Kepak Longford ‘goes for green’ with sustainability initiatives

Kepak Longford is one of the key sponsors of the local St Patrick’s Day Parade in Ballymahon, but its green credentials go far beyond its support of the parade.

Kepak Longford, which is located outside Ballymahon, employs 360 people locally and works with over 6,000 farmers across Longford and its sister sites Athleague and Kilbeggan, is a proud member of the prestigious Origin Green sustainability programme.

In 2021, Kepak achieved Gold Status at Bord Bia’s Origin Green Awards acknowledging its sustainability strategy, Kepak CORE for its ambitious commitments and targets regarding recycling and waste minimisation, supply chain and sourcing of ingredients, biodiversity, energy efficiency, minimising traffic, and community engagement.

Key sustainability targets already achieved at Kepak Longford in 2021 include:

*81% reduction in emissions
*17% reduction in water usage
*37% oil usage reduction

Important sustainability targets already achieved across Kepak sites at national level:

*12% reduction in electricity
*38% reduction in gas usage
*14% reduction in oil usage
*98% of food waste at sites is diverted to conserve resources
*100% of sites are zero to landfill, which in turn minimises pollution.
*100% green energy powers all Irish sites

In addition, as part of the All-Ireland Pollinator Plan, Kepak Longford is home to 120,000 bees which are housed in four hives on site in Longford.

On site there are treatment plots in short and long grass meadows, wildflower and herb beds, as well as Birch and Ash trees. Bird and bat boxes have been installed across the site also.

Commenting on the sustainability achievements and continued efforts at Kepak Longford, Kepak Longford Site Manager, Alan Connaughton said: “As a business we are committed to working with the local community in Ballymahon to ensure we minimise our impact on the environment, whilst safeguarding animal welfare, producer livelihoods and protecting biodiversity.

As one of the largest employers in the region, we are delighted to be on our sustainability journey and that the dedicated actions of our employees are making a positive difference to the local environment and community.”

Kepak Group Sustainability Manager, Rebecca Thomson added: “At Kepak we believe that sustainability should not be a side-line effort. It should be part of everything we do.

We are proud of what we have accomplished together so far and continue to take a partnership approach to meeting the global challenge of climate change within the community.”

Kepak Longford is actively recruiting roles to join its dynamic, hard-working and committed team, for more information visit www.kepak.com/careers