Helping to unlock the value of infrastructure in Ireland
From flood protection to decarbonisation to major transportation programmes, Jacobs continues to plan for, design, and safeguard Ireland’s future.
From flood protection to decarbonisation, health and life sciences to major transportation programmes, Jacobs is helping to plan, design, and safeguard Ireland’s future. With some 1,200 employees in its Irish operations leveraging local and global technical capability, Jacobs is playing a pivotal role in helping to tackle challenges like the climate emergency, socio-economic demands, and resiliency. Employing more than 60,000 people and operating in 40+ countries around the world, Jacobs provides a full spectrum of professional services including consulting, technical, scientific, and project delivery for the Government and private sectors globally.
With its new company strategy and proactive approach to strategic portfolio management, particularly around climate response, consulting and advisory services, and data solutions, Jacobs has created a resilient business firmly positioned to help its clients navigate these rapidly changing times. Part of this strategy includes a new commitment to target 100 per cent of the company’s projects across all sectors to contribute to climate response or include ESG scope by 2025.
Environmental stewardship and climate change
Planning and adapting ahead of potential threats can help reduce climate change impacts; strengthen and safeguard communities; enhance biodiversity resilience; protect energy, water, and transportation assets; and fuel inclusive growth.
As the world’s number one environmental consulting firm Jacobs is delivering coastal resilience projects that put sustainability at the core of decision making. In 2022, Iarnród Éireann Irish Rail commissioned Jacobs for the largest coastal protection scheme in north-western Europe, the East Coast Railway Infrastructure Protection Projects (ECRIPP) programme. ECRIPP is required to defend long sections of the essential Dublin to Rosslare coastal rail line from coastal erosion and flooding for the next 100 years.
“Our support will focus on environmentally led design, with careful attention to the environmental sensitivities of the local area,” explains Jacobs Vice President, Buildings and Infrastructure, Ireland, Dom Lynch. “Climate change is having a dramatic impact on the transport route and local area. Protecting the Dublin to Rosslare coastal line will build long-term resilience and preserve vital connectivity, local economies, and communities, while benefiting the next generation.”
Connecting people and communities
Around the world, Jacobs delivers major transportation projects as part of integrated infrastructure solutions that encompass transport planning and modelling, environmental solutions, intelligent mobility, connected vehicle, and other emerging technology to full project life cycle transport infrastructure management.
In Dublin, for example, Jacobs is helping to develop and implement Ireland’s first metro system. With a forecast of significant economic and population growth, the new metro service will play a vital role in improving Dublin’s mobility, unlocking much-needed transit capacity, and improving air quality at the same time.
Working collaboratively with the National Transport Authority (NTA) and Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII), the Jacobs Idom consortium has taken the scheme from emerging preferred route status through evaluation and selection of preferred route, including all business case and environmental support work. From environmental strategies, through engagement and consultation to design engineering. Jacobs is guiding the process and helping to minimise risk and achieve results. In September 2022, TII made its application to An Bord Pleanála for the Railway (MetroLink-Estuary to Charlemont via Dublin Airport) Order [2022].
Jacobs also supports the National Transport Authority (NTA) in Ireland as part of the NTA’s strategy to develop greater use of sustainable transportation options. In November 2021, the NTA re-appointed Jacobs to provide transport modelling expertise to support development of an integrated transportation system.
Jacobs has a long-standing relationship with the NTA in supporting Ireland’s sustainable transportation priorities. The delivery of a multi-modal modelling system of this scale and complexity is helping NTA appraise proposed transport programmes at both macro and micro levels and is a pre-requisite to creating effective transportation strategies.
Water security
As water issues intensify, so does awareness of the effects of water management decisions. Decisions at one point in the water cycle affect all the others. Whether it is treating, distributing, or storing water, Jacobs collaborates to deliver solutions across drinking water and reuse, industrial water, wastewater, water conveyance, and storage and water resources.
Jacobs provides technical support to Uisce Éireann on its programme of capital works to deliver improvements to water services throughout Ireland. Supporting Uisce Éireann in upgrading Ireland’s water services infrastructure, the seven-year Engineering Design Services framework includes strategic planning support ranging from feasibility studies, investment planning, site survey, and investigation services, to stakeholder and asset management.
Over the last six years, the company has also worked collaboratively with Uisce Éireann to deliver several key projects, including the National Water Resources Plan, Sludge Hub and Satellite Dewatering Programme, and Navan Mid-Meath Water Supply Scheme.
