The awards, in association with Waterford City and County Council recognise and celebrate micro businesses in County Waterford who have made significant advances in bringing green principles into their business model.
The Green Micro Enterprise of the Year, open to all with employees of 10 or less was won by Molloy's Butchers Ardkeen, who impressed the judges with their advertising campaign that gave customers 25% discount for reusing packaging as well as their lobbying and influence of associated craft butchers.
The Green SME of the Year, open to those between 11 and 20 employees was won by Coffee House Lane.
The judges were extremely impressed with the quality of entries, saying, “The detailed understanding of carbon footprints and policies regarding sustainability highlighted the depth of knowledge and understanding of the issues.”
Deputy Metropolitan Mayor Cllr. Cristiona Kiely spoke at the event on Tuesday October 17th and presented the trophies, saying, “These awards are the kind of progressive initiatives that should be praised and replicated the length and breadth of the country.
“Business today is more than just sales, it is about a company’s position in the community. To that end, it’s about putting responsible and sustainable practices in place to safeguard the future for generations to come.”
Mark Bergin, Owner/Founder of Coffee House Lane was thrilled to win, saying: “We’ve worked hard on our sustainable policies for several years now, creating a culture change within the business. So, it’s gratifying to have all this hard work recognised today.”
Each winner received a cash prize of €2,500 and a Glas trophy, designed and created by Brendan O’Donnell who reclaimed a mix of HDPE plastic from milk bottles, bottle caps, sweet containers and detergent containers from local café, farm and households to make the Awards.
Acting Head of Enterprise at the Local Enterprise Office Waterford, Brid Kirby was thrilled with the interest in the inaugural Awards, saying: “We wanted to recognise the work that’s going on within Waterford companies and hopefully inspire other businesses to add green policies to their list of priorities.
“This is just the first year, so we obviously hope to grow the entries and increase the levels of conscientious practices in future years.”
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