JINNY’S BAKERY (SUPPORTED BY LOCAL ENTERPRISE OFFICE LEITRIM)
THE CORK FLOWER STUDIO (SUPPORTED BY LEO CORK CITY)
Justine Looney and her business the Cork Flower Studio always had an eye on being more sustainable as a business and making greener choices. Having been a client of LEO Cork City, when they saw the new Green for Micro programme they felt this was the structured approach they needed to take, to make long term and impactful changes in their business. They are now seeing the benefits.The Cork Flower Studio
KOPPER KREATION (SUPPORTED BY LEO DUBLIN CITY)
Emmet Bosonnet set up Kopper Kreation in 2018 as he was concerned about the amount of waste generated from both industrial and personal use. Having previously worked as an engineer in the renewables sector, he coupled knowledge with creative flair and began making interesting and beautiful homewares from repurposed materials.
“Currently over 50% of my raw material is coming from recycled sources,” he says. “I have also begun using technology to implement a seamless accounts and banking package which has completely removed the use of printed paper. All of my packaging is FSC certified and, where possible, from recycled sources. Also, I don’t use plastic packaging and I recycle cardboard and bubble wrap.
“I think all businesses should be doing everything in their power to reduce, reuse and recycle at every point – because consumers are aware of this and want to see green credentials before committing to a purchase.” www.KopperKreation.com
POLAR ICE TECH (SUPPORTED BY LEO SOUTH CORK)
Dry Ice Cleaning specialists, Polar Ice Tech are aware of the need to be sustainable and use eco-friendly solid CO2 to clean high value moisture and abrasive sensitive equipment for many industries around the country.
Managing Director, Damien McDonnell believes that ‘going green’ is vital for modern companies who want to improve their profile, save costs, and protect the environment.
“Using eco-friendly processes, producing less waste, and improving product quality will help the environment but will also save considerable amounts of money and time – which is a win-win situation for every company,” he says. “We continually review and assess our own processes and look at how we conduct our business internally and also while we are on our customers’ sites. This can range from reducing printing need by using both sides of a document, to reusing PPE when safe to do so and ultimately, reducing the amount of waste we create as a business.
“And while we have had some good success, it does take continuous effort – so it is important to review regularly and change the process if required.” PolarIceTech.ie
THE NATURE OF THINGS (SUPPORTED BY LEO DUBLIN CITY)
The Nature of Things is a natural wellness brand with a focus on essential oils and their benefits which was created by Benoit Nicol three years ago after moving to Ireland from the US where he spent 20 years in the perfume/essential oil industry.
He believes that being environmentally friendly is crucial and will benefit both consumer and business.
“Going Green is at the core of what we want to deliver to consumers as we want to show that we can create products which are beautiful, green and effective,” he says. “So sustainability is very much a work in progress for us.
“But currently we are constantly trying to ensure that we buy as many organic and fair-trade oils as possible, we ensure all packaging is recyclable, keep on top of water/energy usage and try to show our consumers how to use our products to create an alternative to environmentally ‘unfriendly’ products. People tend to see natural products as more expensive, but we can show that it's not the case.” TheNatureOfThings.ie
VRAI (SUPPORTED BY LEO DUBLIN CITY)
VRAI specialises in data-driven virtual reality simulation technology and is currently developing a training application for the offshore wind industry which according to co-founder, Niall Campion, will allow new entrants to ‘train in a safe and measurable way’.
The company has adopted the ‘triple bottom line’ which means it doesn’t measure success by profit alone, but also considers people and the planet.
“The triple bottom line principle is based on the acknowledgement that all three must thrive in order for a business to be successful and have longevity,” says Campion. “There's no point in 'going green' if the business has to close due to lack of cashflow.
“So we always think of money as fuel for a business and we try to fuel ours using 'green' energy as sustainably as possible. Also one of our aims is to be a successful business in order to prove that it is possible to achieve this while still following ethical business practices.”VRAISimulation.com
