HRI launch Sustainability Strategy ‘Racing towards a better world’
Thursday, December 14, 2023
Horse Racing Ireland (HRI) today launched its Sustainability Strategy 2024 ‘Racing towards a better world’ which will drive and support the Irish breeding and racing industry in becoming a recognised leader in sustainability.
The strategy identifies the role HRI will play in delivering sustainability change across the organisation, while also providing guidance and support to the wider industry. It sets out a clear approach and roadmap for delivery, embracing Ireland’s Climate Action Plan and benchmarked against the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals.
Over the past 12 months, HRI has focused on creating strong sustainability foundations, building on current good practice to further develop and adopt industry standards, policies and practices to meet expectations. The strategy process was informed by broad stakeholder engagement and supporting research to identify the most important environmental, social and governance issues impacting our industry.
Roger Casey, Chief Financial Officer, HRI, commented: “HRI is committed to fostering an industry-wide culture of sustainability. We also want to support the industry to increase its understanding and delivery of sustainability priorities through practical measures and financial supports where possible. To achieve this, HRI will continuously share our learnings with industry stakeholders. Significant sustainable development funding also needs to be made available nationally and at EU level, and we continue to work with the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine in this regard.
“This subject is increasingly important to racing’s social licence to operate and really is just the starting point of our sustainability journey, providing the platform for us to measure and report our progress, in detail, in future years.”
Victor Quinlan, Capital Projects and Environmental Sustainability Lead, HRI, commented: “Under the SEAI Public Sector Partnership Programme, HRI is committed to maximising energy efficiency, improving the environment, and meeting national energy saving obligations. We have made significant progress over recent years and together with our HRI racecourses, Fairyhouse, Leopardstown, Navan and Tipperary, we report on our energy efficiency and CO2 footprint annually, as we work towards the mandated 2030 public sector targets.
“Our racecourses provide a plethora of diverse habitats and ecosystems and we have partnered with National Biodiversity Data Centre to better understand and assist the protection of biodiversity.”
There is also ongoing progress on key initiatives such as education and training programmes through equuip, HRI’s Industry Education and Training department; employee and industry assistance programmes; the launch of a Health, Safety and Well-being Guide for the Industry; increased local community engagement; and the achievement of the IBEC KeepWell Mark, an evidence-based accreditation that puts the wellbeing of employees at the forefront of company policy.
CLICK HERE FOR LINK TO HRI SUSTAINABILITY STRATEGY 2024
The strategy identifies the role HRI will play in delivering sustainability change across the organisation, while also providing guidance and support to the wider industry. It sets out a clear approach and roadmap for delivery, embracing Ireland’s Climate Action Plan and benchmarked against the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals.
Over the past 12 months, HRI has focused on creating strong sustainability foundations, building on current good practice to further develop and adopt industry standards, policies and practices to meet expectations. The strategy process was informed by broad stakeholder engagement and supporting research to identify the most important environmental, social and governance issues impacting our industry.
Roger Casey, Chief Financial Officer, HRI, commented: “HRI is committed to fostering an industry-wide culture of sustainability. We also want to support the industry to increase its understanding and delivery of sustainability priorities through practical measures and financial supports where possible. To achieve this, HRI will continuously share our learnings with industry stakeholders. Significant sustainable development funding also needs to be made available nationally and at EU level, and we continue to work with the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine in this regard.
“This subject is increasingly important to racing’s social licence to operate and really is just the starting point of our sustainability journey, providing the platform for us to measure and report our progress, in detail, in future years.”
Victor Quinlan, Capital Projects and Environmental Sustainability Lead, HRI, commented: “Under the SEAI Public Sector Partnership Programme, HRI is committed to maximising energy efficiency, improving the environment, and meeting national energy saving obligations. We have made significant progress over recent years and together with our HRI racecourses, Fairyhouse, Leopardstown, Navan and Tipperary, we report on our energy efficiency and CO2 footprint annually, as we work towards the mandated 2030 public sector targets.
“Our racecourses provide a plethora of diverse habitats and ecosystems and we have partnered with National Biodiversity Data Centre to better understand and assist the protection of biodiversity.”
There is also ongoing progress on key initiatives such as education and training programmes through equuip, HRI’s Industry Education and Training department; employee and industry assistance programmes; the launch of a Health, Safety and Well-being Guide for the Industry; increased local community engagement; and the achievement of the IBEC KeepWell Mark, an evidence-based accreditation that puts the wellbeing of employees at the forefront of company policy.
CLICK HERE FOR LINK TO HRI SUSTAINABILITY STRATEGY 2024
HRI is committed to fostering an industry-wide culture of sustainability. We also want to support the industry to increase its understanding and delivery of sustainability priorities through practical measures and financial supports where possible.
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