26 leading food and drink businesses receive inaugural Origin Green Gold Membership

In recognition of their efforts to excel in sustainable food production, 26 businesses have received inaugural Origin Green Gold Membership

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Bord Bia was joined by the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Mr. Charlie McConalogue, and over 320 food companies for a special online event where 26 of Ireland’s leading food businesses received inaugural Origin Green Gold Membership in recognition of their efforts to excel in sustainable food production.

The event recognized the Origin Green Gold Members for 2020, and provided insight into the role of sustainability in the agri-business sector through panel discussions with Minister McConalogue, Dan MacSweeney, Bord Bia chairman, Tara McCarthy, Bord Bia CEO and Deirdre Ryan, director of Origin Green and a keynote address from Mike Barry, leading sustainable change agent.

Companies are now eligible for Gold Membership where they have demonstrated an overall exceptional performance within a given year. In the past, all Origin Green companies were given the designation of being a ‘verified member’; but this is a broad categorization in a large cohort and does not reflect the ambition of certain companies who are making significant strides in their sustainability efforts.

Since its inception, Origin Green has grown to collaborate with 53,000 farms and 324 leading Irish food and drink companies to prove and improve the sustainability of the products they produce to meet the evolving needs of global customers and consumers. Verified members account for 90% of food and drink exports, and 70% of domestic retailers.

“Origin Green Gold Membership is about recognising those companies who, each year, make a significant individual stride in sustainability – who provide a best-in-class environmental performance that deserves to be highlighted and celebrated – and who have a story to tell that excites consumers and can be an inspiration and role model for their peers,” said Deirdre Ryan, director of Origin Green & Sustainable Assurance with Bord Bia.

Eight years since this world-leading programme was launched, Origin Green holds the unique position of being the only sustainability programme globally to measure and monitor sustainability across the entire national food supply chain.

Every week, 650 independent farm audits take place under the Origin Green programme and Bord Bia’s Sustainable Assurance Schemes, and over 260,000 carbon assessments have taken place on beef and dairy farms over a five-year period. To date, verified member companies have set over 2,400 sustainability targets, demonstrating their commitment to improving the sustainability and environmental footprint of their businesses. The Origin Green Progress Report shows that in a five-year period, food manufacturers delivered an 11% reduction in energy use per unit of output and a 17% reduction in water use per unit of output. They donated 4,717 tonnes of surplus food to FoodCloud, planted 9,261 trees on manufacturing sites and donated over €8m to community and charity organisations.

“Today, we will recognise and commend 26 exceptional performances, however we are very proud to acknowledge each and every one of our 324 leading Irish food and drink companies who have put sustainability at the core of their mission statement, their business model and their daily work,” said Bord Bia chairperson Tara McCarthy. “These are companies of differing sizes who operate in diverse sectors but who share an ambition for their businesses, their communities and their environment that stands as an inspiration for all of us.”

Through independent verification, the companies below were awarded the new higher level of Origin Green membership – Gold Members 2020, based on exemplary performance in reaching their sustainability targets in 2019.

• Annalitten Farm Eggs
• Ashbourne Meat Processors
• Boann Distillery
• Bulter’s Chocolates
• Carbery Group
• Cooley Oysters
• Cyber Colors Natural Food Ingredients
• Hassett’s Bakery
• Gallagher’s Premium Oysters
• Glanbia Ireland
• Glenilen Farm
• Kerrigan’s Family Farms
• Kerry Group
• Kish Fish
• Knockanore Irish Farmhouse Cheese
• Lee Strand
• Lir Choclates
• Miena’s Handmade Nougat
• Norfish Limited
• Nutramara
• Oakpark Foods
• Oriel Marine Extracts
• Silverhill Duck
• Slaney Farms
• Slaney Foods
• Total Produce

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