Living Green, who are supported by Local Enterprise Office Donegal, were winners at this year’s National Enterprise Awards. The awards, which took place at the Round Room in the Mansion House in Dublin, were in their 24th year and run annually by the Local Enterprise Offices. Neil Crossan of Living Green won the Green Sustainability Award, marking the second consecutive year a Donegal business has triumphed at the National Enterprise Awards. This follows last year’s win by Patrick McLaughlin of Silver Strand Rope Works.
Based in Quigley’s Point, Living Green is an established business offering diverse, environmentally conscious, and health enhancing products that promote sustainable living and healthy choices. With the distinction of being the largest worm farm in Ireland and the UK, Living Green has solidified its reputation as pioneers in this field. As the sole manufacturer of Certified Organic Wormcast and Certified Organic Compost in Ireland, Living Green impressed judges with their dedication to producing top-quality peat-free compost, solidifying their position as a leader in sustainable agriculture.
Cathaoirleach of Donegal County Council, Cllr. Martin Harley stated: ‘’It’s fantastic to see a Donegal business recognised nationally for their hard work and growth over time and generations. Neil Crossan and his team at Living Green are a credit to themselves, their community and Donegal as a whole.’’
Congratulating the team on the win, Brenda Hegarty, Head of Enterprise Donegal, said: “Huge congratulations to Neil Crossan and all the Living Green team on winning at the National Enterprise Awards. It is a great win for the business and for Donegal, marking the second consecutive year a Donegal business has received such prestigious recognition at these awards. Living Green is an excellent example of a family-run, sustainability-minded business that has grown steadily across many years, creating employment locally and embracing innovation to build an international business from Donegal. Neil Crossan and his team are great ambassadors for the county, and it’s wonderful that their hard work and dedication has been recognised with this win at the National Enterprise Awards.”
Adding to this, Neil Crossan said: “We are delighted to have won the Green Sustainability Award at the National Enterprise Awards. It was an honour to represent our county, and to get the win is extra special. Congratulations to all the finalists and winners. I also want to thank the Local Enterprise Office team in Donegal. We’ve been in business for over twenty years, and they have always been very supportive in helping us to grow and scale our business.”
The overall winner at the National Enterprise Awards was Dreamdev Technologies who are supported by Local Enterprise Office Kildare.
Announcing the award winners at the Mansion House and after earlier launching the new Local Enterprise Office Policy Statement, Minister Burke said; “The National Enterprise Awards are the highlight of the small business and enterprise calendar. Year on year the diversity of businesses and the standard of companies that are coming through the process is getting stronger. We should not be surprised given the innovation and endurance that businesses have shown in recent years. We have some outstanding winners but the finalists on the whole have been excellent, and this is very much the start of their journey.”
The National Enterprise Awards also celebrated 10 years since the inception of the Local Enterprise Offices in 2014 with several former winners attending on the evening.
The National Enterprise Awards are one of several initiatives that the Local Enterprise Offices run, to foster entrepreneurship across the country. Others include Local Enterprise Week, the Student Enterprise Programme, National Women’s Enterprise Day and Local Enterprise Showcase. The Local Enterprise Offices in local authorities are funded by the Government of Ireland through Enterprise Ireland. Established in 2014, the Local Enterprise Offices are the essential resource for any entrepreneur looking to start a business or any small business that is looking for support or advice to help them grow. Since their inception ten years ago, the Local Enterprise Offices have helped create over 70,000 jobs across the country. The LEOs work with thousands of client companies across Ireland in a diverse range of sectors offering mentoring, training, expert advice and financial supports to small businesses. If you have an idea to start or grow your business within Donegal, contact Local Enterprise Office Donegal on info@leo.donegalcoco.ie or (074) 916 0735.
To find out more about Living Green, see www.livinggreen.ie
