The Green Business Initiative is an inter-linked suite of projects, specifically aimed at helping enterprises save money and help to reduce their environmental impacts.
The projects aim to actively help enterprises to become more “resource efficient”. This means that they will use less energy, less water and less raw materials, in turn producing less waste and costing the business less money. It’s a great example of the Green Economy in action and a real win-win situation.
Through guidance, self-help web tools and actual site visit support, the free Green Business Initiative services are helping a wide variety of businesses make real savings.
The Green Business Initiative can also help public sector and not-for-profit organisations in similar fashion.
The Greenbusiness.ie project offers a range of supports to help business identify savings. By registering at www.greenbusiness.ie and using the on-line audit tools, users can start to measure their resource use and identify where savings might be made. They can also request a site visit, where a Greenbusiness Advisor will visit their premises and identify actual "no" and low cost measures that will save businesses real money. The service is entirely free, confidential, and operated by the Clean Technology Centre, on behalf of the EPA.
To date, Greenbusiness.ie has achieved an estimated €10 million of identified savings for participant enterprises. Companies and organisations that have achieved real savings and contribute a case study may receive a prestigious Green Business Initiative certificate and flag.
The Green Hospitality Award (GHA) is aimed at the Hotel, Hospitality and Catering Sector, and has already produced efficiency savings worth millions of euro per annum for its members. It is recognised as a premier green accreditation for the sector by VISIT, Expedia and Fáilte Ireland. The programme is run on behalf of the EPA by the Clean Technology Centre (Cork) and Hospitality Solutions Consulting. Find out more at www.ghaward.ie.
The scheme also includes contract caterers, nursing homes and is currently expanding its eco-label to restaurants and other smaller tourism businesses.
The project has also prepared a booklet Less Food Waste, More Profit aimed at commercial caterers, which looks at how businesses can look at preventing their food waste. It is estimated that over €200 million is lost by Irish businesses per annum from throwing away food.
This recently commenced project, funded jointly with Laois, Offaly and Waterford City Councils, is providing help and support to make small businesses more resource efficient, as well as offering successful businesses an Eco-cert Award. Its scope is not limited to the council areas associated with the funding.
Utilising the capacity and techniques perfected in the Green Hospitality Award and greenbusiness.ie project, the National Waste Prevention Programme is working with healthcare providers to look at water and energy use and waste production, with a special emphasis on food waste. By investigating areas where efficiencies can be made, often through simple "no" and low cost procedures, real savings can be generated for hospitals. For example, better communication between wards and kitchens prevents meals being prepared for patients who have been discharged. Significant potential savings in food costs alone have been identified.
