The past few weeks have been productive and enlightening. As Chair of the Malahide Chamber of Commerce Sustainability Group, I have moved between meetings, workshops, and site visits. What emerges is not a lack of ambition, but a persistent question: how do we turn that ambition into consistent, visible progress?
Our work began with a kick-off session with our SEAI energy advisers, ORS, to develop Malahide’s Energy Master Plan. Establishing a clear baseline for energy use is essential. Without it, targets remain abstract. With it, we can measure change, hold ourselves accountable, and make informed decisions.
Engagement at regional level followed, including discussions linked to Fingal County Council and wider tourism and coastal initiatives. These forums are important, as they bring together stakeholders, ideas, and perspectives. Yet, the same question returns: how do these conversations translate into action on the ground? This becomes even more pressing when set against the ambitions of the Fingal Climate Action Plan, which outlines over 100 actions across energy, transport, biodiversity, and community engagement. The intent is clear; delivery is the challenge.
A recent visit to Eckernförde, a coastal town in Germany with clear parallels to Malahide, reminded me of a different approach. There, coastal protection is not an intermittent topic but an embedded, operational practice, managed by a dedicated and properly resourced team. The focus is not on intent; it is execution.
Back in Malahide, discussions with the Community Forum, an umbrella body that brings together residents’ associations to represent community interests, reinforced something important: alignment. Across residents, businesses, and community groups, priorities are remarkably similar: wellbeing, environmental protection, economic resilience, and a place that continues to serve future generations.
So, if alignment exists, why does progress feel slow?
My research into sustainability-oriented innovation points to a familiar constraint. Complex challenges such as climate change cannot be addressed through isolated actions. They require coordinated effort across networks of actors: public bodies, businesses, and communities working not just alongside one another, but with one another.
This is where an action learning approach proves useful.
Action learning is simple in principle. We learn by doing, reflecting, and adjusting. Rather than waiting for perfect plans, we test ideas in practice, observe what works, and improve continuously. In a local context like Malahide, this allows progress even in uncertainty. However, this process does not happen on its own. It requires structured facilitation, dedicated time, and people whose role it is to guide, connect, and sustain the work. Without this, action learning risks remaining informal and fragmented.
More importantly, my work has explored network action learning. This extends the idea beyond individual organisations and brings multiple stakeholders into a shared learning process. Rather than working in parallel, learning becomes collective. Insights are shared and solutions evolve more quickly.
This is important for a place like Malahide. Climate action here touches everything: energy use, transport, coastal protection, local business practices, and community behaviour. No single actor can address these in isolation. A network approach connects efforts, reduces duplication, and builds momentum, but only if it is properly resourced.
The encouraging part is that the foundations are already in place. We have engaged stakeholders, strong community structures, and a clear policy framework. What is needed now is a shift in how we work: from coordination in principle to coordination in practice. This includes recognising that delivery requires investment, not just in projects, but in the processes and people who make collaboration work. This is not about waiting for large, perfect solutions. It is about starting, learning, and building from there, together, with the right support in place.
For further reading on network action learning, see Dreyer-Gibney et al. (2024). Responding to the UN Sustainability Goals in transdisciplinary partnership through network action learning. Environment, Development and Sustainability. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10668-024-04664-9
Dr. Katrin Dreyer-Gibney 