Dawn Meats presented Environmental Management Certificates by Minister Simon Coveney

With a growing number of operations assessed by Certification Europe, Dawn Meats redefines the industry standard in sustainability

Simon Coveney, Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine yesterday presented Dawn Meats with their ISO 14001 Environmental Management certificates for sites throughout Ireland and the UK at a special conferral ceremony at the Aviva Stadium as part of Future in Food on the 21st of November, 2013.

Philip Tallon, Group Operations Manager accepting the certificates on behalf of Dawn Meats, offered his opinions on his company’s achievements: “This is a chance for us to take a look at everything we have achieved. The delivery of top class products to our clients, the savings from environmentally sound waste management, our innovative energy management techniques; everything has been based on our hard work and it is worth taking a moment to recognise this”

Minister Simon Coveney spoke enthusiastically about Dawn Meats certification: “Having toured Dawn Meats’ facilities I have seen first-hand the care and dedication that they put into their products. It gives me great honour to present Dawn Meats with these Environmental Management certificates that marks the company as true leaders in sustainability.”

Dr John Ryan, Director of Services at Certification Europe, the accredited certification body that assessed Dawn Meats to ISO 14001 Environmental Management standards praised the company’s hard work and efforts: “Dawn Meats show continuing dedication to improving their business. These five certificates represent not only a commitment towards excellence but also a commitment to the environment. Dawn Meats efforts towards producing meat in the most sustainable way possible lays out a path for many Irish businesses to follow. This truly marks them as international market leaders”

Headquartered in Grannagh, Co Waterford, Dawn Meats employs over 2,700 staff and supplies a wide range of fresh and processed meat products to customers throughout the world. Dawn Meats have saved in excess of 56 Million litres of water in addition to reducing their CO2 output by almost 2,500 tons.

These savings have led to Dawn Meats winning several awards for their sustainability, including two in the last week; A Green Apple Environment Award for their environmental performance throughout the UK and the Bord Bia Sustainability award, as part of this year’s Bord Bia Food and Drink awards event.