Awards
SMILE Resource Exchange wins “Best Eco Friendly Initiative” at the LAMA Awards 2013
26.01.13
Smile Resource Exchange is the delighted recipient of the Local Authority Members Association Award for ‘Best Eco-Friendly Initiative’ having best met the award criteria of encouraging environmental improvement, awareness and positive promotion within the community. SMILE was recognised for making the business community more aware of eco-friendly procedures, such as the exchanging of resources in order to reduce waste going to landfill which enhances the resource efficiency of the business community.
SMILE Resource Exchange was nominated by Cork County Council who has recognised that in addition to saving money for businesses on their costs, the initiative is reducing waste going to landfill and encouraging a more resource efficient ethos amongst businesses in the community. Potential exchanges are identified through networking events, an online exchange facility (http://www.smileexchange.ie) and a support team to assist throughout. At these exchange events and through the website businesses can identify resources they would like to exchange such as reusable items, by-products and surplus products. All resources offered are either free of charge or below market value. The service is available to businesses in the Clare, Cork, Dublin, Kerry and Limerick regions and membership is free.
First held in 2006, the LAMA Awards were created to recognise innovative local and national projects in the areas of infrastructure, community development, recreation and social and environmental impact initiatives. Speaking after the event, SMILE Project Manager, Michelle Green said “We were delighted to have been nominated and confirmed as a finalist for this year’s awards amongst very deserving entries. To win such a prestigious national award is a real honour, not only for the project partners and the SMILE team but also for the business members of SMILE who have gotten involved in the initiative. We have grown steadily over the past 3 years and now operate in Cork, Limerick, Clare, Kerry and Dublin. Receiving the LAMA Award for Best Eco-Friendly Initiative strengthens our position as a valuable support for businesses to become pioneers of a more environmentally friendly and sustainable business future”
Since its inception in 2010, SMILE Resource Exchange has created over 1,900 potential exchanges between its business members with a further 500 connections made through the SMILE website. From the resources presented at the SMILE events over 25,000 tonnes have the potential to be diverted from landfill raising a potential saving for the businesses involved of between €1.9m and €2.6m.
Membership is free and businesses can register at http://www.smileexchange.ie or call (026) 20520 / (01) 436 1864. SMILE Resource Exchange is project managed by Macroom E and is funded through a partnership between the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), County & City Enterprise Boards and Local Authorities in Cork, Limerick, Clare and Kerry and Dublin.
Reduce, Reuse, Reward SMILE Resource Exchange Shortlisted for Green Award
SMILE Resource Exchange is delighted to have been shortlisted for ‘The Waste to Business Resource Award’ at the national Green Awards. Now in its fourth year, the Green Awards celebrate excellence in sustainability and encourage green best practice amongst Ireland’s organisations and individuals.
‘The Waste to Business Resource Award’ is designed to recognise those companies that turn the waste created by one process into resources which can then be used in the creation of new business opportunities. It is fitting that SMILE Resource Exchange is recognised for its contribution, which encourages the exchanging of resources between businesses in order to save money, reduce waste going to landfill and to identify economic opportunity from turning a waste into a resource.
A distinguished panel of national and international judges, chaired by Duncan Stewart, will review all entries, and the winners will be announced at the glittering Award Ceremony, hosted by Risteard Cooper on April 19th at the Burlington Hotel, where each winner will walk away with a special trophy.
Michelle Green, Project Manager with SMILE Resource Exchange said “We were delighted to have been shortlisted for this year’s awards which have seen the biggest response to date with over 300 entries, and to be shortlisted amongst entries of such high calibre really is an honour. We feel that SMILE really fits the bill in a category that looks at examples of how the ‘re-use and recycle’ approach to business creates revenue and employment, while at the same time diverting materials away from landfill.”
The SMILE Resource Exchange was delighted to have been shortlisted for the 2011 Green Awards, under the Waste to Business Resource category. The 2011 Green Awards, sponsored by the Irish Independent, took place at the Burlington Hotel, Dublin on Thursday April 14th. The SMILE Resource Exchange competed with seven other finalists in the waste to business resource category on the night which was decided upon by a panel of judges. This is a new category in 2011, designed to recognize initiatives that turn the waste created by one process into a resource which can then be used in the creation of a new business opportunity
Macroom E was nominated for a European Enterprise Award in 2009 in the category of Encouraging the Entrepreneurial Sprit. More than 350 national, regional and local authorities – including towns, cities and regions as well as public-private partnerships between public authorities and entrepreneurs, educational programmes and business organisations – in 25 countries competed in the national round of the 2008/2009 European Enterprise Awards. The winners were announced at a ceremony in Prague that was part of the closing event for the First European SME week.
Macroom E hosted and received an Eco Business Ireland Award in 2008. The programme is geared specifically for small to medium enterprises committed to environmental best practice.The awards ceremony took place after the Greening the Lee Valley exhibition
In 2007, Macroom E were nominated for a Chamber of Commerce Award for the Eco Business Ireland training programme, in partnership with the Clean Technology Centre, CIT
Macroom E was proud to be selected nationally in the Sustainable Energy Ireland / ESB Awards 2004. We were one of five finalists in the category of ‘Excellence in Design and Specification’.
The annual Sustainable Energy Awards are intended to encourage, recognise and reward excellence in energy management and design in the industrial, commercial and public sectors. The awards focus on individuals and groups who demonstrate a commitment to include energy management as part of their overall management structure and who aim to reduce their energy use and emissions. This national initiative recognised best practice in energy performance, management and design.
