Ireland

Building the business case for biodiversity in Ireland

Szilvia Szabó — Thu, 16 May 2024 13:56:42 +0000

Building the business case for biodiversity in Ireland

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Business

Nature Conversation

Ireland

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Nature

The World Economic Forum warned in 2020 that, based on the New Nature Economy Report, approximately $44 trillion of economic value is at moderate or severe risk due to nature loss.

The continued loss of biodiversity and degradation of nature is a looming threat to businesses and communities alike.

“Businesses have a critical role in nature stewardship, but it is challenging to bring their attention to biodiversity and make the link between their operations and impacts visible,” says Lucy Gaffney, Platform Manager at Business for Biodiversity Ireland.

She adds that while some companies are more dependent on and related to nature than others, most have some relationship with it regardless of size or industry.

“A bank, an agribusiness, or a mining company has a completely different relationship with nature.”

According to Lucy, one standard practice is that organisations tend to externalise their impact, which can give the illusion of minimal responsibility and impact.

“It`s the case with Ireland, where you often hear the argument falsely claiming that we are such a small island, so we have no significant impact on biodiversity. In reality, we are very good at using supply chains, leaving the troubles outside the country.”

Lucy Gaffney, Platform Manager at Business for Biodiversity Ireland

But the risks and responsibilities are real, adds Lucy when she explains why businesses should care about this issue more.

She highlights that even though the latest CSRD reporting (Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive) will not directly apply to most SMEs, they will be forced to deal with sustainability issues as they are part of bigger organisations' supply chains, which will include nature-related issues.

Business for Biodiversity Ireland focuses on creating a safe space and an inspirational community where companies can learn how to connect their operation and strategy with nature.

They are building a multi-sector platform on the pillars of raising awareness, facilitating collaboration, influencing policy, and inspiring action so businesses can mitigate nature-related risks while maximising opportunities and integrating nature into their decision-making.

The organisation aspires to bring together leaders through active participation to share learnings with a learn-as-you-go approach since adopting meaningful biodiversity strategies can be even more complicated than carbon management.

“When you are experimenting with new ideas, there is a fine line between being courageous and being accused of greenwashing. This can lead to greenhushing, a term for consciously concealing sustainability efforts.”

Lucy points out that learning always includes making mistakes, and they try to encourage open and honest discussions that could lead to better solutions.

A critical part of establishing a meaningful biodiversity strategy is identifying the company`s true influence and impact and building a meaningful, long-term plan around that.

To support that process, Business for Biodiversity Ireland created a library of resources available for businesses that would help them better understand how to contribute to a nature positive economy and what the benefits are.

Some guidelines on their website include a Nature Positive Roadmap, a Finance for Biodiversity guide, and a Nature Disclosure tool.

Lucy shares that their role, among others, is to translate and simplify complex concepts so companies can easily see the connection and take action.

“We need to present a distilled version of extensive frameworks, reports, or whitepapers to cut through the noise and make them relevant for decision-makers, providing clear steps they can take.”

Community of Practice sessions provide a safe space for businesses to earn how to connect their operation and strategy with nature. Image: Business for Biodiversity Ireland

Educational activities are also needed to translate biodiversity and make a business case for nature.

“Most people associate biodiversity with pollinators, which is a great first step but not the whole picture. Focusing only on pollinators in communication can actually become misleading since other equally important areas get sidelined because of that.”

She explains that the All-Ireland Pollinator Plan was a very successful campaign and had an overarching positive impact on preserving wildlife in this particular area.

However, Lucy sees this as drifting into dangerous territory by implying that you can tick biodiversity off your list if you are good with pollinators.

“We have so much more that we should discover and protect in Ireland.

Our marine environment is fascinating, and having a natural rainforest that could be restored and expanded along the West Coast is a unique opportunity we could embrace.

Not to mention that an iconic indicator species, the Hen Harrier, also known as the Sky-Dancer, is disappearing from our habitat, but we still have the chance to save it.”

Lucy believes we need to foster more investment-ready biodiversity projects with measurable outputs to help channel attention and finance.

Companies like An Post, Bank of Ireland, or Bus Éireann are already signing up to join Business for Biodiversity Ireland and become more involved with their work through membership, which involves participating in Community of Practice workshops that provide great learning opportunities.

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Trailblazer social innovators awarded with funding in Dublin to scale up impact

Climate Journal reporting — Wed, 20 Sep 2023 17:24:01 +0000

Trailblazer social innovators awarded with funding in Dublin to scale up impact

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Local social enterprises addressing societal and environmental challenges received €60,000 in funding at the annual Dublin Social Enterprise Awards 2023 to enhance their operation and scale their impact.

The six awardees work in diverse areas, including sustainability, unemployment, education, health, homelessness and ex-offender reintegration, supporting disadvantaged people while advocating for inclusion in their communities and beyond.

Minister Joe O’Brien, Minister of State with the Department of Rural and Community Development, emphasised the role of social enterprises in his keynote address at the award ceremony:

“They are tangibly helping to address key issues regarding our economy, society and environment while providing employment, opportunities and positive impact.”

One of the awardees is The Mugshot by PACE, which works with people who have criminal records, supporting people back to the community since 2014 to give them work experience and ease their way into mainstream employment.

With three locations across Dublin, this social enterprise provides training and learning opportunities on a professional and personal level.

The Mugshot by PACE is one of the awardees of Dublin City Social Enterprise Awards 2023.

Maggie Clune, representing PACE, says that the funding will allow them to improve their equipment, which they couldn`t have done without this support.

“This year’s awardees clearly highlight how social enterprise can lead positive change in a sustainable way, showing the possibilities when profit and purpose work hand in hand,”

added Ross Curley, Head of Economic Development, Dublin City Council.

Rediscover Furniture runs its operation at the Rediscovery Centre, the National Centre for the Circular Economy, aiming to keep all kinds of furniture in use for as long as possible through restoration, conservation and upcycling to stop them from ending up in landfills.

“The Social Enterprise Award Dublin is going to help us to rent premises where we can display the furniture and the public can come in and buy it all from us, and also to host events like repair cafés,” says Nessa Doran O`Reilly from Rediscover Furniture.

She adds that this support will go a long way so they can improve logistics, marketing and employment, ultimately getting more people involved with a sustainable lifestyle.

Gemma McCabe, Co-Director and COO of the social enterprise Hair Together, also received an award for delivering wellbeing and life skills programmes through the art of hairdressing and barbering.

For her, this recognition means they can expand their services, involve more kids and young adults, and create a three-year plan to sustain their operation financially.

Hair Together social enterprise received funding and support through the Dublin City Social Enterprise Awards 2023.

Other awardees include Dublin Simon Community Charity Shops, Mellow Spring Childcare Development Centre and New Creations Cleaning Service.

Besides the financial support, awardees were presented bespoke trophies handmade by The Yard at Solas Project, a local social enterprise and previous awardee, and they will also benefit from additional support to grow their organisation.

Now in its ninth year, the Dublin City Social Enterprise Awards is organised and managed by various stakeholders in partnership, such as the Dublin City Council, Dublin City Social Enterprise Committee, Inner City Enterprise, Economic Development Office, Local Enterprise Office Dublin City and the Department of Rural and Community Development.

Headline image: Left to the Right - Pearse O'Reilly, Nessa Doran O'Reilly, Minister Joe O'Brien, Erika Pena, Eileen McHugh, Lord Mayor of Dublin, Paul Donoghue, Rachael Duff

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September 2023

Transforming Ireland’s home for entrepreneurs to support climate innovators

Bronagh Loughlin — Tue, 13 Jun 2023 11:31:06 +0000

Transforming Ireland’s home for entrepreneurs to support climate innovators

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As a top global incubator in the heart of Dublin City, hosting more than 160 innovative start-ups, the Guinness Enterprise Centre (GEC) has a massive influence on the business ecosystem in Ireland.

The Guinness Enterprise Centre is recognised as one of the greatest incubators globally, ranking as the second private business incubator in the world, according to UBI, the University Business Incubator benchmark.

Eamonn Sayers, Manager at GEC, says: “Our mission is to drive economic wealth in Ireland by empowering entrepreneurs to start and scale.

We provide the best environment for these entrepreneurs to attract talent, scale, and build phenomenal businesses.”

In the past years, the GEC underwent a transformational change inside-out.

After many years of being a traditional business support organisation, they modernised the building with sustainability in mind and became a green business hub.

Eamonn Sayers, Manager, Guinness Enterprise Centre

Recently, the Irish Government nominated the Guinness Enterprise Centre as a Circular Economy Hub.

They now actively collaborate with Techies Go Green, a non-profit organisation supporting tech-oriented companies to become carbon neutral by 2030, in building a sustainability cluster.

The cluster was launched by Eamon Ryan T.D., Minister for the Environment and Climate, in February 2023.

“What’s happening at the GEC right now is also a preview into the future of smart business and innovation in Ireland,” said Minister Ryan at the launch.

Speaking on this transition, Eamonn further explains how they facilitated this shift: “We recently completed an €11m expansion with support from Diageo, Dublin City Council, Dublin City Local Enterprise Office, Enterprise Ireland, the Irish Strategic Investment Fund and Furthr.

We started planning for this in 2016-2017, and from the beginning, we had the desire to put sustainability at the heart of our community in the GEC.”

More and more businesses are recognising the importance of taking climate action.

Eamonn reflects on the GEC’s decision: “We need to lead and demonstrate what is possible. In our community, we are inspired by innovators and entrepreneurs every single day.

It’s all around us. It’s in our DNA, and sustainability must also be in our DNA.”

The GEC building is now 95,000 square feet. Two new floors were added and built with carbon neutrality at their core.

The concept of having a green roof has encouraged the team to the point where they now have 18 beehives on the top of the building.

(Left to right) Eamonn Sayers, manager, Guinness Enterprise Centre; Eamon Ryan, TD, Minister for the Environment and Climate; Michael O Hara, co-founder, Techies Go Green; and Dr Mary O Riordan, CEO, HaPPE Earth on the green roof of GEC at the beehives.

Sustainability measures were also factored in around heating, lighting, air conditioning, recycling, charge points, transport initiatives, and much more. The team have plans to install solar panels to further their greening efforts.

Speaking on the challenges they faced in transitioning to a hub for sustainable innovation, Eamonn says: “The primary challenges we faced were balancing cost and value and, initially, lack of deep domain knowledge.

Understanding the practical side of sustainability was crucial to the development of the Centre.”

The team expects the hub to grow further and help immensely to drive sustainable innovation.

They started by building the largest community of sustainable innovators by collaborating with key partners in this space, such as Techies Go Green, Community Resources Network Ireland, Dublin City Council, the Dublin City Local Enterprise Office and Enterprise Ireland.

“In line with Government’s cluster policy, we have developed the Centres sustainability cluster, Sustainability@GEC attracting climate innovators with more engagement on a weekly basis. Besides, we are engaging our sustainable early-stage startup community with corporations adopting best practices and building new processes.”

The GEC team also believe the transition to a hub for sustainable innovation will help other businesses that are not traditionally green overcome barriers and challenges to implementing sustainability and circular economy practices.

Eamonn says that the GEC will act as a test bed connecting with a wide range of businesses and enterprise locations, with enterprises operating from their building employing over 900 staff.

“We want to share our sustainability journey with all other startup hubs across our enterprise ecosystem here in Ireland, thereby putting sustainability at the core of every startup community,” Says Eamonn about their ambitions to go further.

“If we get it right in the GEC, we can get it right in every start-up hub in Ireland. We get it right in the hubs; then it follows that every start-up in Ireland will put sustainability at the core of how they operate in business.

The impact on our country will be tremendous.

We are excited by the potential of Irish start-ups showing the way towards a sustainable future.

We have it within our own work and deeds to develop a brighter future for Ireland and for the world we live in. Let’s grasp this opportunity - our time for sustainability is now.”

This article is an extract from content originally published in the Circular Economy in Action special edition of the Profit with Purpose Magazine - you can read the full article and other features in the magazine.

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Bringing a four-day celebration of the Circular Economy to Ireland

Bronagh Loughlin — Thu, 18 May 2023 11:26:16 +0000

Bringing a four-day celebration of the Circular Economy to Ireland

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Circular Economy

Ireland

Topic

Circular Economy

For the first time, Dublin is hosting the Circular Economy Hotspot on 29th May-1st June, placing Ireland’s capital in the epicentre of European Circularity.

The application for Dublin to host this prestigious international event is a result of the close collaboration of strategic partners led by The Rediscovery Centre with the Department of the Environment, Dublin City Council, the Eastern & Midlands Regional Waste Management Planning Office (EMRWMP), and CIRCULÉIRE.

“The Circular Economy Hotspot is an opportunity to bring together some of the best minds, thinkers and activists around circular economy and social economy,”

says Mary Mac Sweeney, Executive Manager Acting of Culture, Recreation and Economic Services, Dublin City Council.

The Circular Economy Hotspot Dublin 2023 event will take place on 29th May- 1st June 2023.

The event provides a great chance to learn from, network with, and be inspired by the very best actors working in this field.

Attendees can learn about the practical steps and resources to take home and implement through conference talks, tours, workshops, and topic deep-dives.

The event brings together policymakers, entrepreneurs, pioneers, researchers, students, industry, and citizens from Ireland and further afield.

It is a time to highlight ground-breaking circular economic initiatives, best practices, and innovation, with each host country putting together a programme showcasing how their country or region contributes to the transition towards a circular economy.

This year the Hotspot will establish a global dimension as two other global regions are also participating as hosts: Lagos, Nigeria and Santiago, Chile.

Speaking on the areas that will be explored, Dr Sarah Miller, CEO at the Rediscovery Centre, shares: “Dublin is home to some of the world’s greatest circular economy leaders and innovations.

As a host of Circular Economy Hotspot Dublin 2023, the city will showcase circular economy progress made in design and manufacturing, food systems and the bioeconomy alongside social enterprise activity.”

Dr Sarah Miller, CEO at the Rediscovery Centre

She adds: “Tackling Dublin’s housing crisis through circular solutions will also be explored, going beyond green building materials to look into additional benefits that can be designed into our city to improve well-being and encourage carbon-positive lifestyles.

The Circular Economy Hotspot Dublin is a cross-sectoral and public engagement event, providing the perfect platform to present the circular economy as a positive framework for the city to demonstrate adaptation and growth within planetary boundaries.”

Dublin will not only represent Irish circular economic innovation in 2023 but become a focal point of circularity across Europe while building on the momentum of recent developments, harnessing the cultural influences that are unique to the city.

Dr Joanne Rourke, Resource Efficiency Officer, EMRWMP, shares: “What we’re hoping to do is to build on the momentum of earlier Hotspots in other capital cities, but also to build on the momentum that is happening now in Ireland.

We envision the Hotspot will act as a spark to start the circular economy fire.”

Now in its seventh year, the Circular Economy Hotspot initiative has become a flagship event on the calendar for many leaders and experts across industries and policy.

The Netherlands first organised it in 2016, and the event has spread much further since to Catalonia, Luxembourg, Belgium, Germany, and Scotland.

Dublin city balances a local village feel with the buzz of a vibrant and modern capital city at the heart of European life. Since 2020, Ireland and its capital have witnessed a significant drive to share knowledge, invest, and foster the circular economy.

Irish support for European initiatives also remains amongst the highest in the EU.

As a capital city, Dublin can showcase the impact of these recent flagship circular economy policy funds and measures led by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications (DECC).

Dr Geraldine Brennan, CIRCULÉIRE’s Lead and Head of Circular Economy at Irish Manufacturing Research, remarks:

“Ireland is ripe for innovation, and a lot of circular economy excitement is bubbling up.

What is genuinely exciting about this year to Dublin is the fact that over the last number of years, Ireland has pivoted towards embracing the circular economy as an economic development model.”

Dr Geraldine Brennan, CIRCULÉIRE’s Lead and Head of Circular Economy at Irish Manufacturing Research

The opportunity to host the Circular Economy Hotspot is a value-based partnership as Dublin has a lot to offer as a host, and equally, the event has a great deal to bring Ireland in turn.

The event will bring global visibility to circular economic initiatives here in Ireland and establish global opportunities for Dublin.

It will also pay homage to the strengths Ireland has to offer the circular economic community.

Ultimately, the Hotspot will bring the circular economy to life, making it part of the day-to-day lives of citizens and event attendees from the public sector, policymakers, industry, and start-ups alike.

This content is originally published in the Circular Economy in Action special edition of the Profit with Purpose Magazine.

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Inspiring female voices in sustainability in Ireland

Anonymous — Wed, 08 Mar 2023 10:13:36 +0000

Inspiring female voices in sustainability in Ireland

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Celebrating International Women`s Day by shining a light on trailblazer Irish women.

Female leaders have proven crucial for driving the change we need to fight the climate crisis. These incredible women are working day by day to help us achieve a more sustainable and equitable world.

In honour of International Women’s Day, celebrated on March 8th, we are spotlighting the work of these genuine changemakers as a reminder that we can all spark positive changes by putting our skills to work.

Written by Bronagh Loughlin and Szilvia Szabó

Start-up

Aisling Kirwan - Positive Carbon

Aisling Kirwan, alongside Mark Kirwan, brought Positive Carbon to life to offer an automated food waste tracking solution that could help food service companies to minimise their environmental impact while optimising their operation.

By working with renowned hospitality players and food service providers in the Irish Market, they have already proved that adopting sustainability measures is in the best interest of any business. Their ultimate goal is to help businesses understand their food waste and apply necessary changes to become more efficient and less wasteful.

Social Enterprise

Viki Baird – Stillgarden Distillery

Viki Baird is the brainchild behind the Stillgarden Distillery, the Dublin-based business changing industry practices by designing its spirits through the lenses of community, science, and nature.

As Co-Founder, she has played an instrumental role in developing a pro-social approach to building and running this business. Part of this approach includes community projects like the Social Botanist Project, whereby local community members meet up and plant botanicals.

They also keep a keen eye on reused materials as much as possible, including packaging, sourcing coffee grains from local shops to create their espresso martini blend and even giving used organic ingredients to local farmers to be used for chicken feed.

Viki Baird, Co-Founder, Stillgarden Distillery social enterprise

Higher Education

Lucia Walsh - TU Dublin

As a lecturer at Technological University Dublin, she has gone far beyond the daily routine of teaching the set agenda. She is the program chair for the Postgraduate Certificate in Sustainability Leadership in Business course and the MSc Business & Entrepreneurship while leading various collaborative programs.

These include supporting students in taking on ENACTUS projects where they can learn more about social entrepreneurship on learning by doing basis and the ENFUSE project that connects third-level students with SMEs and social enterprises to work on challenges together.

Business support

Máire Fay - Dublin Chamber

As the Head of Education, Development & Sustainability at Dublin Chamber, she is passionate about helping SMEs to better understand and adopt environmental initiatives to improve their business while contributing to the Sustainable Development Goals.

One of the flagship projects that has grown from strength to strength under her wings is the Sustainability Academy, which provides hands-on knowledge to business leaders on current sustainability affairs, such as carbon management, circular business models, climate strategy, and green public procurement, among others.

Scale-up

Iseult Ward and Aoibheann O’Brien – FoodCloud

FoodCloud - a social enterprise to save and transform surplus food into opportunities to make the world a kinder place.

Iseult Ward and Aoibheann O’Brien shared a vision that no good food should go to waste when they started a school project at Trinity College Dublin in 2012.

Following their dream, they established FoodCloud in 2013 as a social enterprise to save and transform surplus food into opportunities to make the world a kinder place.

Working towards this mission, they have also become a role model of how to scale a social enterprise and significantly increase its impact through entrepreneurial thinking.

In 2021, FoodCloud redistributed 16,380 tonnes of surplus food, equivalent to 89 million meals, across four countries: Ireland, the UK, the Czech Republic and Slovakia.

Climate action

Ciara Feehely - Vita

Ciara Feehely is the Head of Communications and Fundraising at Vita Ireland, the Irish development partner supporting African farmers and communities for over 32 years. Ciara and her team work with African climate-smart communities with access to markets, services, and livelihoods for all.

In Eritrea and Ethiopia, Vita’s work focuses on empowering climate-smart agriculture, climate mitigation, and empowering women. Ciara’s involvement since 2015 has helped the organisation immensely with improving its efforts to facilitate sustainable livelihoods.

Communication

Fiona Donnellan – Sustainable PR

Fiona Donnellan is helping sustainable brands tell their stories to have a greater impact and enhance their reputation. Her business offers public relations, communications, and social media services for purpose-driven brands. Founded in 2019, Sustainable PR’s client list includes incredible businesses like Reuzi, Grown Clothing, Shells Cafe, Minor Figures, Jiminy Eco Toys and more.

Fiona’s mission is to help sustainable brands get a spotlight at a time when altering our lifestyles and behaviours couldn’t be more important.

Economic Development

Mary Mac Sweeney – Dublin City Council

For many years she worked as Deputy Head of Enterprise and Economic Development at Dublin City Council, supporting startups and scaling businesses through the Local Enterprise Office and promoting Dublin as an attractive place to live, work, study and invest through the Dublin Place Branding initiative.

Mary Mac Sweeney, Acting Executive Manager at the Culture, Recreation and Economic Services at Dublin City Council

She has been promoting sustainability and social innovation with a genuine passion and keeping these issues on the agenda for strategic plans for Dublin city.

At the forefront of change, she contributed to various programs, projects and initiatives, such as the Dublin City Social Enterprise Awards, getting Dublin to join the 100 Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities European agenda, and bringing the SoCircular event to life with her team while supporting various other events in the impact space.

Mary continues to cross-pollinate ideas and inspire collaborations to make change happen scale as Acting Executive Manager at the Culture, Recreation and Economic Services at Dublin City Council.

Circular Economy - Public awareness and policy

Dr Sarah Miller – Rediscovery Centre

Dr Sarah Millet has been a visionary leader as she has facilitated and overseen the development of the Rediscovery Centre, Ireland`s National Centre for the Circular Economy, since 2005. As CEO of this ecological centre and innovation hub, she is advancing the agenda for Circular Economy in Ireland and Europe.

The Rediscovery Centre has become a leading partner in hosting the prestigious Circular Economy Hotspot 2023 event in Dublin, a four-day learning and networking opportunity to adopt circular economy practices.

The centre’s work is built around the three key themes of education, demonstration and advocacy.

Circular economy - Business education

Joanne Rourke - Eastern-Midlands Waste Region

Joanne is an Environmental Scientist with over 20 years of experience in environmental work involving laboratory work, policy, communication, awareness, research and education. She is a true advocate for sustainability, driving change through several Irish and EU projects, like the MODOS Circular Economy business training program, which supports leaders in transitioning to more circular business models.

Her passion and expertise shine through every time she is on stage at events, representing the Eastern-Midlands Waste Regional Office as a Resource Efficiency Officer. She holds a PhD in Human Geography, specialising in Environmental Risk Communication.

Circular economy - design

Lynn Haughton - The Upcycle Movement

With a motto that 'It's only waste if we waste its potential' Lynn founded the multi-award-winning community organisation 'The Upcycle Movement' in 2012 to inspire people to look at waste differently and contribute to a circular economy. Her mission is to keep materials from ending up in landfills by giving them a second life and turning them into functional and beautiful items.

She mainly focuses on upcycling wetsuits as they cannot be recycled and do not biodegrade, only adding to gigantic waste mountains at the end of their use. Besides working on design solutions and hosting workshops, she recently added a new feature, the Re Source platform, that connects resources for upcycling with designers who can repurpose them.

The Upcycle Movement turns wetsuits into practical and beautiful items, keeping them from ending up in landfills.

Young Entrepreneurs

Kara O’Sullivan and Joanna Dooley- Greens Are Good For You

Kara O’Sullivan and Joanna Dooley are the Founders of Greens Are Good For You, a fashion rental service. These two young women were inspired to start this business following years of sharing each other's favourite clothing pieces and recognising the global issues in the fashion industry.

Their company aims to encourage customers to consume with a conscience, understanding that they can consume fashion most affordably and sustainably.

This list is only the tip of the iceberg, as many more inspirational female voices are out there.

Therefore, this is only us, inspired by these amazing women, to kick off the discussion and turn the conversation over to you to keep it going.

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Campaign to boost social enterprise sector in Ireland

Business Spirit News reporting — Tue, 15 Nov 2022 10:43:18 +0000

Campaign to boost social enterprise sector in Ireland

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Ireland’s first nationwide campaign calls on businesses and the public to support Irish social entreprises by purchasing from them.

The first #BuySocialIRL Week in Ireland aims to inspire businesses and the public to purchase from social enterprises while raising awareness about this sector from the 14th until the 21st of November.

The campaign was launched in Dublin, and there are events planned nationwide with special ‘meet&greet’ sessions in Cork and Galway where participants can network and learn more about social enterprises.

The Irish Social Enterprise Network (ISEN) coordinates the event with support from the Irish Government, highlighting the various benefits of integrating social enterprises into the supply chain, including invigorating local communities.

“If you purchase from a social enterprise, you are helping employ people that might not have had a job otherwise, you are supporting local community initiatives and directly impacting people's lives,”

said Chris MM Gordon, CEO of ISEN, at the launch event.

He explained further that ‘social enterprises are businesses for good’ and selling products and services means they can reinvest their profits into communities.

Chris MM Gordon, CEO of Irish Social Enterprise Network opened a 'Meet&Greet' event in Cork as part of the #BuySocialIRL Week campaign. Image: BuySocial.ie

The slogan of the campaign ‘Do Good. Spend Well. Buy Social.’ also reflects on the main goal of this initiative.

Gordon added:

“Through this #BuySocialIRL week, all we ask is that you consider buying something from a social enterprise.”

Besides the one-week campaign, the public and business leaders are invited to visit the BuySocial.ie online directory that lists Irish social enterprises providing products and services.

Siel Bleu is one of the Irish social enterprises joining the #BuySocialIRL Week. Image: BuySocial.ie

The website features a wide range of options for anyone interested in supporting organisations such as Mug Shot Coffee, creating jobs for people with prison or probation experience or Siel Bleu, which helps the elderly and people living with disabilities to transform lives through exercise.

Visitors can browse and find authentic offers, including Ireland's first social enterprise design store, We Make Good or Brigit’s Garden, a place where people of all ages can connect with nature, among others.

The #BuySocialIRL is supported by the Department of Rural and Community Development, the Dormant Accounts Fund and Pobal, which works on behalf of the Government to support communities and local agencies toward achieving social inclusion and development.

The event’s main organiser is the Irish Social Enterprise Network, the National Body for Social Enterprise in Ireland, active in advocacy, education and facilitating networking.

Headline Image: BuySocial.ie

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Why do ambitious changemakers upskill in Climate Entrepreneurship?

Bronagh Loughlin — Mon, 08 Aug 2022 17:21:41 +0000

Why do ambitious changemakers upskill in Climate Entrepreneurship?

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Choosing a trailblazer postgraduate course focusing on climate action is becoming a top choice for innovators wanting to make a positive impact in Ireland.

The first course of its kind, the Postgraduate Certificate in Climate Entrepreneurship hosted by Tangent, Trinity’s Ideas Workplace in Dublin, offers students a hands-on learning experience to tackle climate change with an entrepreneurial mindset.

Applications are currently open until the 16th of August for this part-time, blended learning experience delivered in person and online, with teaching lessons held two evenings per week.

This unique course was developed in collaboration with the School of Natural Sciences at Trinity College Dublin and is now kicking off for a second year to equip participants with knowledge and tools to handle both the opportunities and challenges arising from the climate emergency.

Professor Quentin Crowley, Course Director and the Director of Trinity College’s Centre for the Environment, speaks about who the programme is suitable for:

“A key aspect of the course is that it is very multidisciplinary because climate change is very systemic and is not something that will be solved with one solution.

We need different actors, sectors, and thinkers, so regardless of your background, we encourage you to apply.”

The course aims to provide an integrated approach to preparing students for the opportunities and challenges emerging from the climate crisis.

Professor Quentin Crowley, Climate Entrepreneurship Course Director at Tangent, Trinity College Dublin

All those who wish to turn their climate action ambitions into reality can develop their lateral and critical thinking skills in this course, enabling them to take innovative approaches across numerous fields.

Graduates will have the creative confidence to transform ideas into solutions.

Shanna May Breen, a past student from the first intake, shares why she decided to apply for the Climate Entrepreneurship programme:

“I’m a creative, my background is in theatre making. Around four and a half years ago, I became quite worrisome in terms of climate issues. I started developing projects that looked at climate to make that intelligible for me."

Shanna took her idea even further and developed a business called Tree Zero.

Shanna May Breen, graduated from the first Postgraduate Climate Entrepreneurship course.

"I’m not only a Climate Artist now, but I’m also a Climate Entrepreneur.”

Since the course’s completion, she has been developing this product alongside Enterprise Ireland’s New Frontiers programme with top sustainable European designers.

The course is best suited to those who want to actively address climate change and equip themselves with the creative confidence and innovation skills to transform their ideas into solutions.

The content covered in the classes is centred around three main modules, including systems innovation for positive climate action, entrepreneurship opportunities in climate adaptation and mitigation, and climate enterprise development.

Caithriona McCarthy, another graduate of the course, speaks about why she decided to join: “For the last 10 years, I’ve been teaching sustainable horticulture and sustainable agriculture in the west of Ireland."

Participating in the Climate Entrepreneurship course helped Caithriona McCarthy to design a climate education programme for children. Image: Edible Landscape Project

"As a result of doing the Climate Entrepreneurship course, we were able to better communicate our message,” McCarthy adds.

She quickly adopted her learning, and by the time Caithriona finished the course, she had designed a climate education programme for children focusing on system thinking with her team.

Joining the Climate Entrepreneurship course will help students be better prepared to reduce the future social and economic costs of the climate crisis while encouraging communities, businesses, and individuals to play their part.

Caithriona also highlights the added value of working in teams:

“I think the group work was brilliant because we were so motivated and that made us work well with each other. I’ve stayed in touch with groups I’ve worked with and bounced ideas off them too.”

Those on the programme benefit from access to leading academics and a world-class entrepreneurial community as well as exclusive networking opportunities with regular guest talks by industry leaders, masterclasses, and events.

About the content, Shanna May Breen adds: :

“I think the course is so interesting that you are eager to log on and meet up each evening.

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The Postgraduate Certificate in Climate Entrepreneurship will begin in September 2022 and runs until March 2023.

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You can learn more and submit your application here.

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August 2022

Sweetening the deal to make food ethics matter

Business Spirit News reporting — Mon, 08 Aug 2022 13:19:09 +0000

Sweetening the deal to make food ethics matter

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A chocolate range with exceptional taste and high ethical standards was brought to life by an Irish entrepreneur to raise awareness.

Chocolatey Clare, alias Clare Tate followed her passion when she designed a chocolate range in Ireland with a sensational taste while raising the bar to the highest in ethics and sustainability.

In this interview, she shares her secrets of running an ethical food business that goes beyond the usual ‘greening’ strategies.

I set up my business in 2016, knowing absolutely nothing about the food industry. After turning 50, I decided to just do something else entirely and switch to a completely different career by becoming an entrepreneur.

I have been a vegetarian for about 30 years, and I turned vegan along with my whole family about seven years ago. I couldn't find any vegan chocolate that I really loved, even though I tried almost all of them.

So I decided to make my own and started my business by searching the internet ‘How do you make chocolate?’. Besides finding the best taste, I had some other criteria on my list: to start with, it had to be vegan, but veganism extends to an approach to minimise the exploitation of not only animals but humans, the environment and the planet.

In the finished product, you have your in¬gredients, processes, people, packaging, and everything has an effect.

Clare Tate, Founder of Chocolatey Clare is dedicated to raise the bar in food ethics.

Food ethics is one of my main principles, which means no animal or human exploitation in the production of my chocolate.

I strive to ensure that all my ingredients are ethically sourced, so I would investigate the ethics policies and the sustainability commitments of all the suppliers I engage with. For example, when I use organic coconut milk powder, I also need to make sure that no monkeys are used to harvest the coconuts.

I think there is no such thing as a neutral purchase because you support that company every time you buy something.

One of the main challenges for me entering the food industry was having no previous experience whatsoever. I had to research everything, but I don't think it was all negative because it meant that I had no preconceived notions of what should I be doing.

I investigated everything and looked at all possible options at the time.

I went to a lot of trouble to find environmen¬tally friendly packaging. The boxes I use are made from FSC certified paper and printed with vegetable-based ink instead of petroleum basting. The printing company that I work with has printing machines that are actually wind-powered.

My products are more expensive than the mass-produced options. But if you think about it, there is a good reason for that.

Particularly in the food industry, there is an unrealistic expectation from the general public that chocolate should be cheap.

If everybody in the supply chain is fairly paid and the environmental impact is taken into account, the end product will obviously be more expensive.

At the same time, unfortunately, there is still a lot of exploitation and even slave labour involved in the cocoa industry.

The result is that chocolate is cheap when it shouldn’t be, so it is a bit of an uphill battle to convince consumers that chocolate is a luxury item that deserves to be paid for and should be treated that way.

"Chocolate is a luxury item that deserves to be paid for and should be treated that way," says Clare Tate.

One of my other mantras is that you should buy less but buy better. I think consumers have all the power because if we stop buying something, then companies will stop making it or be forced to examine how they produce things.

Most of my customers aren’t vegan and aren't really bothered about buying dairy-free products, but they like the chocolate we make. And this was another thing that absolutely was at the top of my agenda.

Not only do I want to make chocolate according to my principles and my ethics, but it has to be delicious.

Figuring out all the details and building up a business was not easy, and I was glad to receive such tremendous support from the Dublin City Local Enterprise Office. It meant not just being able to have experts helping me but getting great exposure to my products and refining my positioning.

I would love to see many more people stand by the type of business I’m running.

Considering that there are plenty of resources and food out there to feed the world, yet only a few per cent of humanity has the luxury to enjoy it, we would definitely need a systemic change.

How the system works right now, how food is produced, priced, distributed, and consumed, is far from being fair or sustainable.

It might look like an unrealistic or naive paradigm shift, but access to quality and safe food is a basic need and should be available to everyone.

As a small business, I’m doing everything within my reach and power to get people to at least think about their impact when purchasing their food.

Chocolate might just be a sweat first experience for them to feel good about making better choices whenever they buy something.

This content is a piece of an article originally published in the "Make change happen" issue of Profit with Purpose Magazine.

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August 2022

First Impact Syndicate in Ireland to invest €10M in sustainability start-ups

Business Spirit News reporting — Mon, 31 Jan 2022 20:46:37 +0000

First Impact Syndicate in Ireland to invest €10M in sustainability start-ups

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Angel invetsors in Ireland will provide funding and supports to enterprises building on environmental, social and governance factors.

The Halo Business Angel Network (HBAN) is launching a new Impact Syndicate aiming to collectively invest €10M in Irish enterprises focusing on ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) factors besides traditional financial returns.

The Impact Syndicate will be officially launched at the online All-Island Conference on 2 February 2022.

Over the next three years, the syndicate will consider pitches from start-ups located in Ireland focusing on climate, agri-tech and food supply chain, energy, blue economy, health and cleantech.

L-Faye Walsh Drouillard, co-chair of HBAN Impact Syndicate; R-Julian Seymour, Syndicates Manager, HBAN

“Investors and entrepreneurs alike want to make a meaningful impact.

The global focus on ESG has created a market with almost boundless opportunities for growth, and we want to help Irish businesses to be a part of that story,” Julian Seymour, Syndicates Manager, HBAN, said about the launch. Seymour added that HBAN Impact Syndicate aims to support ground-breaking innovations that integrate ESG factors into their core business.

Based on the International Finance Corporation (IFC) estimations in 2020, the global market for Impact Investing reached up to $2.1 trillion in assets under management and that continues to grow.

Faye Walsh Drouillard, impact investor and co-founder of WakeUp Capital, will co-chair the syndicate and become the first female chair of a HBAN syndicate.

“Impact investing provides exciting financial potential for investors, while also enabling them to make a difference in the community and even the planet,”

says Walsh about the importance of this step.

“I am passionate about supporting entrepreneurs to drive real social and environmental change, and impact investing is central to this.”

Walsh has been involved with impact investing throughout her entire carrier and feels that by co-chairing the Impact Syndicate with highly experienced WakeUp Capital co-founder Mark Peters, they can facilitate growth in this area in Ireland. Besides helping sustainability start-ups scale, the syndicate also encourages angel investors to get involved.

At the All-Island conference, HBAN will host sessions focusing on impact investing and demystifying angel investment, which they hope will encourage existing and first-time angel investors to join their network and consider its Impact Syndicate.

Speakers at the conference include Marcia Dawood, chair of the Angel Capital Association in the US; serial entrepreneur Norman Crowley, founder of Crowley Carbon; and Loretta McCarthy, whose investor consortium Golden Seeds backs early-stage female-led businesses in the US.

HBAN (Halo Business Angel Network) is responsible for promoting business angel investment on the island of Ireland and a joint initiative of Enterprise Ireland, InterTradeIreland and Invest Northern Ireland.

Headline image: Pexels

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January 2022

Pilot scheme launched in Ireland to increase reuse of construction materials

Business Spirit News reporting — Fri, 17 Dec 2021 10:25:10 +0000

Pilot scheme launched in Ireland to increase reuse of construction materials

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Waste generated by the Irish construction industry can be turned into valuable resources with a newly introduced project.

A new pilot programme launched by The Irish Green Building Council (IGBC) aims to demonstrate that construction waste can be used as a useful resource.

According to IGBC’s data, about 50% of materials used globally are linked to the construction industry, and only a small amount of waste generated in this sector is currently reused or recycled.

In Ireland, the construction industry generates 48% of all waste, 6.2 million tonnes, with no considerable recycling or reusing.

Therefore the newly introduced Construction Materials Exchange (CMEx) project aims to address this area by implementing Circular Economy principles.

This pilot programme strives to prove that by designing a user-friendly and transparent system, the sector could increase the reuse of construction materials that would otherwise end on landfills.

“There is a significant resource value in construction waste that is simply going unrealised. The objective of the pilot is to address barriers to reuse and raise awareness about this huge potential,”

said Pat Barry, CEO at IGBC, regarding the project.

The overall goal is to create a platform where materials from the waste stream with the potential for reuse can be easily identified and develop a mechanism that would enable reuse.

These data will be administered on an online platform that automatically generates unique passports for materials and facilitates the best matches for reuse.

The Material Passport is a digital document containing information on all the parts in a building that would allow all material sources to keep flowing and avoid landfill or incineration.

The passport essentially lists all the ‘ingredients’ of a building, which can also be helpful to manage a facility or make changes if it is redeveloped or extended in the future.

The CMEx project is funded by the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications in Ireland as part of the Circular Economy Innovation Grant Scheme.

“Transitioning to a more circular construction industry is critical to reduce waste and the carbon footprint of the sector. It can also support innovation, while ensuring that resources are kept within the local economy for as long as possible.

That’s why we are delighted to support this initiative by the IGBC and encourage many construction companies to get involved,” added Minister Ossian Smyth T.D. with responsibility for Communications & the Circular Economy at the Department of Environment, Climate and Communications.

The Irish Green Building Council joined forces with Excess Materials Exchange (EME), an organisation that runs a highly successful materials exchange platform in the Netherlands.

The IGBC is Ireland’s leading authority on green building best practices with a network of over 260 organisations and is affiliated with the World Green Building Council.

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December 2021