Origin Green members are "continuing to make progress" across a range of sustainability initiatives.

The Origin Green Progress Update Report 2021 has been published today (Friday, September 24), highlighting the "significant and ongoing efforts of its members to impact positively on greener ways of farming and the adoption of more sustainable food production methods".

The report shows that sustainable beef and lamb assurance (SBLAS) members recorded a 6.3% average reduction in CO2 per unit of beef.

A similar 6% average reduction in CO2 per unit of milk was recorded for members of the sustainable dairy assurance scheme (SDAS).

Other key highlights from the report include:

At the virtual launch event today, Bord Bia announced that 50 Irish food, drink and horticulture companies had achieved 'gold membership status' based on "exemplary performance" in reaching their sustainability targets. This marks a 100% increase on last year.

Companies awarded gold membership in 2021 include: ABP Group; Carbery; Dawn Meats; Glanbia; Ornua; Slaney Foods; Liffey Meats; Belview Eggs; Butlers; East Coast Bakehouse.

At the launch today, Minister for Agriculture Charlie McConalogue said that the requirements to deliver a continuous improvement and proof of environmental sustainability "comes from a powerful combination of changing societal and consumer demands", along with the "requirements of major trade customers for Irish food and drink".

Bord Bia said as a result of acknowledging that Ireland’s agri-food sector needs to do more to reduce carbon emissions, it has made recent adaptations to the Origin Green programme focused on efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) within the industry.

Until recently, emissions reduction was optional for Origin Green members. However, with the introduction of the Origin Green credit system, larger companies are now required to establish emissions targets from the 2021 reporting year onwards.

The 2021 Progress Update Report presents an overview of the latest developments to the Origin Green programme in 2020 and 2021 and provides an update on members in the programme, covering the period of 2018 to 2019.