Regional Policy Dialogue Meeting “SMEs in a Green Economy”, 09 March 2018, Paris
Session 2, "SMEs in a green Economy", James Hogan, Green Business Programme Manager
Clean Technology Centre
Cork Institute of Technology, Ireland
1. SMEs in a green Economy
OECD Conference Centre, Paris
March 9th , 2018.
James Hogan
Programme Manager
2. Me and RE (Resource Efficiency) In Ireland
1995
Commenced
work CTC where waste
preventio
n
is our e thos
1993
EPA established in
Ireland to licence large
industry
1992
Working in Pharmachem
measuring air emissions
3. Me and RE (Resource Efficiency) In Ireland
2013
Green Business supportin
g
many Government bodies
2012
Origin Green: Food
& drink sustainability
programme-300 certif
i e
d
businesses
2011
Green Business; CTC
began management of
Green Business Programme
2018
Small companies still
struggling to manage
util
i
ty c osts
2018
Irish industry now have an excellent
Environmental performance, but still mo ving
towards effici ency and ci r cular economy
4. Green Business Ireland
2011- 2017
• Funded by NWPP/EPA
• Budget of €350,000 /annum
• Focus on Energy, Waste, Water.
• Working with range of sectors;
Food processing, banking,
public sector, small retailers
• Savings identified range from
€2,000 to €250,000
• Provide range of services including
site visits, guidance documents,
online tools, seminars and
community networking.
Seminars,
talks
Guidance,
tools
Site visits
5. Onsite visits
2011-2017, Green Business
has visited 270 businesses
and identified €10.1 million
potential cost savings
WATER
1.2M
ENERGY
6.2M
WASTE
2.7M
6. Energy Case Study
Engineering Company - (200 employees)
Lighting Upgrade
Annual Cost Saving: €42,000
• Replaced 1,198 florescent tubes:
• (58W) with LED tubes 24 W
• Reduced electricity costs by
€37,000/annum
• ROI – 6 months
7. Energy Case Study
Engineering Company (200 employees)
Staff Awareness
Annual Cost Saving: €25,000
• Staff introduced to “Traffic Light System”
to guide operators to turn off equipment,
when not required.
• Annual electricity savings =€25,000
• ROI –No Cost.
8. Water Case Study
Meat Processor (150 employees)
Water Management
Annual Cost Saving: €45,000
• 31% of water used in cleaning
• Triggered hoses with water at 55 – 65 oC
• Cost €3,500 per week
• Reduced flow from 26 litres/min to
20 litres/min
• Water cost savings €17,500
• Energy cost saving €19,500
• ROI – 2 weeks
9. Water Case Study
Shopping Centre (250 employees)
Water Monitoring
Annual Cost Saving: €25,000
• Carried out “overnight test”
• Read meter between 4am and 6am
when all water users where turned off
• Measured water consumption with
cost equivalent of €25,000/ annum
• Searched site for leak and discovered
faulty ballcock
• ROI-No Cost
10. Waste Case Study
Sandwich Production (200 employees)
Waste Prevention
Annual Cost Saving €15,000
• 112.5 tonnes / annum of bread
crusts sent for composting costing
€7,500 for waste management
• Crusts sold to a bread crumb
manufacturer earning €8,000/ annum
• Net benefit the company = €15,500
• ROI- No Cost
19. Lesson Learned by Green
Business
• Many SMEs not monitoring utility costs
and unaware of the extent of waste
• Unaware of the opportunities to reduce
waste at “No Cost, low cost”
• Unaware of opportunities to increase
bottom line and enhance image
• Unaware of assistance available
20. How to encourage adoption of RE
• Raise awareness on benefits of RE,
starting with benchmarking and
identifying potential for RE
• Case studies/ simple guidance
• Seminars
• On-line benchmark tools
• On-site visits
• Recognition and award schemes (Origin Green)
• Establish regional Green Business Networks
• Provide attractive financial packages
21. 21
James Hogan
Green Business Programme Manager
Clean Technology Centre
Cork Institute of Technology
Melbourn Building,
Bishopstown, Cork
Ireland
T: +353 21 4344864
E: james.hogan@greenbusiness.ie
www.greenbusiness.ie
Thank You