As part of the Bord Bia Origin Green Programme, ten ambassadors were appointed to different markets to promote Origin Green in their area and communicate the benefits of sourcing from Ireland to local trade, customers and key global accounts.
Origin Green is a sustainability programme operating on a national scale, uniting government, the private sector and food producers through Bord Bia. It enables Ireland’s farmers and producers to set and achieve measurable sustainability targets – reducing environmental impact, serving local communities more effectively and protecting natural resources. Members are fully committed to developing more stringent ways of working which will see 100 per cent of Ireland’s food and drink exports on the road to sustainability by 2016.
The Origin Green ambassador programme was developed in partnership with the Irish food and drink industry, to engage the world’s leading food and drink companies in dialogue around Ireland’s sustainability development programme. The ambassadors will play an important role in building awareness for the industry’s sustainability credentials.
One such ambassador was Philip Corcoran, who completed a six month placement with McDonald’s in the UK. As part of his internship Philip worked with the McDonald’s Supply Chain Management team, learning about and working on the McDonald’s Sustainability Beef Programme. McDonald’s is committed to working directly with farmers and suppliers to source sustainable beef.
All Irish McDonald’s beef, bacon, milk, cheese, water and eggs are 100 per cent Irish. McDonald’s Europe is the single largest purchaser of Irish beef by volume and one in every five hamburgers sold in McDonald’s across Europe every year is of Irish origin. The company also exports Irish dairy produce and eggs into the McDonald’s system internationally.
Pictured: Michael Murphy, Director of Markets Bord Bia, Adrian Crean, Managing Director Mc Donald's Restaurants of Ireland and Philip Corcoran, Origin Green Ambassador Bord Bia. Picture Colm Mahady / Fennells - Copyright© 2014 Fennell Photography.
