– Meehan Green celebrates 10 years and a global future following acquisition by KEO
While celebrating a decade of Irish sustainability leadership, Meehan Green’s acquisition by KEO marks a bold new chapter. ROBBIE COUSINS speaks to the team behind the deal that is transforming a local success story into a high-octane launchpad for European expansion.
Ten years of Meehan Green culminated in a celebratory night at Angelina’s Restaurant in Dublin in February, with a mood of high-octane anticipation. The occasion marked a defining milestone. In June 2025, the boutique sustainability firm that helped reshape Ireland’s green building landscape officially became part of KEO’s Sustainability, Environment, and Waste Management division, transforming a local success story into a global platform.
The significance of that next chapter was underscored by the presence of KEO COO and Partner Greg Karpinski, who flew in from Dubai to toast the firm’s expanding European mission.
Central to the acquisition and the seamless integration of operations were Nellie Reid, Director of Meehan Green, Christian Millar, KEO’s Managing Director of Sustainability, Environment, and Waste Management and João Sales, Director, KEO Europe. Their shared vision laid the groundwork for a partnership designed to scale Irish expertise across international markets.
For Nellie Reid, the journey from a four-person start-up to a pivotal European hub within a global consultancy has been defined by a relentless focus on the horizon — a journey she began alongside fellow founding partners Martin Meehan, Cathal Heneghan and Pablo Jimeno.
Meehan Green
To understand the weight of this acquisition, one must look back to 2016, When Meehan, Reid, Henaghan and Jimeno founded Meehan Green, the Irish construction landscape was in flux. While developers were increasingly interested in ‘building green,’ the technical expertise required to navigate international certification standards was surprisingly scarce.
Nellie Reid
Nellie Reid had relocated to Ireland from the United States in recent years, bringing with her a wealth of experience in sustainable design as a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Fellow and WELL-accredited professional. She quickly identified a significant vacuum in the local market. At the time, Irish projects requiring high-level green certification were often forced to outsource the work to specialists in the UK, mainland Europe, and even the US.
The ambition for Meehan Green was clear: To provide home-grown, expert leadership in sustainability. For 10 years, the firm did exactly that, building a reputation for excellence that saw them partner with the biggest names in Irish development. Their portfolio grew to include landmark projects, including more recently The Frame at 76 Lower Baggot Street for Irish Life, and the regeneration of The Bakery—the former Treasury Building—for Google. From the ambitious Opera Square in Limerick to complex fitouts like NWQ for A&L Goodbody, Meehan Green became the go-to partner for those looking to validate their environmental credentials in Ireland.
Navigating the maturity of the market
As the firm approached its tenth year, the conversation around sustainability began to shift. The market had matured. No longer was a LEED Gold or BREEAM Excellent rating the final destination for a developer; it had become the baseline. Nellie Reid explains, “In recent years, clients were starting to look beyond the certification of individual assets and grapple with the broader, more complex challenges of the climate emergency.
“We observed this shift first-hand. Our clients, many of whom were multinational organisations with massive global footprints, began asking tougher questions. They were no longer just looking for a certificate for a single building; they wanted comprehensive decarbonisation plans for their international portfolios. They needed to understand the circular economy, to measure biodiversity net gain, and to conduct rigorous climate risk and vulnerability assessments across entire property portfolios.”
For a firm of 15 people, this posed a scale challenge.
She continues, “While the expertise was there, the sheer volume of data and the global nature of the requests were stretching our business model to its limit. And, we found ourselves at a crossroads.”
At this time, Martin Meehan was making his own plans, preparing for retirement and a well-earned exit from the business. So, the responsibility of scaling the firm rested on Nellie Reid’s shoulders. Balancing the management of a growing business with the needs of three small children, Nellie realised that scaling independently was not the optimal path. The search began for a partner who shared Meehan Green values but possessed the global infrastructure to take the firm to the next level.
KEO
Enter KEO. As one of the world’s leading fully integrated consultancies, KEO had established a formidable reputation, particularly in the Middle East, where, amongst many other things, they were pioneers in sustainability and waste management. However, their strategic plan called for a deeper penetration into the European market.
KEO’s COO and Partner Greg Karpinski and Christian Millar, KEO’s Managing Director of Sustainability, Environment, and Waste Management, began surveying the European landscape for a suitable second entry point.
Ireland, with its English-speaking workforce, EU membership, and robust economy, was a natural choice. More importantly, in Meehan Green, KEO found a mirror image of their own commitment to sustainability leadership.
Greg Karpinski explains, “What truly attracted us was the calibre of the people. Meehan Green isn’t just a brand with a stellar reputation; it’s a collective of exceptionally high-quality professionals who have spent a decade building a remarkable business.”
Greg continues, “As we plotted KEO’s evolution, sustainability, and ESG services were at the absolute top of our priority list. We also wanted to find an organisation that aligned with us culturally, because delivering world-class professional services is ultimately about the harmony of the people involved.
“After extensive collaboration between our teams, we formalised a relationship that was a success from day one and continues to go from strength to strength.”
Christian Millar adds, “The synergies were immediate. Both firms viewed green certification as a dominant service line and a gateway to deeper sustainability consulting. For KEO, Meehan Green was the perfect vehicle—a highly respected, agile firm that could be bolstered with additional resources to serve as a launchpad for broader European expansion.”
For Nellie Reid, the timing was also perfect. KEO provided the ‘bolt-on’ value that Meehan Green had been seeking to satisfy the evolving demands of its clients.
Broadening the service offering
Since the acquisition in June, the impact has been felt almost immediately. The ‘Meehan Green, a KEO Company’ brand has already begun winning bids that would have been out of reach for a smaller organisation. The expanded community has allowed the Dublin office to offer a suite of services that previously resided only in KEO’s global hubs.
Two of the most significant areas of growth have been in waste management strategy and ESG advisory services. By leveraging KEO’s deep expertise, the Irish team is now assisting a number of public and private sector clients in revamping their entire waste infrastructure and approach to ESG frameworks. This is particularly relevant in the context of the EU taxonomy, where rigorous reporting on environmental impact is now a mandatory requirement for many large organisations.
The ability to offer decarbonisation planning and ESG framework alignment has transformed client relationships. Clients who previously trusted Meehan Green for their experience with building certification can now look to them to manage the sustainability of portfolios spanning millions of square feet across multiple continents. With KEO’s global resource pool, Nellie Reid and her team can now say “yes” to these global mandates with confidence.
A two-way street of expertise
While the acquisition brings KEO’s global scale to Ireland, the relationship is firmly reciprocal.
Christian Millar is quick to point out that the Irish market holds specific expertise that is of immense value to the Middle East, particularly in the realms of pharmaceuticals and data centres.
“Ireland has long been a global hub for data centre delivery, a sector that is still in its infancy in many parts of the Middle East. As global tech giants look to establish a presence in that region, Meehan Green’s experience working with data centre clients in Ireland and across Europe becomes a critical asset. The Irish context of data centre efficiency and cooling can now be exported back through the KEO network.”
Furthermore, the acquisition creates a unique value proposition for talent. In a competitive hiring market, the new structure allows staff in Dublin or Portugal to work on iconic international projects in Dubai or Saudi Arabia without relocating. This diversity of work makes the firm an employer of choice, offering the stability of a global giant with the culture and agility of a specialist consultancy.
Greg Karpinski is very clear about his ambitions for the business. He comments, “Our ambitions for this venture are significant. Within five years, I expect to see 600 people working on KEO projects across Europe. This is a serious undertaking, and we have partnered with the right people to capture what is a gargantuan market opportunity. The demand for world-class expertise in the environmental sustainability space is only going to accelerate, and we intend to be the firm leading that charge for our clients and partners.”
The evolution of energy: Heating and cooling
Another fascinating area of synergy lies in energy infrastructure. KEO has extensive experience in the Middle East with district cooling — a vital component of urban planning in warmer climates. In Ireland, the conversation is shifting toward district heating and waste-to-energy projects as the country seeks to decarbonise its national grid.
By combining KEO’s experience in large-scale energy and waste infrastructure with Meehan Green’s local knowledge of the Irish regulatory and environmental landscape, the firm is uniquely positioned to lead on the next generation of Irish infrastructure projects. This crosspollination of technical knowledge is precisely what Nellie Reid envisioned when she sought a partner. It allows the firm to move from being a consultant on a building to being a consultant on the very systems that power our cities.
Keo Europe: The five-year vision
Earlier that day, Greg Karpinski and João Sales, Director, KEO Europe, led an annual Town Hall meeting in Dublin for the Irish- and European-based staff. Colleagues from the UK, Portugal, Dubai, and Ireland gathered to align their visions for the future. For Nellie Reid, a pioneer in green building in Ireland, being part of this broader community is yet another exciting development.
Looking ahead five years, the goal is for Meehan Green to be the predominant player in the Irish sustainability consultancy market, but with a footprint that extends far beyond the island. The plan is to continue using the Dublin office as a hub for European expansion, along with existing offices in Spain, Portugal and the UK, moving into new territories while maintaining the boutique, high-trust relationships that came to define the firm’s first 10 years.
The ambition is to be more than just a consultancy; the aim is to be a driver of the transition to a low-carbon economy. Whether it is through biodiversity preservation on the roof garden of a Niche Living co-living location in Dun Laoghaire for Bartra Capital, or complex sustainability strategies for biotech giants at IDA business parks across Ireland, the firm is now equipped to handle the scale of the climate challenge.
Meehan Green was also one of the first consultancies in Ireland to offer Embodied Carbon Life-Cycle Assessments (LCA), Home Performance Index (HPI) and WELL consultancy services. It continues to stay ahead of the curve and maintain its position as a thought leader through continuous involvement with the IGBC, USGBC, GBCI, IWBI, RIAI, SCSI, and IBEC, as well as developing university course curricula and delivering lectures and public speaking engagements.
A celebration of 10 years and a look forward
As Meehan Green celebrates its tenth anniversary in 2026, the story is one of successful evolution. It began with Nellie Reid and Martin Meehan identifying a gap in the market and has culminated in a strategic union that places an Irish firm at the heart of the global sustainability powerhouse that is KEO.
Martin Meehan’s legacy of integrity and technical excellence remains the foundation of the company. However, under the KEO umbrella, and with Nellie Reid’s continued leadership, the firm is pivoting toward a future where “green” is not just a certification, but a fundamental way of doing business across the globe.
The party in Dublin was a celebration of 10 years of hard work, but the real excitement was for the decade to come. For Meehan Green, the journey is just beginning. With the resources of KEO and the passion of Nellie’s highly-skilled team, they are ready to show the world that sustainability expertise has no boundaries. The transition from a local specialist to a global leader is complete, and the impact of Meehan Green and KEO Europe is only just starting to be felt.
To learn more, visit www.meehangreen.ie