Growing the success of Irish food & horticulture

When you source food and drink from Origin Green suppliers,

you will know it is produced by people committed to sustainability,

you will know it is Origin Green.

See participating companies on www.origingreen.ie

For further information on Origin Green please contact your local Bord Bia country office.

www.bordbia.ie/aboutus/contact

Ireland, on its way to becoming a world leader in sustainability

Ireland is well suited to sustainabilityIreland enjoys a strong and enduring international reputation as a source of natural, high quality food, drink and ingredients. We are also a country well suited to sustainability: our climate is temperate and our lush, green countryside is perfect for farming.

In a world of fresh water scarcity, Ireland has one of the lowest water stress measurements in the world.*

Our beef industry is among the top five performing member states in Europe in terms of its carbon footprint, highlighting the natural advantages of our grass based production system.**

Irish farms have been looked after by generation after generation of Irish families: all caretakers, custodians and protectors of the land.

Our dairy industry ranks among the lowest carbon footprint in Europe.

However, a good beginning is only part of the journey...

*Source: Cranfield University UK Study. **Source: EU JRC Evaluation of the livestock sectors contribution to the EU greenhouse gas emissions (GGELS).

Growing the success of Irish food & horticulture

SustainabilityCharter

Workingwith nature

IRELAND

Companies are asked to sign up to the Origin Green Sustainability Charter by developing and implementing a multi-annual sustainability action plan that will set out a baseline with clear targets (short, medium and long-term) covering the following key actions areas:

Action plans are then verified by world leading inspection, verification, testing and certification company, the SGS Group, to ensure targets are robust. Once approved by SGS, companies become members of Origin Green and are eligible to use the Origin Green branding in their corporate and trade marketing communications. Companies are required to submit annual progress reports for SGS verification.

How can you follow our achievements?We aim to have 75% of Irelands exports signed up to Origin Green by the end of 2014. You may view participating companies on www.origingreen.ie

Bord Bia will share the cumulative progress at sector level with trade and individual companies will demonstrate their progress with key customers.

However it is not just about sustainability on farms. We have now added a sustainability development programme Origin Green to cover our entire food and drink industry.

Origin Green enables the Irish food and drink industry to demonstrate individually and collectively its commitments to sustainability, and provide the evidence that retailers, foodservice operators and manufacturers around the world are looking for.

In June 2012 Bord Bia introduced a new sustainability programme for Irelands food and drink industry. This programme called Origin Green is designed to help Ireland become a world leader in high- quality sustainably produced food and drink and align with the sustainability aims of international retailers, foodservice operators and manufacturers.

At the heart of our sustainability programme is a sustainability charter that helps Irish food and drink suppliers plan their individual journey towards sustainability.

Following accreditation by the Carbon Trust for our beef carbon footprint model to the PAS2050 standard in 2011, Bord Bia introduced GHG monitoring for all Bord Bia Quality Assured Beef farms. In this we are already a world leader. No other country in the world is monitoring its farms on what is in effect a national scale, and doing so in a process of measurement, feedback and continuous improvement.

During 2012 a similar footprinting methodology for Irish dairy farming received PAS 2050 accreditation. Similar projects are currently being progressed for other meats and horticulture. The aim is to have all primary agriculture sectors signed up to sustainability programmes by the end of 2014. Social*

Emissions Waste

RawMaterialsSourcing

BiodiversityWater

Energy

Our Quality Assurance programmes address the full range of primary production sectors in Ireland.Measurement and performance criteria have also been introduced around water conservation and management, and biodiversity.

Our auditors carbon footprint 500 farms a week covering 32,000 Irish beef farms.

Origin Green a world first How it worksOur journey so far

*Covers health & nutrition, community, and employee wellbeing initiatives.