Ten organisations which have taken effective steps towards protecting the environment, such as a dry cleaner only using 100% recycled hangers and an international retailer rolling out an environmentally-conscious cartoon superhero, were recognised at the recent annual EnviroCom Awards in Dublin.
Hosted by Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Development Board, Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council and Dun Laoghaire Rathdown Chamber, the organisers paid tribute to the simple, yet effective measures taken by the ten category winners over the past year.
Crisp Dry Cleaning and Laundry Services in Dalkey, which only uses 100% recycled hangers and has significantly reduced its water consumption levels, won the Special Merit Award in the under ten employees category. The ‘Energy Management’ award went to Marks & Spencer in Dundrum Town Centre, which invented ‘Captain Energy’ to help communicate its environmental ‘Plan A’, the implementation of which, led to an impressive Eur220,000 worth of savings.
The Bank of Ireland IT and Operations Centre in Cabinteely was awarded the ‘Waste Prevention’ category and the ‘Water Conservation’ prize went to Jones Lang La Salle. The ‘Energy Awareness’ prize was won by Microsoft in Leopardstown; the ‘Engaging Communities in An Environmental Project’ in the ‘fewer than 50 employees’ category received the Global Action Plan and the ‘over 50 employees’ award went to 3M in Carrickmines.
The Applegreen service station in Stillorgan was presented with the ‘Environmental Performance in the Retail/Service Sector’ award whilst the Radisson Blu St. Helen’s Hotel won the same prize in the ‘Tourism/Hospitality’ sector. Finally, the ‘Environmental Innovation’ prize was awarded to Blackrock Education Centre.
Now in its fourth year, the EnviroCom categories are supported by the Enviromental Protection Agency, Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland, Health Services Executive, Failte Ireland and Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Enterprise Board.