Bord Bía, the Irish food marketing board, has initiated a sustainability programme which is the only one in the world. It is called Origin Green, and the Burren Smokehouse has been certified and is a verified member of this scheme since 2017.
The verification process is run by an independent organisation. The programme helps the companies to set and achieve sustainability targets. This will be reducing the environmental impact and help to protect the extraordinarily rich natural resources in Ireland.
More and more producers, farmers and growers are coming on board of the Origin Green programme, covering every topographic feature from seabed to soil. The scheme encourages them to develop more stringent ways of working.
There are three key areas that will be covered in the verification process:
In cooperation with potential members, a comprehensive and challenging five-year plan committing to sustainability improvements have been developed. The sustainability improvements are relevant to the individual businesses. Once the process is successfully completed, these plans are monitored on an annual basis.
In 2021, over 55,000 farmers and 300 of the leading food and drink producers were involved in the Origin Green programme.