding.

      The loss of soakage due to development can inhibit drainage and exacerbate flood risk, while coastal areas are particularly vulnerable due high tides and other extreme weather conditions.

      Poolbeg seen from Sandymount Dublin

      Making it happen


      With the estimated frequency of a major catastrophic event increasing, the time to act is now. The projects requiring accelerated priority are structural and non-structural flood defence strategies to manage flood risk, particularly given Dublin’s vulnerability to coastal, river and surface water flooding.

      These include:

      • Continued investment in river flood alleviation schemes along the Liffey, Dodder and Tolka rivers, and upgrading drainage systems and pumping stations to handle increased stormwater volumes.
      • Prioritising the development, maintenance and review of new or planned flood defence walls and embankments at coastal sites including Sandymount, Merrion and Clontarf.
      • Nature-Based Solutions to assess the potential for additional projects like the Tolka Valley Park restoration to enhance river capacity and biodiversity while promoting green roofs, rain gardens, and permeable surfaces in new developments alongside Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems (SuDS).
      • Review the operation of flood alerts and weather warnings and emergency response in the context of tragic weather events, such as most recently in Valencia.

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