Sustainability recognised at the 2015 Bord Bia Food and Drink Awards
The term can be defined as a way of growing or raising food, including animals, in an ecologically and ethically responsible manner, using practices that protect the environment, safeguard human health, are humane to farm animals and provide fair treatment to workers.
Origin Green is the national sustainability development programme developed by Bord Bia to internationally demonstrate the commitment of Irish food and drink producers to operating sustainably.
It enables Ireland’s farmers and producers to set and achieve measureable sustainability targets, reducing environmental impact, serving local communities more effectively and protecting the extraordinary rich natural resources that the country enjoys.
One of the eight categories in Bord Bia’s recent bi-annual awards, which were presented to winners by Agriculture Minister Simon Coveney at the Mansion House, Dublin, was for sustainability.
It was open to companies that have shown leadership in implementing the principle of sustainable production and have differentiated their product offering through sound environmental, economic, and social criteria.
The fact that over 40 companies submitted entries for the category was an encouraging reflection of the growing interest being taken by Irish agri-food businesses in sustainability.
Due to the competitive nature of the category, the high calibre of entries, and the strategic importance of Origin Green, the judges deemed it appropriate to recognise the efforts of two companies.
The food company, Glanbia Ingredients Ireland (GII), and Island Seafoods, a family owned and run business in the fishing village of Killybegs, Co Donegal, were the companies honoured.
Bord Bia chief executive Aidan Cotter said over 85% of total Irish food and drink exports are now coming from companies that are fully verified members of Origin Green.
“Sustainability is an established driver for the industry in terms of how it conducts business, and Origin Green has provided a renewed sense of purpose of how we can be different and still make a difference in a challenging marketplace,” he said.
GIL is Ireland’s leading dairy company.
It has 4,800 farmer suppiers and processes 1.8 billion litres of milk annually into a range of ingredients for export to over 60 countries.
As a founding member of Origin Green, it is committed to auditing its entire milk supply base under a number of sustainability indicators by 2016.
It also plans to reduce carbon emissions by 10% by 2020, zero waste to landfill by 2015 and achieve a 25% water abstraction by 2020.
GII, a 60:40 joint venture between Glanbia Co-op and Glanbia plc, has always been focussed on energy consumption and the associated costs. GII now aims to become a global leader in sustainable dairying.
The company supplies international food and nutrition customers across a range of sectors from branded cheese and butter through to the infant, sports, clinical and affordable nutrition markets.
Sustainability targets across its five mamufacturing plants are delivered as part of overall objectives and targets, headed by its environmental management team.
Targets on dairy farms are delivered by the Glanbia Milk Advisory Team which works closely with GII milk suppliers in the areas of quality, environmental and financial best practice.
Sean Molloy, Director of Strategy and Supplier Relations at GII, said the award was a very positive endorsement of the significant work within its business in the area of sustainability.
It recognised in particular the combined efforts of cross-functional teams that ensure sustainability remains a priority for GII, he said.
GII’s sustainability manager Audrey O’Shea said the company recognises that its customers value sustainability as much as it does.
“It has come to denote transparency, traceability, responsibility and quality, all of which are core to the range of products we produce and how we produce them,” she said.
With a turnover of over €3.5bn per annum, almost 6,000 employees and a presence in 34 countries worldwide, Glanbia’s vision is to be one of the world’s top performing nutrition companies.
Island Seafoods, the other sustainability award winner, was established in 1986 in the popular Donegal fishing village of Killybegs by Mick O’Donnell,who still runs the business.
His son, Michael O’Donnell said the company produces pelargic fish in bulk, exporting most of it to China, Japan, Russia, Europe, and Africa.
It is also into value added products for France and Germnay and employs about 20 people full time plus another 15 during the pelargic season in the winter months.
“We are aways developing the product range and looking for new ways we can expand and give the workforce something to do all year round rather than just the fishing season,” he said.
A hydro electric power plant produces 65% of the company’s electricity while water from a dam above the factory is used to generate a turbine on site.
It saves 350 tonnes of greenhouse gases per year and in 1996 it built a state of the art plant to treat waste water from the premises.
Island Seafoods says it is now in talks to build a wind generated power plant which would make it completely independent from the electricity grid and further reduce carbon emissions.
Because of the company’s size, the judges were impressed by the level of innovation.
For instance, new technology has given the company the ability to track the kWh consumed per tonne of fish processed.
The company is now working to reduce the overall operational electricity usage and water consumption for cooling and cleaning by 15% by 2016.
It also has a comprehensive plan in place in terms of food waste, renewable energy, cold store lighting, and social sustainability.
