Following the announcement Joe said: “It’s my honour to serve as President of Appeals of the IGBF for 2023. Throughout my career in the industry, the IGBF has been an integral part of the retail landscape, providing essential help to those in need. Now more than ever, the role of the hardship fund is as important as it was when it began 59 years ago. It’s a testament to the long-standing members of the industry who have ensured that we look after our industry’s members, spouses and bereaved families right across the country. I’m looking forward to the year ahead and doing my part to support.”

In his role as Commercial Director with Tesco, Joe is responsible for ensuring the integrated commercial success of the business in Ireland. Having worked across a variety of commercial roles in Ireland and the UK for Cadbury/Mondelez International, Joe joined Tesco in 2014 as Ambient Category Director, before assuming the role of Fresh Director in April 2017. Joe was then appointed Commercial Director in 2018. In addition to the commercial strategy, Joe oversees Sourcing and Food Waste elements of Tesco’s ESG strategy, supplier relationships and its support of Irish agribusiness. Joe is also a board member of Repak.

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For the first time since I took the helm at the Retail Grocery Dairy & Allied Trades Association (RGDATA), I am hearing stories of genuine despair and fears for the future from the owners of shops, forecourt stores, convenience stores and supermarkets all over this island.

Essential community shops

These are the essential community shops that stepped up during a global pandemic to ensure that local communities had access to food and convenience essentials in a safe and friendly environment. Independent community shopkeepers led the way in coming up with solutions to deal with the challenges posed by COVID and were rightly recognised as vital community hubs. They lived up to their billing as the beating heart of local communities especially when people were confined to within 2k and 5k of their homes.

RGDATA Director, Annie Timothy, who runs a Londis supermarket with her husband Vincent in Co Roscommon, burst into tears when she opened her energy bill in August – it had jumped from €6k to over €20k. I suspect there were many others who did the same. An RGDATA survey revealed that independent shop owners saw energy bills increase by up to 400% since March 2022.

‘Enormous price hikes’

Annie was brave enough to go on national media to tell her story. She has rightly received sympathy. But what she wants is action from the Government. “I have never put out the begging bowl before,” she says. “But this is just too much. I can’t see how I can survive with these enormous price hikes. I cannot put my prices up to cover over €60k extra in energy costs. I cannot pass this burden onto my customers – they are struggling too. I have loyal staff who have been with me for years – I don’t want to reduce their hours or cut jobs either.”

These are the stark choices facing community retailers.

“In my 35 years in business I have never been so afraid for the future,” RGDATA President, Colin Fee who owns four shops, a bar and a restaurant in Co Louth employing 100 people, told the Oireachtas Enterprise Committee when RGDATA made a presentation about the challenges facing SMEs.

Padraig Broderick, another RGDATA Director, who has just invested in a total revamp of his award winning, state of the art, Spar convenience store in Croom Co Limerick revealed that the €40k he borrowed to put solar panels on the roof of his store as part of a €1m revamp has been swallowed up by rising energy bills. “That money was spent trying to ensure that I didn’t go into debt trying to cover the rising energy costs. I have spent the borrowings and I have no solar panels to show for it.

“We were informed that Electric Ireland put its prices up again by 38% on December 1 – there is no business that can absorb these type of price increases at such short notice. I am extremely concerned for the future of my business.”

Rachel Twomey, a second generation retailer running a SuperValu supermarket in Deansgrange, a village in South County Dublin, is not only struggling with an additional €190k plus energy bill for 2022, she has also had to contend with a 30% drop in business caused by a Temporary Covid Mobility Scheme becoming permanent and blocking customers from accessing her store.

“I still pay the €70k a year in commercial rates yet my business has dropped by 30% because this scheme is making it impossible for my customers to access the shop. These schemes may have worked during lockdown when there were few cars on the road but they need to be reimagined based on consultation with the local community to ensure that they work post Covid when all the normal traffic is back on the roads.”

Stress and challenges

These stories of stress and challenges for local shops are coming from every community across the country. These are businesses that are viable, many are the only town or village centre shop in their community. However they have never felt more vulnerable.

Political leaders need to stop regarding businesses as an endless revenue source that can be tapped at will. Businesses only survive if they make enough to pay the staff and the bills and make some return for the entrepreneurs who run them. If the Government, through new costs, obligations, charges or inaction, renders businesses to be uncompetitive, then they will close.

Take urgent action to support SME food retailers. Extend the Temporary Energy Support Scheme to cover the cost increases in July and August. Increase the support provided for energy efficiency schemes. Do a cumulative economic impact of all the proposed changes coming down the track with regard to sick pay, auto enrolment pensions and Living Wage and devise a specific targeted support scheme to support essential local shops to deliver these changes and keep their staff in jobs and their shops trading.

If you want strong local shops to be at the heart of communities on this island, then step up to the plate and support rather than undermine them!

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2021 brought us Brexit, COVID, Semi-Conductors and a new Climate Action Plan – all massive challenges individually, but crystallising at the same time has certainly made business more difficult, not just this year but for the year ahead.

But I have no doubt our industry will rise to these challenges. Resilience is a word that best describes 2021 – it is a quality that the Irish motor industry has displayed time and time again and is something we must carry forward into 2022.

For all sectors 2021 has been yet another difficult year, the start of which saw the closure of our dealerships from January until May, yet despite this the industry adapted to offer a click and deliver service.

The heavy investment by dealers in their online platforms helped to continue an amount of vehicle activity and provided some relief to the sector, while many of our members continued to provide essential services such as vehicle testing, servicing, repair and recovery.

2021 was the year we finally saw a trading agreement between the EU and the UK, but if we thought that was the end of the negotiations, we were mistaken, as the GB Government’s refusal to implement what was agreed in relation to the Northern Ireland Protocol continues to bring uncertainty. The imposition of customs duties and formalities have added costs to many members’ business, as well as causing delivery delays.

In addition, the handling of the Brexit margin scheme and the treatment of VAT for used vehicle imports into Northern Ireland continues to be an area of huge concern, as both the current and proposed Great Britain measures not only discriminate against Republic of Ireland’s dealers, but also run counter to the protocol and EU vat rules. The industry, like many other sectors, will be following this situation closely and we will have to see how it will evolve in 2022.

On a global level the shortage of semiconductor chips hampered the supply of new cars, and while the situation is improving, it will take time to get back to normal levels. In the first half of 2022 there will be an issue with the supply of new cars and we hope that will resolve itself to some degree next year.

With the dual registration period January to June and July to December, we would be hopefully that any potential sales we might lose because of supply issues in the first half of the year could be recovered in the second half of the year.

104,563 total new cars were registered year to date (January-November) compared to 87,724 for the same period in 2020 (+19.2%) and 116,885 in 2019 (-10.5%). Of this total new car registrations 8,533 were electric vehicles (EVs), an increase on the number of EVs in 2020 (3,928) and on 2019 (3,413).

The ongoing growth in the electric car segment is very positive, with a further increase in electric vehicle sales anticipated next year. Notwithstanding this, we are still in the early stages of decarbonising the national fleet and we have a very long way to go to get close to the targets in the Climate Action Plan.

The decarbonisation of the national fleet is both a massive challenge and a great opportunity for our industry. In the right economic and taxation environment, the Irish motor industry can rise to this challenge and deliver for the country, both on an environmental and economic levels.

However, the portents are not good. In Budget 2022 we saw another increase in Vehicle Registration Tax (VRT) on new cars for a second consecutive year, while at the same time SEAI Grant support for Plug-in Hybrid Vehicles (PHEVs) removed; both of these measures are short-sighted and counterproductive.

To do so at a time when our industry like so many others is emerging from a pandemic, underlines that we are not safe from further future increases. It is essential that the existing basket of Electric Vehicle (EV) incentives are maintained, until we see the dial moving towards mass adoption over the next 10 years.

The domestic economy in 2021 bounced back, and the motor industry has certainly benefited from increased consumer spending. It is important this trend continues into 2022 and beyond, which, along with a fairer motoring taxation regime, can allow our members continue to support both their local economies and Ireland’s ambition to drive down emissions.

To read the full article in the IFCR yearbook, click HERE.

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With COP26 in Glasgow having put the climate change crisis front and centre of everyone’s agenda, food services giant Aramark Northern Europe has committed to being net zero by 2050, making it the first region in the company’s global operations to set a reduction glide path.

Combined, the Northern Europe region is set to meet the targets set by current legislation for all relevant jurisdictions and Aramark Northern Europe has also committed to align with the global business’ commitment to set science-based targets following the Science Based Target Initiative’s new Net-Zero Standard over the next 24 months.

Aramark Northern Europe CEO Frank Gleeson said: “Aramark Northern Europe, including our UK, Ireland and Global offshore business, has worked diligently, to understand, interrogate, and improve upon the impact of our operations; all the while ensuring that we also improve our services for clients and customers alike.”

“The urgency of the climate crisis has renewed our focus on innovation, collaboration, and competition on a scale that we have never seen before.

“There is no sustainability practice or effort too small, nor too insignificant, once it is firmly rooted in the intent to do right. With that in mind, everyone in our organisation is committed to playing their part in ensuring we meet our Net Zero Roadmap and Commitments for the region.”

To deliver its ambitious global target, the company will transform carbon-intensive areas of operations, as well as working with suppliers to change contributing factors within the supply chain.

Key commitments are built around:

Transport:

Replacing the existing fleet of diesel and petrol owned and leased vehicles to electric vehicles (EV) as soon as is practical and training drivers how to drive more efficiently to reduce emissions, which will be monitored and captured by telematics.

And Frank Gleeson told the Yearbook: “As it stands – the forecourt environment in Ireland has made significant strides in the provision of charging points at all levels, but wider national EV infrastructure is not quite where it needs to be to transition our fleet as aggressively as other companies.

“However, we have a fantastic Fleet team who are consistently reviewing improvements and advancements in battery range and manufacturer offers so that we can ensure to bring more EV with every stage of fleet renewal.”

Energy Efficiency:

All electricity contracts will be procured from renewable or low carbon sources with green champions at each gathering monthly energy performance data to provide feedback that will be are incorporated into capex decisions.

Aramark’s Business Excellence, Facilities and Property Management Teams will also collaborate and integrate service lines, where appropriate, to provide multi-faceted reduction solutions across our workplace footprint.

Goods and services:

In Northern Europe, Aramark has already been moving towards a higher percentage of plant-based meals along with the development of a science-based climate friendly menu proposition. With this, it is changing recipes, increasing the mix of plant-based, and environmentally sustainable dishes based on 50 key ingredients.

Source locally:

CEO Frank Gleeson told the Yearbook Aramark prides itself on its long-standing commitment to identify, partner with, and support local producers, relationships that will only be enhanced by the latest commitments with a preference for locally sourced in instances where carbon reduction can be achieved.

“Aramark has long made a deliberate effort to source local produce throughout our supply chain,” he explained.

“Our decarbonisation plans are simply an affirmation of this promise towards more of the high quality, ethically sourced produce that our clients and customers expect. For example, we source more than €60 million in local goods and services annually, including serving 100% fresh Irish beef and lamb in Ireland too.”

Minimising waste and maximise recycling:

Aramark will trial software that tracks and manages food wastage, indicating possible changes to menus and portion sizes. In addition, staff training programmes will minimise waste and maximise recycling with food waste sent to anaerobic digestion plants.

Asked if any charitable tie-ins might benefit from this and whether Irish companies who share Aramark’s ambitions would be viewed more favourably, Frank Gleeson said: “It’s exciting to see so much innovation and entrepreneurship in this space in Ireland.

“We are very proud of our partnership with Good Grub, for example, which has created a swell of awareness for the solutions that food donations can bring those in needs.

“More broadly, we are setting best practice expectations for every stage of the food and packaging life-cycles, and we plan to have a positive impact in this space as our efforts and programmes expand.”

Travel:

Aramark is set to encourage its staff to embrace technology to limit travel and where travel is required, it will prioritise carbon reducing travel modes, such as rail over air and cars.

Frank Gleeson conceded that the pandemic had taught Aramark some valuable lessons when it came to communicating in person.

He told the Yearbook: “As a hospitality business with thousands of frontline, customer-facing employees, we are never going to undervalue face-to-face interaction.

“However, the pandemic has shown that remote collaboration (particularly on a global scale) is now an everyday part of our operational environment. This means even more innovative solutions, greater flexibility, and stronger products for our clients and customers.

“On carbon footprint specifically, we are currently developing an employee travel policy that will ensure we avoid unnecessary meetings and reduce our business travel footprint overall – particularly when it comes to air travel.”

Engage Employees:

Aramark aims to encourage its employees to join its sustainable journey by putting in place and extending initiatives such as cycle to work schemes, encouraging carpool arrangements, providing information on public transport alternatives, installing EV charge points and paying favourable mileage reclaim rates to EV vehicles.

And Aramark CEO Frank Gleeson told the Yearbook the firm aimed to sup-port the process for drivers switching from internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles to EV.

“Our Fleet and Energy teams are collaborating on a project that would enable our drivers to use one charging card for home, public and HQ charging thus streamlining the process and minimising touch points for drivers,” he explained.

“Current government grants for home charger installation have recently been made available to fleet drivers, helping incentivise the switch to EV. Government incentives like this are critical to support the move to EV particularly as we have not yet seen price parity with ICE and EV.”

Aramark insists its Net Zero 2050 Commitment is just the beginning for Aramark Northern Europe, with the business acknowledging that there is still more to do as part of a wide-ranging effort to have a positive impact on people and the planet – the essence of the company’s Be Well. Do Well. sustainability plan.

This Net Zero milestone will also combine with ESG efforts for Northern Europe, ranging from mandatory Sustainability e-learning for all 15,000 employees in the region, along with operational training and tools on plastic packaging, waste management, energy saving, and food waste prevention.

The big message: “There’s much more to come.”

For the full article in the IFCR yearbook, click HERE.

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That said, the actual number of new EVs sold at 8,646 still only represented just over 8% of 104,000 all new vehicles sold.

Climate change minister Eamon Ryan had set a target of having almost one million EVs, both private and commercial, on the roads by 2030.

The Republic’s Climate Change Action Plan had envisaged having 845,000 electric cars, 95,000 vans, 3.500 lorries and 1,500 buses in operation by then (a total of 945,000)

The Green Party leader himself admitted in November that target would be “difficult to achieve” with Tánaiste Leo Varadkar conceding “we may have to do better with a work car van than with a private car side. But that’s the goal, and it’s a combination of the two”.

The fact is that in less than 10 years we will no longer be able to buy the new petrol and diesel cars most of us now drive and once Electric Vehicles reach purchase cost parity with traditional cars there will be little reason to opt for a conventional vehicle whose resale value could be virtually nothing a few years later.

Aside from a higher purchase cost the other fly thus far in the EV ointment has been range anxiety… and that’s where the forecourt rides to the rescue.

Charging to the rescue

If you don’t have a spare €60,00 for a range topping Tesla Model 3 LR, which can manage almost 350miles per charge, chances are you’ll be stopping for a top-up somewhere between Dublin and Belfast on a round trip.

The UK’s Policy Exchange think-tank has said the UK’s rollout of electric vehicle charging points is way behind what is needed to meet its planned ban on new petrol and diesel cars, and that’s a picture reflected in Ireland too.

As a result, forecourts everywhere are now stepping up the installation of rapid charging points to cope with rising EV sales and the fact that in little over a decade the face of motoring will be radically changed.

Just over a year ago the UK’s first forecourt dedicated to only electric cars opened in Braintree, Essex, and there’s little doubt more will follow all across the UK, Ireland and mainland Europe.

Forecourts everywhere are now stepping up the installation of rapid charging points to cope with rising EV sales and the fact that in little over a decade the face of motoring will be radically changed.

Fuel brand leaders

Maxol chief executive Brian Donaldson has already said he is planning on investing a seven-figure sum into transitioning forecourts from diesel and petrol pumps and towards electricity charging points, but he also called for more government help, especially when it comes to accessing the grid.

He told The Times: “There has been no clear direction [from government]. As a company we are happy to make the investment within our own site. We think the government should step in with investment outside of our site that will take power to our location.”

Maxol is currently planning to roll out charging hubs at Mitchelstown in Cork, Castletroy in Limerick, and in north Dublin over the next eight months and while every new charging point is a tick in the plus column for EV ownership, he’s not alone in expressing frustration over the State’s  ambitions on the transition not necessarily being backed by sufficient investment.

Chief of executive of Applegreen’s EV division Eugene Moore noted that Ireland is behind the UK and the US — where the forecourt retailer also operates — in terms of grants available to help them transition to electric charging hubs.

Mr Moore pointed out that President Biden’s infrastructure bill sets aside $7.5 billion (€6.6 billion) worth of support for EV infrastructure in America, while the UK has £950 million (€1.1 billion) earmarked for the same.

Applegreen itself is planning to spend €100 million in the next few years, with a plan to incorporate 700 new charging points across its Irish sites “lighting up 50 hubs this year,” he noted.

The company plan to complete its own rollout to keep pace with the public’s adoption of EVs

Tackling range anxiety

While public charging points play a key role in encouraging the switch to EVs, so too does the purchase cost and improvements in batteries to reduce ‘range anxiety’ and the reliance on charging too often when straying far from home.

The fact is charging your car overnight at home, when electricity rates are at their lowest, makes economic sense and there is currently a €600 grant available to help with the cost of installing a private charger in your driveway.

Not everyone has their own driveway or dedicated parking spot however, and to that end the ESB, which operates over 1,350 public charge points across Ireland, has matched €10 million in government funding from the Climate Action Fund to expand the network by the end of this year.

Funding too has been approved for local authorities to install and maintain more on-street public chargers, but this will need to be greatly ramped up as more people make the switch.

The postcode lottery

While there is no debating the fact that EVs are cheaper to run than traditional vehicles its still not a level playing field depending on where you live.

In the UK an average motorist will spend around £300 charging their EV for the year while in Ireland the same power will set you back around €800.

That’s still a huge saving when compared to filling the tank with petrol or diesel but it’s enough of a disparity to get annoyed about.

With costs starting at around €30,000 for a new compact EV in Ireland it’s perhaps little surprise that they are not yet being bought in greater numbers than they are.

Supply issues which have dogged the industry for the past couple of years are also affecting would-be EV buyers.

While going electric represents a not unsubstantial investment the fuel saving after three or four years, coupled with negligible maintenance costs, eventually make for a compelling argument.

Holding off

With supply issues dogging the whole of the motoring industry for the past couple of years getting your hands on the EV of your choice when you want it is far from guaranteed and there’s perhaps one compelling reason to hold off for a year or two… that being huge advancements in the batteries which power them.

A Tesla Model 3 Long Range, with a reassuring range of close to 350miles will currently set you back a cool €60,000 but the fact of the matter is most drivers would settle for a lesser range if charge time could be reduced on the street and at the forecourt.

The good news is scientists at Pennsylvania State University in America have developed new batteries for EVs that can charge in just 10 minutes.

Made from lithium, they also allow users to drive their cars 250 miles before needing to be charged again.

The alternative batteries could make new EVs cheaper than those that use cobalt in their batteries, making the initial purchase more enticing.

The fact is we are going electric, it’s just a matter of how soon we get there.

To read the full article in Ireland’s Forecourt & Convenience Retailer yearbook, click HERE.

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