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 today (Thursday, November 30), which was opened by Minister for Agriculture, Food, and the Marine, Charlie McConalogue.
Origin Green Gold Membership
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, said:
“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,” she added.
Ryan acknowledged that that 80% of Gold Members are from the SME (small and medium-sized enterprises) sector.
“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,” she stated.
Commenting on the Gold Membership Awards, Jim O’Toole, CEO of Bord Bia, said:
“The growing number of companies reaching sustainable targets and achieving Gold Membership is encouraging and we look forward to continuing to support Irish food and drink businesses in their drive to achieve sustainable operations.
“However, we can’t stand still. On the contrary, we have to re-double our collective efforts. Under Ireland’s Climate Action Plan, the agri-food sector has to reduce its emissions by 25% by 2030.
“By working closely with like-minded organisations, we at Bord Bia and the Origin Green programme will provide the leadership and technical support to the industry to ensure sustainability continues to drive positive change in the sector.
We must build upon the progress that we have already made in areas such as reducing greenhouse gas emissions, improving biodiversity, and our collective focus on water quality and availability, animal health and welfare, and overall food safety and quality.”
Some of the 97 companies which have secured Origin Green Gold Membership include: ABP Foods; Carbery; Dawn Farm Foods; Kepak; Kerry Group and Tirlán.