Longford one of the top performing counties for business energy efficiency
Longford ranked third in the study that measured the energy performance of commercial and public buildings such as offices and warehouses across Ireland
Longford has ranked third in Ireland for business energy efficiency, according to a new study.
The research measured the energy performance of commercial and public buildings such as offices and warehouses across Ireland between 2009 and 2025, to find out which counties are leading the way.
Longford County Council received €793,822 from the EU Just Transition Fund to develop the Longford Enterprise and Energy Centre.
Longford (4.1%) and Laois (4%) ranked in third and fourth place respectively.
Business energy broker Procure.ie analysed 80,526 non-domestic building energy ratings (BER) using the the Central Statistics Office (CSO), to carry out the study.
Laois County Council recently signed a multi-million-euro funding agreement with the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) to retrofit buildings across the Midlands.
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Running a business in Ireland is becoming increasingly expensive.
Energy bills are one of the biggest overheads for businesses across the country, and the building you operate from has more impact on those bills than most business owners realise.
Counties were then ranked by how many of their buildings achieved an A rating, the highest score a building can get.
The number one performing business energy efficient county was Kildare which came out on top by a landslide, with 7% of its buildings (235 out of 3,355) rated A.
That is almost double the national average of 3.6%.
The county has become a hub for modern, energy-efficient commercial development, with planners recently approving a €3 billion data-centre campus by Herbata at Naas, and Kildare’s pharma and semiconductor sites being built to high standards.
Three counties share second place, each with 5% of their commercial buildings A-rated. County Dublin leads the trio with 296 out of 5,915 buildings achieving an A rating.
Meath follows with 134 out of 2,672 buildings A-rated.
The new 21,000 sq ft Thrive Centre of Business Excellence opened in September 2025, offering dedicated climate action services and adding to the county’s growing reputation for energy-smart business.
Westmeath completes the joint second-place trio, also at 5% (84 out of 1,684 buildings). In September 2025, Westmeath County Council signed contracts to upgrade its three biggest buildings (Áras an Chontae in Mullingar, the Civic Centre in Athlone, and Athlone Regional Sports Centre) to high energy-efficiency standards. Ballymore Group has also announced plans for a new sustainable town in Athlone, designed for 100,000 residents by 2040, with 90% of its energy coming from renewables.
The Rebel County rounds out the top five, with 291 out of 7,263 commercial buildings achieving an A rating. Cork has more commercial buildings in this dataset than any county outside Dublin, and it is one of Ireland's biggest business counties for a reason. Pharma, tech, and manufacturing companies have all planted roots there.
At the other end of the list, Limerick City has the highest proportion of G-rated commercial buildings in the country at 17%, making it the worst-performing county in Ireland. Kilkenny and Sligo are not far behind at 16%, with Louth and Monaghan following at 14%. A lot of this comes down to older heritage buildings and ageing warehouses along the Dublin-Belfast route.
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