Businesses and consumers are playing a critical role in creating sustainable food systems.
Through our procurement policy and across our operations at Sam Dennigan & Co UC. we are sending strong messages to our partners, producers, wholesalers, retailers, staff and other stakeholders in the agri-food system about what we think is important. We continue to assess all our purchases and operations to determine our overall impact upon the environment.
Below we have set out some of our Key Sustainability Commitments
Supply Chain
We are a member of Sedex, one of the world’s leading ethical trade membership organisations, working with businesses to improve working conditions in global supply chains. We use an online platform, tools and services to help our businesses operate responsibly and sustainably, protect workers and source ethically.
Origin Green
In 2021 we proudly progressed to become a Gold Member of Origin Green’s Sustainability Programme, this level is achieved when participants have demonstrated exceptional annual performance in areas such as raw material sourcing; water and energy efficiency; waste reduction; packaging; and social sustainability.
Proud member since 2016
At Sam Dennigan & Co UC. sustainability is at the forefront of our business model and the Origin Green Program enables us to set achievable measurable sustainability targets. Due to the enthusiastic and steadfast commitment of our in-house Origin Green Team we have been awarded Gold Membership status for 2021,2022, 2023 and 2024.
Enhancing biodiversity
In 2016 Sam Dennigan & Co UC. set the ambitious Origin Biodiversity target to construct an Integrated Constructed Wetland as a means of water treatment. This project has been completed and has been proven to be a very effective method of treating waste water from processes taking place on site. The implementation of the ICW has not only resulted in cleaner water being released into the environment but has enhanced our sites biodiversity becoming a habitat for countless flora and fauna.
Pollutant removal
This is aimed at optimising the natural biological, chemical and physical processes of pollutant removal in a way that is compatible with local biodiversity.
Wild meadow
We created a wild meadow onsite that is reseeded every year with native species. This meadow is only cut once a year to enable biodiversity to flourish.
Reduction targets
Energy
We set a target to reduce our energy usage by 37% by 2020 based on a 2014 baseline. We are happy to report we have exceeded this target, having reached a 50% reduction on electricity usage per unit output compared to the baseline year.
This reduction in energy usage was supported by our extensive rooftop solar PV installation on our distribution centre in Oldtown, Co. Dublin. As part of our Origin Green commitments we continue to reduce our energy usage and optimise our resources in a sustainable and measurable manner.
Commitment to
Employee Wellbeing
To encourage and embed sustainability into the heart of our company, we have implemented an employee forum. This gives our employees a platform to engage with our company’s sustainability targets and make suggestions for improvements. We strive to make our company a great place to work by creating a culture of care; rewarding the service of loyal employees and encouraging the skills of newcomers.
We aim to recruit, retain and develop the talent within our organisation. We operate a shuttle bus from 3 locations in Dublin for our employees.
In 2023 as part of our Employee Wellbeing initiative we implemented a company EAP ( Employee Assistance Programme ) which is a tailored counselling service that provides employees with the means to address and resolve various issues or problems which can impact on their working lives.