Eight of the country's newest green innovators have completed Bord na Móna's 2024 Accelerate Green programme.
The programme culminated in the Accelerate Green Conference, which took place today in Tullamore, Co Offaly.
Accelerate Green, delivered by Bord na Móna in conjunction with Resolve Partners, is dedicated to scaling early-stage enterprises and SMEs that are leading the response to climate action and sustainability.
Over 300 joined the conference to hear from sustainability experts and innovators who are leveraging green business innovations and practices to address climate change.
Key speakers included: Bord na Móna chief executive Tom Donnellan; Donal Flavin, Head of Strategic Policy, Energy, Sustainability, Telecommunications, Digital and Data at IDA Ireland; James Sprinz, Vice President for Europe, Energy Impact Partners and Eoin Kennedy, Head of Future Operations at Eirgrid.
The eight companies selected to participate in this year's Accelerate Green programme were ACEL Energy, Voltclub Renewables, Konree Innovation, Weev, SomaTech, I/O Agri, AffinityEV and Universal Graphics.
The companies are based throughout Ireland and deliver unique green innovation that caters to a range of business needs across multiple industries, including renewable energy, sustainable agri/marine-tech, EV charging and food fermentation.
Since the programme launched in January, the eight businesses have participated in learning and mentoring workshops engaging with a broad range of leaders from enterprise and energy agencies, Irish-founded companies, research networks and investors.
They have also participated in networking, mentoring and business development opportunities through engagement with senior leaders across Bord na Móna's business.
Bord na Móna CEO Tom Donnellan said the Accelerate Green programme is a unique opportunity for smaller-scale leaders in the sustainability space to develop the skills and knowledge required to grow their businesses and succeed in Ireland and beyond.
"As a business that has completed our own significant scaling journey having transitioned from brown to green, we are now progressing at pace as a renewable energy and climate solutions leader in Ireland," Mr Donnellan said.
"At Bord na Móna we understand the challenges and opportunities that come with change and transformation, and this is why we are so committed to this programme and to sharing our own learnings and expertise with these rising innovators to help them on their respective growth journeys," he added.
The Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment Peter Burke said that building a thriving community of green innovators and encouraging more sustainable business practices across Ireland will play a significant role in the national effort to realise the country's climate ambitions and create a more sustainable future for Ireland.
