Environment Awards 2015/16 winners announced
GlaxoSmithKline Dungarvan has won the Overall Ibec Environmental Excellence Award
Announcing GSK as the overall winner, Chair of the awards judging panel, Mary Rose Burke, Director of Corporate, Strategic and International Affairs stated ‘GlaxoSmithKline Dungarvan was chosen as the overall winner based on organisation wide involvement, embedded process improvement and robust metrics’.
The awards are organised every two years and recognise Irish companies that combine innovation, financial savings and environmental concerns. Applications were received from all size for business from small family owned to large multi national companies. Three category award winners are chosen along with the overall winner (full list of winners below).
The awards are the Irish stage of the 2016 European Business Awards for the Environment (http://ec.europa.eu/environment/awards) and all the companies short-listed have the opportunity to compete against companies from across Europe in October 2016.
Eleven companies were short-listed from thirty outstanding entries with three category winners and one overall winner chosen.
Left to right; Cathy Cronin, Intel; Lisa Harlow, Intel; Mary Rose Burke, Ibec; Adrian McCarthy, GlaxoSmithKline; John Smee, Kilkenny Cooling Systems; Gerard Lally, Kilkenny Cooling Systems
Overall Environmental Excellence Award and Process Award winner
One of the largest employers in the south east, GlaxoSmithKline, a pharmaceutical company based in Dungarvan, Co. Waterford employing 750 people, won the overall environmental excellence award as well as the Process award. The company undertook structured mapping of their energy usage on site, devoting a week to the task and identified 53 energy saving projects on site. The company then developed a four year plan to re-design the current operational processes to reduce energy consumption.
Anne Murphy, Green Business executive in Ibec said ‘this is an excellent example of how committed leadership drives change and improvement’. As a result of the energy reduction projects, the company has saved approximately €800,000 since 2014 with more savings to be achieved in the final two years of the plan.
Environmental Management Award winner
Kildare’s largest employer, Intel won the environmental management award beating fourteen other first rate entries from environmentally responsible Irish businesses. The company have developed an environmental management system that demonstrates management commitment, a high level of employee engagement as well as engagement with stakeholders in the community with regards to the environmental impact of the site. Projects undertaken include the improvement of the river Rye to preserve and enhance this natural habitat and employee commitment to segregate and recycle 90% of the company’s solid waste. The company actively engages with local stakeholders and seek external views on the impact of Intel’s operations on the local community.
Product and Services Award winner
Kilkenny Cooling Systems, Ireland’s leading draught beer cooler manufacturer won the Product and Services award. The Kilkenny based company were chosen as the winner of this category as the industry innovators chose to re-design their current beer cooling system to reduce the energy demand. The company collaborated with an Irish 3rd level research centre to develop a more energy efficient ‘smart’ system and this eco re-design has resulted in a 28% reduction in the running costs.
Runner up in each category award
Left to right: David O'Flynn, Dawn Meats; Richard Clinton, Dawn Meats; Raquel Noboa, Hotel Doolin; Donal Minihane, Hotel Doolin; Mary Rose Burke, Ibec; Caitriona Gannon, Baxter Healthcare; Carlos Horkan, Baxter Healthcare
Process award runner-up
Dawn Meats, with their headquarters in Co. Waterford also, was awarded the runner-up prize in the process category. The company are at the forefront in undertaking initiatives to provide commercial and environmental sustainability in the agricultural and food processing sector. The project involved the installation of a natural gas powered refrigeration compressor which resulted in 12% reduction in electricity used and a 25% reduction in gas consumption due to the use of heat recovered from the refrigeration process to heat water on site.
Environmental Management award runner-up
North County Clare based Hotel Doolin, claimed the runner up trophy in the environmental management category of the awards. This small hotel operates its business very efficiently, keeping a very tight control of their energy and water consumption. The hotel has developed a management system with excellent employee buy in and all forty full time employees show very strong environmental commitment. In the past two years the hotel has achieved a 19% reduction in waste to landfill, 27% reduction on energy and 29% reduction in water consumption per guest, all while achieving a 200% increase in the wedding market.
Product and Services award runner-up
Baxter Healthcare, a pharmaceutical plant based in Castlebar, Co. Mayo received the runner-up trophy in the product and services category of the Ibec Environment Awards. Baxter Healthcare received the award for their work in redesigning their existing product Viaflo to reduce the amount of packaging they use. Viaflo are medical IV unit bags and the eco-redesign has reduced the amount of overpouch packaging used by 11%. The overpouch packaging is used to protect the IV unit prior to use in the healthcare sector. The company also re-configured the way the product is transported and have increased the number of cartons per pallet by 15. This has resulted in a 14% reduction in the amount of cardboard used during product transportation.
Contact Anne Murphy for more information:
e-mail: firstname.lastname@ibec.ie
phone: 01-6051693
mobile: 087-9820189