How Green is your Business?

30 April 2009

Green Ireland Survey reveals Irish Businesses to be Green despite the Economic Climate

A recent survey carried out by new environmental magazine Green Ireland? found that there is an overwhelming support among Irish Businesses to support Green initiatives.The survey was carried out on over 100 businesses all over Ireland across a variety of sectors from retail outlets to construction companies to public organisations. Of those surveyed 36% said that their businesses were green, 14% said that they were very green and 47% felt they could be better. Only 3% felt that their businesses were not green at all.

Contrary to the belief that the recession might prompt green initiatives to go on the back burner, this survey maintains that employers are open to green suggestions and are willing to work with their employees to make their businesses more environmentally friendly.

Suggestions included appointing a Green Officer to implement policies, sending weekly eco tips via email and setting annual green targets with rewards attached. It seems that there is a growing awareness among the business community and society at large that green initiatives are the way forward. Publisher Brian Coogan who is behind the new magazine wants to create a forum to examine green trends, developments and policies in Ireland. Brian says;

"This survey shows what we have known for some time that people and businesses are open to change, that they understand the issues involved and that they are willing to live a greener lifestyle. We're providing a vehicle that will examine the consequences of our actions, our legislation, and our green trends and products. We will see what works and what doesn't. We'll cut through the jargon and explain the issues. We're in relatively new territory here so this magazine will help people make informed decisions and we're very excited by this"To cut down on traffic congestion, a growing problem in our cities and towns, 48% said that they would provide incentives to their staff if they car pooled. 37% said that they would take up the recent government scheme to provide bikes tax free to their employees so that they could cycle to work. 15% would go as far as providing outdoor sockets should their staff use electric cars and bikes.

Simple ideas included improving time management so that workers could take in meetings on the way to or from work thus cutting our unnecessary travel. Using public transport to get to meetings and even allowing employees to have flexible working conditions so that they could work from home.

In the office 52% felt that recycling paper and organic matter was the most important action that people could carry out. Emailing company literature rather than posting hard copies was deemed second most important. This was closely followed by turning off monitors at night. Better control of heating systems and creating awareness among staff were also deemed to be important.A staggering 91% of those surveyed said that they would switch to a renewable energy source such as Airtricity. Indeed some other suggestions from businesses included attaching wind turbines to their premises as well as solar panels in order to take advantage of renewable energy.

Green Ireland will be previewed at the Sustainable Energy Ireland Show in the RDS on the 29th & 30th April. The Magazine will be in the shops in Early May.