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Bord Bia is pleased to announce the appointment of Deirdre Ryan (pictured) to the role of Director of the Origin Green and Quality Assurance programmes. She has extensive experience in the food industry with a strong track record of driving impact through embedding sustainability into business strategy.

Prior to her appointment, Deirdre Ryan was Head of Corporate Social Responsibility for Lidl Ireland & Northern Ireland, where she led the development and implementation of the company’s sustainability strategy. From 2013 to 2015, as part of Bord Bia’s Origin Green Ambassador programme, Deirdre was responsible for building trade awareness globally for the sustainability credentials of Irish food and drink producers.

Deirdre Ryan has also held positions with leading dairy exporter Ornua, Nestlé Switzerland, and Metro Group, the world’s fourth largest retail group. An Irish Olympian who competed in the high jump at the London 2012 Olympics, Deirdre holds an MSc in Business Sustainability, an MBS in International Business from UCD Smurfit Graduate School, and a degree in International Commerce with Italian from University College Dublin.

Continuous Improvement

In her new role as Director of Origin Green at Bord Bia, Deirdre will continue to drive the Origin Green ambition that farms and food manufacturing businesses throughout Ireland sign up to an ambitious sustainability agenda, with progress independently measured, assessed and verified.

Origin Green plays a crucial role in driving continuous improvement across Ireland’s food and drink sector, with significant reductions achieved to date in carbon emissions on farm and in energy and water use in processing and manufacturing. The ultimate aim of the programme is to safeguard Ireland’s global reputation and competitive advantage as a producer of quality sustainable food.

Unique Programme

Bord Bia CEO Tara McCarthy commented: “Deirdre brings a wealth of experience to this role. At a time when there is growing focus on sustainability nationally and internationally amongst customers and consumers, the relevance of programmes like Origin Green has never been more acute.

In Association with

"As the only programme of its kind in the world, working across the supply chain to enable the Irish food and drink industry to develop their sustainability credentials and provide the proof that customers seek, Origin Green’s role is pivotal.

“Deirdre will lead the Origin Green programme towards driving further sustainability improvements in our food production in line with our 3-year strategy 2019-2021 by collaborating with the 51,000 farmers and over 320 food manufacturers, foodservice operators and retailers in Ireland that are verified members of Origin Green.”

Competitive Advantage

Ryan described Origin Green as a pioneering programme that drives competitive advantage for the Irish food and drink industry globally. “I very much look forward to driving further sustainability improvements and in turn realise the benefits of Origin Green; more environmentally efficient farms, sustainable livelihoods and more sustainable food and drink production that protects the global positioning of our food exports as the first choice globally due to our commitment to sustainable production and quality,” she added.

To find out more about the Origin Green programme, visit origingreen.ie.