The EFCA Barometer provides essential insights into market trends and challenges across Europe, enabling stakeholders to navigate the evolving economic landscape effectively.
Read about it here.
We are proud to announce that the ACEI Future Leader Award has been renamed to honour Derrick Edge, a former ACEI President and dedicated champion of emerging engineering talent.
Why Future Leaders Matter
Future leaders are at the forefront of tackling the critical challenges of our time—from housing and infrastructure to the climate crisis.
Are you an aspiring leader ready to make an impact? The 2025 Future Leader Award is now open for applications! Share your work, showcase your talent, and step into the spotlight as one of the engineering leaders of tomorrow.
Award Criteria
The 2025 ACEI Consulting Engineer Future Leader award will be presented to a consulting engineer with excellent communication skills, business acumen, technical capabilities and strong ethical values. The award competition is a great opportunity to showcase your experience to date, add value to your credentials and be publicly recognised as a rising talent by the senior leaders in your profession.
Candidates are required to submit a written application including:
• A description of the qualities and skills you believe you possess that meet the criteria of an ACEI Future Leader (max 400 words);
• An outline of the main challenges currently facing the consulting engineering profession in Ireland and how you think they could / should be addressed and the role that ACEI could play in this context. (max 600 words);
• A description of a project in which you played a key consulting engineering role. Demonstrate clearly how you met the client’s brief and brought excellence in design, innovation, sustainability, health and safety and value for money to the project (max 1200 words). Photos / images can also be included.
Entries should also include up to two other pages containing the following information:
- Full name and date of birth of applicant;
- Name of ACEI member company;
- Qualifications obtained to date and CPD courses undertaken;
- Brief career history including dates, company name(s) and position(s) held;
- Professional memberships and voluntary committee / organisation activities;
- Signature and supporting statement (max 200 words) from an ACEI Fellow (FConsEI).
To qualify for the competition applicants must satisfy the following criteria:
- Be a Chartered Engineer; Be 35 years of age or under on 31st March 2025;
- Have four or more years relevant experience;
- Be employed in an ACEI member company;
- Be supported by an ACEI Fellow Professional Consulting Engineer (FConsEI).
Future Leader 2025 Applications collated in one pdf document should be sent by email to: louise.patterson@acei.ie not later than 5pm on Friday 31 January 2025
The ACEI will set up an adjudicating panel to assess the applications and may chose a shortlist of up to five candidates. The short-listed candidates will need to make themselves available to undertake an interview with the panel in early February 2025 where two or three finalists will be selected. The finalists will be invited to submit their entry to the EFCA Future Leaders Award. The overall ACEI winner will be formally announced at the ACEI Annual Awards Dinner on 28th March in the Intercontinental Hotel, Dublin 4.
ACEI, 30 Fitzwilliam Square South, Dublin 2 : Louise.patterson@acei.ie
The European Federation of Engineering Consultancy Associations (EFCA) is pleased to announce the launch of its paper, “Carbon-Neutral and Responsible AI: The Energy Efficiency Challenge in Emerging Digital Technologies.”
This landmark document addresses the pressing energy demands posed by the exponential growth of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and frontier technologies, and presents recommendations for balancing disruptive innovation with sustainability
The paper highlights critical challenges, including the embodied carbon footprint of emerging technologies, the strain on urban energy grids, and the environmental impact of data centres. It calls for smarter planning, collaboration between policymakers and industry, and tangible solutions such as energy-efficient data centres and improved server utilisation.
EFCA’s Director General, Sue Arundale, says “AI and digital technologies are showing immense potential, but their rapid adoption must not exacerbate the climate emergency. This paper focuses on energy efficiency measures that do not threaten innovation. It also highlights the unsustainable increase in water use, which must be tackled with the same urgency.”
The recommendations align with existing European policies, including the Energy Efficiency Directive (EU/2023/1791), the Delegated Regulation (EU) 2024/1364 on reporting requirements for data centres, and the European Green Deal. All of these ensure that sustainable practices are integrated into the digital transformation. EFCA also calls for an EU-wide expert group to guide collaborative efforts in tackling these challenges.
Introducing ECOi-W AQUA-G BLUE: A Revolution in Sustainable Heating and Cooling
Powered by the natural refrigerant R290 (GWP 3), the ECOi-W AQUA-G BLUE range from Panasonic sets a new standard for energy efficiency and environmental responsibility. Ideal for commercial projects, this air-to-water reversible heat pump combines outstanding performance with quiet operation and advanced sustainability features.
Why Choose ECOi-W AQUA-G BLUE?
✅ Green technology: R290 refrigerant with ultra-low GWP (3)
✅ High efficiency: Seasonal efficiency and energy class leading the industry
✅ Flexibility: Delivers up to 70°C water temperature, cooling from -15°C outlet
✅ Scalability: Boost capacity up to 640kW with cascade controller
✅ Quiet operation: Silent mode ensures a sound power level as low as 79.9 dB(A)
With Panasonic’s commitment to quality and the GREEN IMPACT Plan, ECOi-W AQUA-G BLUE supports the transition to a decarbonised future, aligning innovation with sustainability.
Read more about it here.
ACEI President, Anne-Marie Conibear, (Egis in Ireland (formerly JB Barry and Partners), James Kavanagh (Varming Consulting Engineers Ltd.) and Shane Dempsey met with Minister Paschal Donohoe to present its budget submission.
ACEI members are reporting a significant slowdown in the bringing forward of critical infrastructure projects in the pipeline. Agencies like Uisce Éireann Irish Water, Transport Infrastructure Ireland that are delivering infrastructure need multi-annual budgeting so the industry can gear up and respond to their demands.
In addition, the ACEI requested that the Government take a fraction of the NDP budget and allocate it to initiatives that digitalise the entire construction industry, supports ‘green’ construction and the recruitment of talent into the engineering sector.
Finally, the ACEI reiterated its request that the Government allow net contribution clauses in public sector contracts. This will end the unfair situation where design professionals are held entirely liable for the mistakes of others.
RiNord meeting enjoys spectacular Faroese welcome
The Nordic associations of consulting engineers met last week for a lively programme of work, sharing of best practice and innovative engineering projects and networking, with EFCA Director General Sue Arundale joining as a guest. With an impossibly beautiful and unspoiled landscape – and unusually consistently pleasant weather – the associations tackled some emerging challenges, common to the Nordic countries, but also relevant to the rest of the consulting engineering sector in Europe. The Faroese hosts offered a tour of the jaw-dropping tunnel connecting some of the islands, which – amongst other features – has the world’s deepest underwater roundabout. Followed by further site visits to another tunnel still under construction and a new indoor sports arena, due to open in February 2025, participants were enthralled by the engineering and construction projects, as well as by the warm hospitality of the small island population. Another remarkable and effective, but less “high-tech” construction method is the use of grass roofs, a traditional technique which offers a fantastic nature-based solution to a very modern problem, namely building insulation with a sustainable use of materials. More detail will be provided in a special feature, to be published in the coming weeks, in Construction Europe. In the meantime, the video in the link below, contains more information about the tunnel. More information is available here.
New Working Group on AI and Energy Consumption
Yesterday, EFCA’s new Working Group held its kick-off meeting, with a first discussion on how to tackle the trade-off between the potential benefits of AI on the one hand and its energy consumption on the other. The energy intensive nature of data centres, quantum computing etc., has provoked discussion in recent months and consulting engineers decided to tackle the issue head on. The Working Group will consider several questions over the coming months, with a view to making recommendations for potential solutions. The starting point is that we need to embrace the emerging technology, but not to the extent that the costs far outweigh the benefits. The Group is a collaboration between EFCA’s relevant Committees, with other experts also joining. One of the first talking points yesterday was the lack of baselines, in terms of how much energy data centres are actually using. The Group aims to produce recommendations before the end of the year. More information is available here.
The full newsletter is available here.
The Office of Government Procurement (OGP) has updated the Procurement Policy – Goods and Services section of the OGP website. This revised page sets out, in a more accessible manner, the suite of information and resources that are available to public buyers. The page is aimed at:
- Making it easier for public buyers to find the resources that the OGP has developed
outlining current national policy and signposting future policy initiatives - Presenting the legislative and administrative frameworks
- Encouraging the use of strategic public procurement (including green, social and innovation).
The most recent IAE report ‘Climate Change Won’t Wait – Delivery of Renewable Energy Urgent’ prepared by a working group of the Infrastructure Standing Committee is available here – IAE_DeliveryofRenewableEnergyUrgent
IAE Reports can also be found in the “Publications” section of the Academy website www.iae.ie
Strategic Agenda in line with EFCA’s priorities
The Council has adopted its strategic agenda for 2024-2029, emphasising key priorities which could have come straight out of the EFCA election manifesto supplement, published earlier this year. Enhancing EU competitiveness (we highlighted EU autonomy); a stronger focus on innovation (we want more scope for ground breaking technical solutions in large public contracts); supporting the green and digital transition through infrastructure investments (our top concern). And as EU citizens spend a summer avoiding ear-shattering thunder storms and worry about flooded basements and aquaplaning home on waterlogged motorways, the Council plans to pressure the EU Commission to act on the Water Resilience Initiative. EFCA has put climate adaptation and reinforcing nature’s own infrastructure at the heart of its own position paper on the Blue Deal and along with 29 other organisations, had urged the Council to prioritise water in the upcoming mandate, recognising its importance for a prosperous and competitive Europe and the resilience of the economy. We welcome the Strategic Agenda and are looking forward to the new political term getting properly underway after the summer break. More information here.
Strategic Agenda in line with EFCA’s priorities
The Council has adopted its strategic agenda for 2024-2029, emphasising key priorities which could have come straight out of the EFCA election manifesto supplement, published earlier this year. Enhancing EU competitiveness (we highlighted EU autonomy); a stronger focus on innovation (we want more scope for ground breaking technical solutions in large public contracts); supporting the green and digital transition through infrastructure investments (our top concern). And as EU citizens spend a summer avoiding ear-shattering thunder storms and worry about flooded basements and aquaplaning home on waterlogged motorways, the Council plans to pressure the EU Commission to act on the Water Resilience Initiative. EFCA has put climate adaptation and reinforcing nature’s own infrastructure at the heart of its own position paper on the Blue Deal and along with 29 other organisations, had urged the Council to prioritise water in the upcoming mandate, recognising its importance for a prosperous and competitive Europe and the resilience of the economy. We welcome the Strategic Agenda and are looking forward to the new political term getting properly underway after the summer break. More information here.
Announcement expected in September
EFCA is proud to have received a nomination in the seventh annual Benelux Enterprise Awards! The Awards 2024 celebrate businesses of all sizes and sectors across the region, from innovative startups to established industry leaders. This initiative honours the diverse businesses driving the region’s economy, recognising their contributions regardless of sector or size. The final winners of the awards will be announced in September 2024, but even just to be acknowledged is an honour and we look forward to finding out! More information here.
EFCA Newsletter is taking a break – returning on 5 September! Have a wonderful and relaxing summer!
JB Barry and Partners, the long-established and Dublin-headquartered consultant engineering firm, is rebranding as Egis following its acquisition by the French-headquartered global engineering and operations group. Read all about it here.