Sustainability Graduate Spotlight - Sarah Kerrigan
The United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were introduced to end poverty, protect the planet, and ensure that by 2030 all people enjoy peace and prosperity. Businesses and organisations have a significant role to play in helping to achieving the SDGs. Their collective capacity has the power to implement the transformative change needed to meet the goals. Some of the ways in which larger organisations play a part in addressing inequalities is through Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), which is the term most frequently applied to the voluntary integration of social and environmental concerns into business practice. It’s about being a responsible business and having a positive impact on your community and society.
In this edition of the Sustainability Graduate Spotlight series, we will focus on SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities and SDG 3: Good Health and Wellbeing, and shining a spotlight on Sarah Kerrigan, a graduate of the former Dublin Institute of Technology (DIT) and more recently, from TU Dublin.
Sarah Kerrigan
Sarah comes from County Meath. She studied a Bachelor of Arts in Leisure Management (previously DT411, now TU955 Sports and Leisure Management within the School of Tourism and Hospitality Management) in Cathal Brugha Street in the former DIT. Upon graduating Sarah moved to London and stayed there for over ten years working in education and wellbeing roles for financial services companies. With these companies, Sarah gained extensive CSR experience, including partnerships with national charities which involved working on the London 2012 Olympic Games. These experiences set her on the path to securing the role as Wellbeing Consultant for Irish Life, where she worked with several large corporate health clients on their wellbeing strategies.
Sarah has a passion for sustainability, and this led to her most recent position in Irish Life as the CSR and Climate Engagement Manager. Sarah says that ‘the best part of my job is working with our community partners and experiencing the positive impacts of our CSR initiatives’. Sarah is excited to share that Irish Life is an industry partner with P-TECH. P-TECH in Ireland is a unique industry, education and community-based collaboration. It aims to tackle educational disadvantage and to support students to connect to new learning and career pathways beyond school. In this case, Irish Life partner with a secondary school in Dublin 1, Larkin Community College. They provide mentoring, host a three week placement and work with students on business challenges, including a sustainability project. Sarah says ‘it’s great to hear the student’s perspectives’.
Another of Sarah’s favourite projects that she is working on is Irish Life GAA Healthy Clubs. The programme brings health awareness, support and opportunities to communities around Ireland through their local GAA club. Every year Irish Life host the ‘Every Step Counts Challenge’ on the MyLife app, an initiative that encourages people from all over the country to get out walking with the aim of creating a healthier and more active Ireland. In 2025 so far, 39,000 people participated with over 1,000 GAA clubs and together they tracked seven million kilometres in five weeks. Participants increased their physical activity levels, and their connection with others and their community. Sarah loves working on this project and takes part in the challenge herself with her local GAA club in Meath.
Educational Experience
In 2023, Sarah returned to TU Dublin for her postgraduate education and studied the Postgraduate Certificate in TU338A Sustainability Leadership. Sarah chose this course as she wanted to develop her sustainability knowledge and to upskill for her new role in Irish Life. The course modules focused on sustainability leadership and sustainability principles which provided a greater understanding of sustainability literacy, the SDGs and best practice for business.
Applying new Skills and Knowledge
Sarah found that she was introduced to new areas of sustainability, environment and social challenges. Sarah had the opportunity to apply learnings from these new subjects into a final consultancy project which she worked on in the final semester of the course.
Sarah has come back to TU Dublin to talk to students who are currently studying her undergraduate degree in TU955 Sports and Leisure Management. She spoke to them about key learnings from that course in marketing and communications which have stood to her in other roles since graduating.
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#TUDublinSustainability to me means helping people to get equipped with the skills and strategies needed in this fast-changing landscape, and to support us to have a positive impact in the communities where we live and work.