Environment, Culture & Community
Green Business
Dún Laoghaire/Rathdown County Council supports an environmental awareness programme for businesses. The Green Business Officer is available to offer advice and discuss options on how your business impacts on the environment and actions you can take to reduce these impacts.
To contact the Green Business Officer, please e-mail mcoles@dlrcoco.ie or telephone (01) 205 4846.
Cleaner Greener Production Programme Call (CGPP6) - May 2012
The Environmental Protection Agency has funding available in grant aid under Phase 6 of the Cleaner, Greener Production Programme (CGPP6) and the EPA National Waste Prevention Programme (NWPP) to assist organisations to become cleaner and greener.
The aim of the CGPP is to encourage better business practices, helping to reduce the consumption of resources and minimise environmental burden through process and product innovation. This provides a "win-win" solution as organisations become more economically and environmentally sustainable.
The available grant aid will range from €5,000 to €40,000 depending on project scope.
The deadline for submissions is 5 p.m. on 5th June 2012.
All applications must be made online using the EPA's Grant Award and Project Managment Portal at epa.smartsimple.ie
Further Resources: www.Cleanerproduction.ie
EcoCert Programme
EcoCert assists small, medium and large organisations in saving money by looking closely at energy, water and waste costs and finding cost-efficient ways of reducing them. For case studies and more information log on to www.ecocert.ie
Please click on the following links to view the EcoCert Leaflet 
(Pdf 1.5 MB), the Green Supply Chain booklet
(Pdf 1.61 MB) and to download the EcoCert Application Form
(Pdf. 407 KB).
Action at Work and Small Change Programmes
The Action at Work
(Pdf 3.7 MB) and Small Change
(Pdf 3.75 MB) Programmes show how to take the first steps in addressing waste in your organisation or to improve what is already being done.
Buying Green - A Handbook on Green Public Procurement
The European Commission has now published a fully revised second edition of "Buying Green
(Pdf 2.54 MB) A Handbook on Green Public Procurement". The handbook is designed to assist public authorities seeking to buy goods and services with a lower environmental impact. It is also a useful reference guide for policy makers and businesses responding to green tenders.
For further information, please go to greenpublicprocurement.ie
Enterprise Ireland
Enterprise Ireland offers 3 Green Programmes to their clients, characterised by increasing levels of capability in and adoption of Green Business principles.
The Green Start programme is designed to increase the level of environmental awareness of regulatory compliance and developments in Green markets in companies who have no in-house expertise or exposure to environmental issues.
Green Plus is designed to build on Green Start and to assist companies develop products and services to a level where they comply with specific Green Procurement requirements. This can involve the implementation of environmental standards, improvements in products or processes, installing a carbon management strategy or applying for Eco-labels.
Green Transform is designed for companies who have maximised their energy efficiency or reduced their carbon footprint. Support is based on Capital being made available for proposed company expansion plans.
For more details please e-mail declan.white@enterprise-ireland.com or log onto enterprise-ireland.com
Useful Links For Businesses
Greenbusiness.ie offers Irish businesses free impartial advice on improving resource efficiency through reducing the wastage of materials, consumables, water and energy. For more information go to greenbusiness.ie
More Bright Ideas: A Smarter Business Guide to Energy Efficiency, is published by Chambers Ireland and ESB. It provides useful information for companies to better understand their energy usage, identify further areas for savings, and explains the various tariffs and bills. Please click on the following link to view the Bright Ideas Guide
(Pdf. 2.01MB).
FreeTrade Ireland allows businesses to pass on unwanted items to other businesses or users free of charge. For further information, please go to www.freetradeireland.ie.
Fáilte Ireland, in association with other partners, is producing a series of environmental best-practice guidelines for a number of sectors within tourism. Guidelines are available for festivals and events, business tourism and horse riding establishments. For further information please check www.failteireland.ie
Rx3 “Rethink, Recycle, Remake” was established by the Department of Environment, Heritage & Local Government to develop recycling markets in Ireland. Log on to www.rx3.ie for more information.