Recognising Sustainability Excellence in the Irish Food and Drink Sector
Insights from the Origin Green Sustainability Seminar
Bord Bia has acknowledged the sustainability performance of 97 Irish food and drink companies that have attained Origin Green Gold Membership in 2023. Gold Membership is given to companies, which are members of the Origin Green programme, in recognition of their enhanced sustainability efforts.
The Gold Members were formally recognised at Bord Bia’s annual Origin Green Sustainability Seminar, which was opened by Charlie McConalogue TD, Minister for Agriculture, Food, and the Marine.
Since the establishment of the awards in 2020, a total of 234 Irish food, drink and horticulture companies have been awarded Gold Membership. Overall, the 97 companies come from 21 counties and represent sectors such as dairy, meat, seafood and aquaculture, confectionary, beverages, and horticulture.
Deirdre Ryan, Director of Sustainability and Quality Assurance, Origin Green at Bord Bia, who officially announced the 2023 Gold Members, commented: “Origin Green continues to be a pioneering programme for sustainability in Ireland. We work with more than 300 companies to help them set and achieve sustainability plans and set out to acknowledge companies which have performed exemplary in target areas through the annual Gold Member status. This year, we are thrilled to announce 97 companies which have achieved Gold Membership for 2023.
“I would like to particularly congratulate Butlers Chocolates and Tirlán, which both achieved Gold Membership status for the fourth year in a row. The increase in Gold Members this year is reflective of the drive and commitment that many companies across the Irish food, drink and horticulture sector hold in achieving their sustainability targets. I look forward to seeing all of our 2023 Gold Members continue to champion sustainability in the coming years.
“It is particularly pleasing to see that 80% of our Gold Members are from the SME sector, as typically, smaller companies do not have large teams working in the area of sustainability and, in many cases, their achievements are based on the drive and energy of one person within the company.”
Accelerating Sustainable Businesses
The focus of the seminar revolved around the theme of Accelerating Sustainable Businesses. It brought together a diverse panel of Origin Green manufacturing members, customer retail and foodservice participants, and featured informative sessions. Russell Smyth, Head of Sustainable Futures at KPMG Ireland, provided an enlightening briefing on the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD).
Additionally, the event showcased an insightful presentation by Dr Sally Uren, CEO of the Forum for the Future, who told attendees: “With so much volatility and the accelerating pace of change, we must respond quickly, or it will be too late.”
The seminar also featured the expertise of Mike Barry,a respected advocate for sustainable transformation and former Director of Sustainable Business at Marks & Spencer.
Grace Binchy, Insight and Trends Specialist at Bord Bia presented the first report in Bord Bia’s barometer series, Sustainable Nutrition: Where are we now? , which explores consumer behaviour towards sustainable nutrition.
Deirdre Ryan also provided an overview of the latest Origin Green Progress Report and set out the supports available for Origin Green members.
Find out more here: origingreen.ie