Glanbia Ireland obtains Origin Green Gold Membership status for excellence in sustainability for a second year
The awarding of the Origin Green Gold Standard recognises Glanbia Ireland’s efforts to excel in sustainable food production as part of Ireland’s pioneering food and drink sustainability programme.
Glanbia Ireland was just one of 26 of Ireland’s leading food businesses who received the inaugural Gold Status Membership last year and is among a group of 50 to achieve gold standard status for 2021.
Glanbia Ireland was strongly commended again this year for its community-wide, green initiatives such as Operation Biodiversity, Operation WildNation and Operation PolliNation which are championed by Glanbia CountryLife’s horticulturists and teams at the 14 award-winning garden centres and local branches in the Glanbia Ireland catchment area.
Together they helped drive the planting of over 80,000 native Irish trees and hedgerows over the past year as well the introduction of flowering perennials into gardens, wild bird conservation and other biodiversity measures through a strong educational role in communities through outreach to schools.
In the past, all Origin Green companies were given the designation of being a ‘verified member’. Gold Membership is a new initiative and further recognition of Glanbia Ireland’s significant strides and sustainability efforts as a founder member and strong supporter of the pioneering food and drink sustainability programme.
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.
Glanbia Ireland CEO, Jim Bergin, said Gold membership recognises the trojan work that is carried out by the company, by farm families, milk and grain suppliers and its research partners in this area on a daily basis.
“In 2015 Glanbia Ingredients Ireland, as it was then known, became the first company to win the Origin Green Sustainability Award and now again in 2021, as Glanbia Ireland, we have achieved Gold status for the second year in a row.
“It is a great honour to be made a Gold Member, reflecting all of the hard work and achievements that our teams have been making across our entire business. Gold Membership rewards and recognises our commitment to sustainability as outlined in our Living Proof sustainability strategy and our commitments on raw material sourcing and packaging, emissions, waste reduction, water efficiency, health and nutrition.”
Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Charlie McConalogue said that sustainability is at the centre of Food Vision 2030, the new ten-year strategy for the Irish agri-food sector.
“The commitments in the strategy are substantial, and have the potential to be transformative. Food Vision 2030 charts a way forward for all of us in the agri-food sector to deliver on its key ambition - for Ireland to become “A World Leader in Sustainable Food Systems”.
“The requirement to deliver continuous improvement and proof of environmental sustainability comes from a powerful combination of changing societal and consumer demands; and the requirements of major trade customers for Irish food and drink. Of direct relevance is the strategy’s goal to strengthen and invest in Origin Green and other sustainability supports to reflect the higher level of ambition for the agri-food sector.”
Speaking at the event, Tara McCarthy CEO of Bord Bia, said: “Bord Bia is delighted to share the important results and industry leading achievements outlined in the Origin Green Progress Update Report 2021, as proof and progress continue to be trademarks of our world-class, national sustainability programme. This evidence of environmental improvements compiled from our members, and verified by international auditors Mabbett, highlights that the programme’s vast scale across the Irish food and drink industry are what makes Origin Green unique and effective.”
ENDS
Photo Caption: Pictured with the Origin Green Gold Membership award for 2021 were Glanbia Ireland’s Aoife Murphy, Director, Ingredients; John Murphy, Chairman; Jim Bergin, CEO and Audrey O’Shea, Head of Environment and Sustainability. Photo Finbarr O’Rourke