For any Irish business looking to begin their sustainability journey, this podcast in association with Enterprise Ireland will provide vital information.
Sponsored by Enterprise Ireland
Sustainable Enterprise is a podcast series, brought to you in association with Enterprise Ireland, which will bring you sustainability stories of Irish businesses. In this episode, host Bobby Kerr chats with Nicholas Reynolds, the Head of ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) at O’Brien Fine Foods.
What began as two people cooking hams out of their kitchen using traditional methods in 1978, today O’Brien Fine Foods is a hugely successful cooked meats producer. Based out of Kildare, Westmeath, and now also London, they supply ham, pork, beef, and poultry (turkey and chicken) to customers across Ireland and the UK and their branded portfolio includes Brady Family and Green Farm. Their workforce has grown from 17 people when the O’Brien Family acquired the business in 2000 to over 700 in the 24 years since.
When it comes to the process of building upon the company’s action within the sustainability field, Reynolds says: “In 2020 and 2021, the business decided to build our new five-year strategy, and a key part of our strategy was our purpose. And when I say our purpose, what I mean is effectively our sustainability strategy. And that is one of our four key pillars within the business: Our purpose, which reflects our sustainability agenda; profit; revenue; and our people, which is arguably the most important parts of our sustainability strategy.”
O’Brien Fine Foods is acutely aware of the challenges – and potential risks – coming down the line in terms of environmental and social changes, and Reynolds says that the company is already planning to embed those aspects into their sustainability plans going forward.
Part of that strategy was to on-board a dedicated sustainability function – which was Reynolds himself, in that position of Head of ESG – and it was then his role to develop and embed those sustainability practises within the organisation.
When talking about Enterprise Ireland and how they assisted O’Brien Fine Foods on their sustainability journey, Reynolds says: “Enterprise Ireland have been absolutely brilliant. I would see them as a partner of ours, as they have regular catch-ups with our project manager. Over my three years in O’Brien Fine Foods, we have utilised Green Plus three times, which is a form of grant that you can apply for to help you get the technical expertise to develop your business further.
“For instance, for our first Green Plus, we developed our sustainability strategy, and we got technical expertise to come in and support us with that development process. The second Green Plus, we got technical expertise to come in and support us in building proper environmental and energy management systems. And the current one we’re using at the moment is to help us update our SBTIs (Science Based Targets initiatives), as well as then develop a decarbonisation roadmap, and how we can actually go about achieving that.
“Just bringing in those experts in each of those fields to support us on that journey, and those Green Plusses have significantly helped us.”
After decades of the company being in business, and several years of Reynolds himself in this specific position and his interactions with Enterprise Ireland, his primary piece of advice for other businesses in Ireland looking to begin their sustainability journey is as follows: get senior management behind the idea.
“It is not just the right thing to do anymore,” Reynolds says. “It is a must-have if you want to stay relevant with the challenges coming down the line. If you’re in the sustainability role, or you’re responsible for that, you need to make it very, very clear to your senior management team that sustainability is about preparedness. It is about risk awareness, and it is about building for the future, to be able to operate in the future.”
Reynolds also recommends not being afraid to set yourself ambitious targets. Even if you don’t know exactly how to achieve them right now, that is fine, as there are people out there – such as the folk at Enterprise Ireland – who can help you reach your goals. And those targets need to be made sooner rather than later.
Reynolds says: “We’re not moving fast enough to make the changes that we’re making. This is in businesses across the world, not just here in Ireland. We need that urgency to be able to make the changes, and it really does start with the businesses.”
To support Irish companies on their sustainability journey, Enterprise Ireland provides practical advice, and a range of financial supports such as the Green Plus offer. The aim of the Green Plus is to help businesses develop a high level of environmental management and staff capabilities, to achieve improved sustainability by establishing and embedding continuous improvement systems and behaviours, which are aligned with international sustainability standards. It is facilitated by an external expert and typically takes place over six to nine months.
Getting your business ready for a low-carbon sustainable future is a strategic business imperative, and being able to show measurable, transparent sustainability credentials is vital to business success.
For more information on how Enterprise Ireland can support your sustainability journey, visit www.enterprise-ireland.com/sustainability
*this interview was edited slightly for clarity
Sponsored by Enterprise Ireland 