Stories of Inspiration: Clarity, Honesty, Encouragement with CJK’s Conor Kearney
A new conversation from Colectivo, watch or listen now
At Colectivo, we start from a simple belief: the best sustainability progress builds on something already real. In our latest conversation, Conor Kearney, Executive Director and founder of CJK, a mechanical and electrical engineering delivery business now employing around 440 people, talks candidly about the culture behind the business, and what it's been like bringing that culture into CJK's green journey.
A culture built without a plan
Conor is refreshingly candid that CJK's culture wasn't the product of a strategic vision. Twenty-eight years ago, the business began as a small team of tradespeople, a "band of brothers" as he describes them, several of whom are still with the company today. There was no grand plan, just a shared instinct to get the job done, look out for one another, and call each other out when needed. That instinct has quietly shaped everything CJK has become since.
A culture that already had room to grow
Conor reflects that the same openness which lets people at every level speak up and shape decisions is what's now driving conversations about waste, reuse and environmental impact on site. CJK's sustainability committees were deliberately built to include apprentices and tradespeople alongside senior leadership, so that the same broad mix of voices shaping the business day to day would also shape its green journey. As Conor puts it, working through that process with Colectivo felt less like being pushed toward someone else's version of progress and more like being encouraged along a path that was already theirs.
Turning waste into community impact
CJK's circular economy thinking has grown organically out of everyday site life. Cable drums once destined for skips are now repurposed with Finglas Men's Shed into furniture and community projects. Timber, threaded rod, and pallets that would previously have been discarded are now reused on site, even forming a vegetable plot built from old cable drums. Conor points to a visit to the Rediscovery Centre in Ballymun as a genuine lightbulb moment, a realisation of just how much material was being wasted, and how much value could be recovered instead.
Partnerships that give back more than they take
Some of the most striking moments in this conversation concern CJK's community partnerships, particularly with Coolmine Therapeutic Community, which supports people in addiction recovery. What began as a straightforward act of giving back has become a genuine talent pipeline, CJK now counts eight Coolmine graduates among its employees, with eleven opportunities created in total, one of whom has since gone on to start his own business. Conor is honest about the scale of what's been received in return: "you get involved with something and you think you're giving, but actually you're receiving more than you ever give."
Small steps, honestly taken
Throughout the conversation, Conor returns to one guiding principle: real sustainability progress comes from small, consistent, honest steps, not sweeping announcements. He's candid about CJK's discomfort with overclaiming, and about the value of confronting gaps rather than glossing over them. Looking back on the collaboration, he sums it up simply: "let's get the elephant in one piece at a time."
Watch or listen to the full conversation
There's a lot more in the full discussion, including why Conor chose the words "clarity, honesty and encouragement" to describe the experience, and his reflections on legacy, culture, and what he hopes CJK leaves behind.
🎥 Watch the full conversation on YouTube → https://youtu.be/yzJZRODNBkw
🎧 Listen on Spotify → https://open.spotify.com/episode/4KtKMbKuK9VIN6z8ROIKuv?si=3V7DTOeOSZOi7klLIebSYw
If you're curious about what it really looks like to bring a strong culture into a genuine sustainability journey, one honest step at a time, this one's for you.
