Social

Gas Networks Ireland continue to focus on the wellbeing of our people, our communities, and our customers. Our employees are central to the success of our business. They are the driving force, the creative intelligence, and the passionate energy behind our achievements. Investing in our people allows us to attract and retain the best. Our social programmes focus on improving Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DE&I) through Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) and engagement, education initiatives, environmental stewardship, and social inclusion.

We remain committed to building a workplace that embraces diversity, where everyone is treated fairly, and where everyone has a real sense of belonging. We strive for a positive impact on Biodiversity and DE&I through our day to day operations – protecting biodiversity and allowing it to thrive is fundamental to the wellbeing of our employees and the communities where we operate.

In 2023, Gas Networks Ireland retained certification to the Business Working Responsibly Mark standard, in line with ISO26000, from Business in the Community Ireland (BITCI). The Mark is the only independently audited standard for Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability practices in Ireland. As holders of the Mark, we are a member of the Leaders Group on Sustainability and the Social Inclusion group, and signatories of the Elevate Pledge and Low Carbon Pledge. Our responsible operation of the gas network and our focus on supports for our people and our communities supports Ireland’s progress towards UNSDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production and UNSDG 3: Good Health and Wellbeing.

Employee volunteering is part of our corporate responsibility strategy. We are honoured to have been accepted as applicants for the “Investing in Volunteers” certification – the national quality standard for best practice in volunteer management – and hope to achieve this in 2024.

Workplace

Our overarching ambition is that the people who work in our organisation feel this is a great place to work, and that their experience at work is enriching and rewarding. We give employees an opportunity to provide insight and opinions on their organisational experience through our annual engagement survey and pulse survey mid-year, employee forum, and our employee resource groups. By listening and addressing areas that are important for our people we can take positive steps to shape our culture, improve how we do things, and better support our people. We have seen an increase in overall sustainable engagement in our company through our annual survey.

Putting our customers first

Our excellence in customer care and in our customer service programme continued to be recognised in 2023, and our services to support vulnerable customers were benchmarked against our peers as best in class, evidenced through the accolade of Best Customer Experience in Public, Voluntary, and Non-Profit Sector at the CCMA awards. The judges noted “the work being done to enhance digital options for their different types of customers. In addition, Gas Networks Ireland clearly demonstrated a commitment to developing accessible service options and supports for vulnerable customers”. We also achieved Best Customer Experience Utilities/Telecom at the CE Awards and the Best Customer Experience Impact in Government and Public Sector category at the CXIA awards, where our Customer Care Manager Bernard Mooney was also awarded the Customer Experience Leader. We continued to maintain and enhance our customer journeys which saw our overall Customer Satisfaction Score remain at an excellent 93%.