Bord na Móna unveils fresh brand and new purpose as Ireland’s Leading Climate Solutions Company

Bord na Móna has unveiled its modern brand identity, and new purpose as a climate solutions company.

In just three years, the semi-state company has been transformed from a fossil fuel to a climate solutions company. The transformation means eighty percent of all Bord na Móna employees now work in ‘green’ areas of the company, from renewable energy production, to recycling, peatland rehabilitation, and sustainable products.

Tom Donnellan, Chief Executive of Bord na Móna, commented, “Bord na Móna is an iconic Irish company with a new purpose. Our new purpose is to help Ireland achieve net zero Carbon by 2050. Our new brand identity will help us tell our story and show the different ways we are doing this.

“The battle against climate change is often portrayed negatively, in terms of all the things we have to reduce, give up, or cut back on. Bord na Móna’s story of change is actually a very positive one. It shows that there are massive gains and opportunities to be found in climate action for the country and small communities. In the past three years we have ended peat harvesting and are again hiring people across our businesses, creating high value, sustainable jobs in renewable energy, recycling operations, peatland rehabilitation and carbon farming and developing new sustainable horticulture and heating products.

“Bord na Móna’s success is being shared with communities through these new jobs, far greater rates contributions supporting local services, and a range of community gain schemes that by 2030 will likely be worth in excess of €20million to localities in the midlands. Beyond these financial gains we are also creating a healthier cleaner environment by rehabilitating thousands of hectares of peatland, improving biodiversity, air and water quality, and developing extensive new amenity areas. Today’s brand relaunch heralds a bright future for the new Bord na Móna.”

The new brand design and identity was developed by the Irish based company Zero G. Commenting on the new identity Zero G, Director of Strategy JP O’Malley said “The new Bord na Mona brand is a direct response to the shift in focus and activity made by the company over the past few years. The nature of the work Bord na Mona now engages in, is firmly in the area of Climate Solutions, whether that's renewable energy, recycling, peatland rehabilitation or community amenity development. Each of these in turn furthers Ireland's ambition of achieving net zero emissions by 2050. This national milestone became the basis for the new company narrative and purpose, and inspired the renewed visual identity, which itself seeks to express a more optimistic ambition for the business.”

Bord na Móna’s repositioning as a climate solutions company has been progressing many years. Its origins can be variously traced back to landmark contributions to ecology and peatland conservation that started with Pollardstown Fen, Newbridge in 1972 or indeed the opening of Bellacorick windfarm, Co. Mayo, in 1992 which at the time was Ireland’s first commercial wind farm.

By 2030, Bord na Móna will be able to supply a third of Irish homes with renewable energy. Last year it was announced that Bord na Móna was to raise €1.6billion to fund a series of major climate focused projects across its 200,000acre landholding. These include a series of largescale climate action projects, such as wind, solar energy, battery storage, biomass, renewable gas and demand-side assets for delivery in this decade. The company has also made significant investments in domestic waste recycling infrastructure, Littleton farm plastics facility (on the site of a former briquette factory) in Co Tipperary and the expansion of operations of its tyre recycling facility in Drogheda.

At the end of 2020, Bord na Móna launched the €126m (€108m funding from the Department of Environment, Climate and Communications and €18m funding from Bord na Móna) Peatland Climate Action Scheme, which will harness the natural power of peatlands to secure a store of over 100m tonnes of carbon in perpetuity, cut emissions, and capture millions of tonnes more in the coming years. In addition to securing employment for the 350 employees previously engaged in peat harvesting activities it will play an important role in delivering the national policy objective of a carbon neutral Ireland by 2050.

In January Bord na Móna announced that it has permanently ended all peat extraction activities.

Improving biodiversity and the development of amenities are also key aspects of the company’s vision for the future. Much of the work on peatland rehabilitation will help the company meet important objectives concerning the improvement of habitats for native plants and animals on its peatlands. Work on this scheme will also develop amenity potential, while the development of renewable energy assets will also create a considerable network of new tracks and amenity trails through the Bord na Móna estate. All of these developments will help us create, green, biodiverse corridors through our lands that have hitherto been off limits to our neighbours and communities.