Local Enterprise Office, Waterford celebrates this year’s Glas Award winners, DHB Architects and Clem Jacob Hire

The awards, in association with Waterford City and County Council recognise and celebrate the micro businesses in County Waterford who have made significant advances in bringing green principles into their business models. None more so than DHB Architects and Clem Jacob Hire.

The Green Micro Enterprise of the Year, open to all with employees of 10 or less was won by DHB Architects, who impressed the judges with, “The conscientious way in which the business not only prioritises sustainable practices in its own company, but also in the work it does for its clients.”

The Green SME of the Year, open to those between 11 and 50 employees was won by Clem Jacob Hire. The judges were extremely impressed with the quality of entries, saying, “The standard of entries this year is only matched by the innovation they all brought to their sustainable practices. These companies are an inspirations to businesses in Waterford and beyond.”

DHB Architects has refurbished and continuing to invest in its existing ‘protected structured building’ for use as its offices in Waterford City centre thus supporting sustainable town centre first policies. The heating system in the building does not use fossil fuels, lights are all LED and the business uses two fully electric cars for office use to bring staff to sites that are not accessible by public transport. The company recently won national awards for work in sustainable regeneration of buildings and town centres.

Clem Jacob Hire’s entire fleet of machines are now running on HVO fuel (Hydro treated vegetable oil ) instead of diesel. Where possible a big part of its hire fleet is now hybrid, thus runs on battery & HVO. The company has a bank of solar panels planned for its workshop which will produce power for charging the hybrid machines. All company cars are now electric & will be charged by power produced with solar panels. It even collects rain water for power washing its machines.

Waterford City and County Mayor Cllr. Jason Murphy spoke at the event and presented the trophies, saying, “These businesses are all leaders in their sector. Even getting shortlisted for these awards is a fantastic recognition for them and a reflection on how farsighted they are.

“I’m sure it’s this awareness that drives them to invest in sustainable policies within their business. Waterford City and County Council understands this and that is why it has focused so much on environmental policies over the past number of years and will continue to do so in the future.”

Clem Jacob was thrilled to win, “Our green and sustainable practices are more than just window dressing. They are integral to every part of our business. It’s more than just the ‘right thing to do’, the policies we’ve implemented and changes we’ve made to the running of the business really save money, in the short term as well as the long term. Getting an award for these practices is a wonderful endorsement of everything we do.”

Each winner received a cash prize of €2,500 and a Glas trophy, designed and created by Brendan O’Donnell. The awards have been solely made from reclaimed and recycled materials. Solid oak is from cabinet drawers, while the plastic is a mix of milk bottles, lids from drinks containers from a cafe and hygiene product drums from a dairy farm.

Head of Enterprise at the Local Enterprise Office Waterford, Gareth Evans was delighted with the quality of entries for the awards, “Looking at the shortlist for this year’s awards we have such an impressive and diverse collection of businesses in Waterford, from the arts and design to products, plant and spirits. It’s a true reflection of how dynamic the Waterford business offering is.

“The Local Enterprise Office created these awards to promote sustainability in business in Waterford. They also promote what the LEO is offering businesses, showcase what is currently happening in the county, rewards those who are investing in their own and everyone’s future and most importantly they encourage others to do likewise.

“The LEO wants to show other businesses that investment in this area is not only the right thing to do, but the smart thing too, for every business. Every finalist today will tell you that they have reaped the benefits of their investment, and it’s just the tip of the iceberg. We want these awards to grow and have more and more entries every year.”

For further information on the Glas and other Local Enterprise Office Awards, follow this link www.localenterprise.ie/Waterford, contact LEO Waterford at 051 849905 or email info@leo.waterfordcouncil.ie