Co-founded in 2019 by Ronan Murphy and John Pakenham, VisionGreen has been involved in some of the most significant climate action initiatives with major retailers in Ireland this year.
Most recently, the logistics arm of the business, VisionGreen Logistics Solutions Ltd, became the first logistics company in Ireland to make retail deliveries with biogas-fuelled trucks in a partnership with BWG Foods.
Pakenham says they are “delighted” to partner with BWG and Green Generation on this initiative, which will see BWG reduce emissions in its logistics network.
“Our trucks are gas-powered and fuelled with biomethane, which is a biogas derived from food and animal waste, and a natural alternative to diesel,” he says.
“We aim to make this unique service available to other retailers and food businesses to enable further emissions reduction in Ireland. Transport is the second largest emissions sector in Ireland, with heavy goods vehicles being a large contributor to this, and biomethane as a fuel for transport is a genuine carbon neutral alternative.”
Sustainable Energy Solutions
With a combined 40 years’ experience in retail, logistics and supply chain, the VisionGreen co-founders also provide consultancy services to large retailers and food businesses on more sustainable, environmentally friendly solutions for their business.
Earlier this year, VisionGreen helped bring the Tesco and Green Generation partnership to fruition, which will see Tesco purchase renewable gas produced from food waste from their stores which is not fit for human consumption.
This gas will be used to heat a number of Tesco stores and is a first circular solution of its kind in Ireland.
“It is important that we look to indigenous Irish solutions to solve Irish problems,” says Murphy.
“As a nation we export a large percentage of our waste, including food waste, with the vast majority of this being recovered annually across the border in Northern Ireland. Green Generation, an anaerobic digestion plant in Kildare, provide innovative food waste to renewable energy solutions and were the first to produce renewable gas this year in Ireland. Tesco, like all retailers, want to reduce their environmental impact. VisionGreen helped to develop the solution and bridge the gap between the two companies to bring the partnership and benefits to life,” he adds.
Conscientious Consumers
The retail sector as a whole has a large carbon footprint in Ireland. From food production to supply chain and logistics, to deliveries to store and waste recovery, there are various areas of emissions throughout the value chain of each retailer.
With ambitious emissions reduction targets being set by the government in Ireland over the next ten years, VisionGreen says that now more than ever companies need to look at the impact they have on the environment on a daily basis.
In retail, in particular, consumers are shopping more with their conscience and expect a lot more from their retailer of choice when it comes to environmental impact.
With corporate and social responsibility becoming more and more important for large companies, their customers and investors, being able to demonstrate positive impact on the environment is now an expectation for the consumer.
“Through working with VisionGreen our clients have been able to clearly demonstrate positive environmental impact for their business,” says Pakenham.
“We’ve been the enabler for large businesses to meet some of their long term sustainability goals, which is something we are really proud of. We firmly believe open and transparent impact reporting helps build long term customer loyalty for retailers and is something we aim to provide our customers with, along with action- driven solutions,” he says.
Driving Down Carbon
Ireland faces an unprecedented climate change challenge. Focusing on sustainable, indigenous solutions can not only help reduce emissions but can also support driving the economy forward.
VisionGreen says that government support for industries, such as the biogas industry in Ireland, is vital if we are to realise the wider benefits it can deliver.
“As parents to young children we want to be able to tell them that we played our part in tackling climate change,” says Murphy.
“At VisionGreen we believe in delivering climate action and to date our products and services have demonstrated that. There should be no competition when it comes to sustainability, and through our work and solutions we hope to bring the major retailers, wider food businesses, and other stakeholders together to drive down carbon emissions in Ireland," he adds.
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