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DCU Business School

Assignment Submission

Student Name: Seánpaul Walsh

Student Number:

Programme: MMK - MBS in Marketing

Project Title: Individual Assignment

Module code: MT543 Sustainability Marketing

Lecturers:

Project Due Date: 26-MAY-2011, 4.00pm

Declaration

I the undersigned declare that the project material, which I now submit, is my own work.

Any assistance received by way of borrowing from the work of others has been cited and

acknowledged within the work. I make this declaration in the knowledge that a breach of

the rules pertaining to project submission may carry serious consequences.

I am aware that the project will not be accepted unless this form has been handed in along

with the project.

Signed:_________________________

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Company Analysis ............................................................................................................................. 4

Operations .................................................................................................................................... 4

Presence ........................................................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.

Critical Evaluation of Sustainability Marketing Mix ............................................................................ 7

Customer Solution ......................................................................................................................... 7

Communication ............................................................................................................................. 8

Customer Cost ............................................................................................................................... 8

Conveneince ..................................................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.

Overall Evaluation ....................................................................................................................... 10

Recommended 3 Year Plan .............................................................................................................. 11

Bibiography .......................................................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.

Appendices...................................................................................................................................... 13

Appendix A Greenstar Service Offerings .................................................................................. 13

Appendix B Greenstar Enviornmental/Sustainable Business Practices .................................. 15

Appendix C Greenstar Industry and Societal Awards ............................................................... 16

Appendix D Greenstar Intitatives ............................................................................................. 20

Appendix E Energy Scheme ..................................................................................................... 23

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Greenstar Ireland is Ireland‟s leading integrated waste management company. It is a sister company of

Greenstar Global. They provide a comprehensive one-stop-shop recycling service to a broad client

base including semi-state, major national and multi-national organisations. A more detailed account

of their service offering can be found in Appendix A (on page 13). From a detailed review of the

publically available material I can confirm that Greenstar Ireland are completely aware of the

sustainability marketing concept, employ it in their business model and hold it in high regard on their

agenda.

As stated by Belz and Peattie (2009), Sustainability marketing is the building and maintenance of

sustainable relationships with your customer as well as the social and natural environment. In relation

to Greenstar I feel that operations are associated to the natural environment and presence to the social

environment.

Greenstar‟s own operations are evidently aligned with their core mission of offering of services that

promote sustainable business. This can be concurred in their mission statement

“Leadership that is trusted to deliver cost effective and sustainable services which

empower customers and stakeholders to achieve a better future through technologies

that address the challenges of climate change, renewable energy and resource

redeployment. Greenstar is committed to the highest possible environmental and

operational standards. The company has a duty both legally and morally to ensure

that its operations are carried out with the minimum of negative environmental

impacts. This is a duty Greenstar is determined to meet”

(Greenstar Online, 2011)

I found that within their operations they adhere to all environmental standards. The company currently

holds 15 EPA* waste licences, which cover their waste transfer facilities, materials recovery facilities

and four landfill sites. Greenstar state that they have also applied for licences in relation to a number

of other sites across the country and these are pending. In the case of each licensed operation they

state that both on site facility management staff and staff from Greenstar‟s head office environmental

section, correspond regularly with the EPA and other regulatory bodies to ensure compliance with

* EPA-Environmental Protection Agency

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requirements of the waste licence. I believe that with the company‟s transparency of information is a

great indication of their practices.

Further evidence of their operations shows that they are committed to maintaining sustainable

operations. The company was recognised and certified by ISO 14001 in 2004. This certification was

applicable to all of their facilities. A specific example would be their operation of Ballynagran

Landfill in County Wicklow which is also operated in line with a comprehensive Environmental

Management System which ensures compliance with strict standards. The standard was regarded so

high that it was awarded the highly desired UK CIWM PEEL‟s people‟s cup for „Best Operated

Waste Facility in Ireland or the UK‟ and the prestigious Green Apple Award for Environmental Best

Practice in 2008 and 2009 respectively. Both of these awards schemes are internationally recognised

and have been in place for over 15 years. Greenstar‟s Ballynagran facility is the first ever Irish waste

facility to win the award. Further evidence of their industry recognition for operations can be found in

Appendix C (on page 16)

Greenstar also play a large role in promoting the concept of sustainable business in the market and

within society. Their presence in the industry and society is widespread.

The company is part of the “IBEC renewables Working Group”, which meets every quarter to express

the views of the renewable energy industry with regard to policy and support measures necessary to

attain EU Directives and Regulatory targets in achieving diversification

of the energy mix toward more sustainable and renewable resources.

Greenstar is also strongly committed to its CSR and in particular to

issues affecting the environment. However unlike other firms where

CSR is often reactive, Greenstar‟s CSR is focused around the

customer and environment than at a corporate level. Their policy

although, a mix between strategic and responsive, focuses around

promoting recycling and recovery rates, informing and educating

about environmental activities, supporting local economies by

sourcing materials locally, working with suppliers to minimise their

environmental impact, supporting local charities and sporting

organisation and sponsoring research work with local authorities and educational institutions to

increase awareness and influence behaviour in the area of waste minimisation and conservation of

resources.

Figure 1-Responsive & Strategic Approaches to CSR (Porter & Kramer, 2006)

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It is Greenstar's company policy to reinvest back into the communities in which it works. Greenstar

aim to make the communities in which they operate better places to live. Therefore they work closely

with community groups on both societal and national level.

Examples of some of the initiatives they sponsor, promote and organise are Green Schools, National

Environmental Education and Awareness Programme, National Schools Educational Programme,

Green Awards, community Clean ups and many more. A detailed account of all their societal

initiatives can be found in Appendix D (on page 20)

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As highlighted above the level of awareness with the concept of sustainability is very high within the

organisation. The sustainability marketing mix can be classified with the “Four C‟s” of marketing.

They are a progression and evolution of the traditional four P‟s of marketing, Product, Price, Place,

Promotion. A simple explanation is that the Four C‟s are Customer orientated, that is they look at the

company from a customers purchasing perspective, whereas the Four P‟s are Product Related; that is

they look at the company‟s marketing mix from the perspective of selling a product. In defining the

four elements of the sustainability marketing mix, we must also consider the different stages of the

consumer purchasing process; Pre Use, Usage, and Post Use.

Customer Solution in essence refers to whether Greenstar are attempting to solve customer problems

or simply produce a service for consumption.

Pre Use: Greenstar's pre usage of their product refers to their service offering. At present their pre use

offering would be the education initiatives they engage in and the general education they provide on

the benefits of their services and how a consumer can recycle easier. This, although also a selling

point for the company, is both helping to solve an environmental problem; increase recycling through

awareness and also aiding the decision of a consumer; to adopt Greenstar‟s services to reduce waste

billing.

Usage: This refers to the actual usage of the Greenstar service range. By adopting their services the

consumer is getting a range of solutions. They are getting a solution to how the manage their waste

and recycling, a reduction in their costs of how they dispose of waste as cheaper to recycle, more

efficiency in and lower overheads through reuse of some products (See Appendix A, on page 13),

fulfilling legal requirements and fulfilling a self need that may exist to be a more conscious consumer.

Post Use: Although it is difficult to estimate what the post use value of the service is it may refer to

the end recycled product, i.e. rubbish, which is used again. IT may also refer to the bins used which

after use are designed for multiple uses so there is no post usage. The final post usage as referred to

earlier is the customers satisfaction of knowing that they are behaving consciously for the

environment.

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I believe that Greenstar are very environmentally and customer solution orientated. IT would appear

that they are delivering on these solutions also based on their repertoire of satisfied customers; 75,000

domestic and 25,000 business customers, and based on the awards they have received over the years,

(see Appendix C, on page 16) (Greenstar Online, 2011).

Within the concept of sustainability marketing communication refers to how the company engages

and communicates with the customer directly. This differs to the traditional method of constant

promotion of a product.

Greenstar are extremely good at engaging with their customers. This is evident in how they operate

their business online and on the ground. Greenstar use the internet to communicate and engage their

customers. They host an impressive website as well as social media tools Facebook and Linked IN.

There is also a built in live help/Q&A facility for registered customers where you can log in and be

assisted. Following this there are customer testimonials and client cases hosted on the website which

creates for further engagement.

These testimonials and the amount of information also impact on the two features stated by Belz and

Peattie (2009) as fundamental to communication; consistency and credibility. As I stated earlier, the

aspect of the transparency with Greenstar‟s operations and the freedom of information available

conveys that they are consistently looking to improve through customer feedback. They also state

online that they will release all information upon request to queries. I believe that this confidence to

open all business operations and processes to public investigation shows that they are entirely credible

in their operations. This is also backed up by their presence in the social environment; recognised by

IBEC and working on behalf of the Irish government. Their credibility and consistency is further

reiterated by the vast amount of awards they have received from year to year.

Another method the company uses to engage is through the creation of and sponsoring of local and

national initiatives (See Appendix D, on page 20).

Overall their communication is very effective however I do believe that they could increase their

communication with national authorities/local authorities in order to increase message to wider

audiences.

Traditional price does not consider the total cost of manufacturing or ownership of a product or

service. There may be time costs, transportation costs, tradeoffs, etc. Cost can be looked at from two

perspectives; the consumer perspective, which calculates the totality of costs to a consumer

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considering purchasing a product, and the producer perspective, which calculates the total cost of

providing the product.

Pre Use: Greenstar‟s customers costs are formed of the billing they pay Greenstar i.e. money and the

pre cost of acquiring their services i.e. time; phone calls to set up account and select service/in some

cases meetings for business customers where Greenstar call out to assess your business, search costs;

price comparisons, background checks. Greenstar try to reduce these costs by providing a very

informational website with various informational pack downloads as well as operating a low-cost

phone line. Their own costs refer tithe cost of setting up the website, the maintenance of it, the

reimbursing of telecoms for phone line and then the cost of paper and labour to secure contracts.

Usage: The energy required by a consumer her e for Greenstar must refer to the physical energy of

separating their waste and the actual moving of the bin to the road. This is low and is aided by the

colour coded purple bin of Greenstar as well as downloadable information and posters for the home

and business stating dates and instructions. Switching costs are high for the customer as it is a big

change in behaviour and forces a break of habit. It requires the customer to be aware and remember to

put out a second bin each week as well as change their overall process. Greenstar already address this

through communicating and engaging customers the benefits of using their service e.g. cost savings

and environment savings. Greenstar will also incur the cost here of actually collecting the material,

labour and delivery to waste recycling plant as well as consultation hours for business customers.

Post Use: As the service is bought on contract the post use is difficult to calculate as customers may

renew. The only post use I discovered was the disposal of the bin containers themselves if a customer

decides to stop using the company‟s services. In this case Greenstar state that they collect the

containers from the home of the ex-customer and re-use them therefore making the post use cost low.

In sustainability marketing terms convenience refers to the customers‟ ability to access the product or

service offering.

Greenstar have 12 customer services units as well as 10 online addresses of availing of their services

nationwide. As mentioned before the phone line is low cost and contracts can be mailed out so is of

some convenience to the customer as they never have to leave their home. With regard to business

customers the same approach applies but it is very convenient as Greenstar come to you the only off

putting aspect is the change must be facilitated by that company‟s management/employees. The

product usage allows convenience as users can access their account online. Using the service presents

one inconvenience to adhere to, that is following Greenstar‟s collection schedule which requires you

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to put the container out for collection once every two weeks however how much of an inconvenience

this is I am unsure as the resulting outcomes outweigh this inconvenience.

From careful review and analysis I believe that Greenstar current sustainability mix is very effective. I

believe that their biggest challenge is within the communication aspect. Their toughest barriers come

in the form of growing the business and the infrastructure already in place in Ireland and in business

reluctance to change waste disposal behaviour. By the first I am referring to the contractual

agreements already in place with local authorities and households to manage waste. The second refers

to their business customer and their need to engage more business customers by emphasising the

value of their service.

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I have suggested a sustainability marketing plan that aims to improve Greenstar‟s communication

aspects whilst maintaining their efforts on other areas of

the mix.

I believe that because of the powerful position of

Greenstar in the industry that they need to put more

structure around their initiatives. Greenstar are doing a

host of effective initiatives to support the community, the

country and the environment however I believe that they

need to expand their efforts and set targets, similarly to the

Plan A concept adopted by M&S. At present they appear

to carry out events „here and there‟ and there is no real

consistency in terms of a destination.

I present the „Star Plan‟. The concept behind this plan I that Greenstar set out long

term objectives relevant to the events they run in accordance with Ireland as a

country at the mind of it all. I believe that they could set out 5 major commitments, reflective of the 5

sides of their icon, to have achieved by midyear 2014.

Step No: Explained: Timeline:

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Engage Government and local authorities on the cost benefits of selecting Greenstar as the main provider of all waste

disposal in the country as this is mainly done by local authorities. I believe that this will ensure waste is managed more

appropriately and could cost the authorities less money. If unsuccessful, Greenstar should aim to acquire more areas

though county councils

2011-2012

2 By adopting this approach Greenstar can then set targets on households and businesses waste figures and their plan to

reduce it. E.g. To make all of Irelands waste 75% recycled.

2011-2012

3 Roll out the plan and monitor progress. 2012-2013

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Change content communicated to customer. Now communicate targets and cost savings to customers in order to

attract and engage in Star Plan Campaign furthering Greenstar's credibility. E.g. M&S educated customers and also

engaged them with their products.

2012-2013

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At present Greenstar currently pilot turning waste to energy (See Appendix E, on page 23 ). This can not only be used as

leverage in negotiations with authorities but to enhancing their communication content with customers. By developing

the content and communicating an incentive to the customer to recycle. This would be arrange with the energy

provider and consumers who recycled X amount would receive Y amount off their energy bill or by adopting the

Greenstar management system you would be entitled to energy discounts.

2013-2014

6 Measure Results and re-set new targets whilst creating new content containing results. 2013-2014

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Belz, F.M & Peattie, K. (2009), „Sustainability Marketing; A Global Perspective‟, Wiley Publishers

Inc.

Porter, M.E & Kramer, M.R (2006), „Strategy and Society‟, Harvard Business review, 84 (12): 78-92.

Greenstar Website, Available at : http://www.greenstar.ie/index.html, (Accessed last on 25th May

2011)

Greenstar Community Newsletter January 2007, Greenstar Online Website, Available at:

http://www.greenstar.ie/htm/about/press_area.html (Accessed last on 20th April May 2011)

DLR Home recycling information, Greenstar Online Website, Available at:

http://www.greenstar.ie/htm/about/press_area.html (Accessed last on 18th April May 2011)

Greenstar EHS Policy 2010, Greenstar Online Website, Available at:

http://www.greenstar.ie/htm/about/press_area.html (Accessed last on 19th April May 2011)

EIS Millennium Business Park Case study, Greenstar Online Website, Available at:

http://www.greenstar.ie/htm/about/press_area.html (Accessed last on 25th April May 2011)

Fingal County Area collection times Poster, Greenstar Online Website, Available at:

http://www.greenstar.ie/htm/about/press_area.html (Accessed last on 20th April May 2011)

Greenstar BBS 2010 Presentation, Greenstar Online Website, Available at:

http://www.greenstar.ie/htm/about/press_area.html (Accessed last on 20th April May 2011)

Greenstar Joint Recycling Promotional Leaflet, Greenstar Online Website, Available at:

http://www.greenstar.ie/htm/about/press_area.html (Accessed last on 20th April May 2011)

Need For Adaptability in modern Waste management, Greenstar Online Website, Available at:

http://www.greenstar.ie/htm/about/press_area.html (Accessed last on 18th April May 2011)

Spring 2011 Business Newsletter, Greenstar Online Website, Available at:

http://www.greenstar.ie/htm/about/press_area.html (Accessed last on 20th April May 2011)

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†

Greenstar‟s expert team of advisors offer a Waste and Environmental Auditing service. They provide

each client with recommendations to improve its waste and environmental practices ensuring

compliance with environmental legislation, reducing environment impacts whilst introducing

effective cost savings in waste disposal.

Greenstar' service also includes an on-site education programme tailored specifically to the

requirements of the company. They offer educational talks, activities and reading material in relation

to recycling and waste minimisation. Clients are advised on the best methods of implementation and

operation of new systems. As part of the programme, in-house staff training, (including sub-

contractors) is provided and includes an environmental awareness section. Updates on developments

in environmental and waste management related legislation are also provided on a regular basis.

Greenstar provides an Office Recycling Scheme to its clients. Our expert team will set up the

infrastructure for the segregation, collection and storage of materials from recycling containers

provided. The programme assists our clients in attaining their recycling targets as outlined under

current national and EU legislation and also ensures legislative compliance with the WEEE directive.

Within the office recycling scheme are:

Greenstar provides a paper recycling service to its clients for white office paper, mixed paper,

newspapers, magazines, brochures, cardboard and a wide range of fibreboards. Recycling

receptacles are provided for the segregation of paper and a regular collection day appointed.

Greenstar has a specialised plastics recycling facility where a wide range of plastics can be

processed, catering for both packaging and non-packaging plastics. Services such as

shredding, granulation, bulk storage and baling are available which are particularly effective

in the processing of industrial plastics.

Greenstar offers a comprehensive electronic waste recycling and management programme to

the electronics and software industries in Ireland. This service offers clients a “cradle to

grave” solution where redundant product streams can be recovered, reused and recycled.

†Adopted from Greenstar Service Offering Pack provided by Greenstar Online

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A small change in procedure will make a big impact in the office environmental culture. The

concept of the “Binless Office” is simple and efficient. It involves the removal of the

underdesk general waste bins, and the introduction of a “Desk Tray Recycler”, whereby all

materials are placed in the tray throughout the working day. At the end of the day or when the

tray is full, the tray is brought to a central recycling area and the materials in the tray are

segregated into bins specific to each waste stream. This simple to implement waste

management programme can reduce a business‟s general waste bill by up to 20% per annum

by reducing the amount of waste going to landfill and increasing the amount of segregated

recyclable streams such as paper, cartridges, pens, electronic waste, computers and

peripherals. The binless office can be implemented in a number of environments including

offices, factory floor, production lines, warehouses and canteens.

The advantages of the Binless Office include significant cost savings , less office

consumables, reduced collection frequency, increased recycling rates, reduced material to

landfill and overall waste minimisation as staff become more aware of the waste they

generate .Any combination of bins and recyclable / recoverable materials can be catered for.

This would be determined by an initial site audit and consultation with the client to determine

the optimal bin layout. The recycling centres are conveniently located around the office to

facilitate ease of use for the staff.

Greenstar provides a confidential shredding service offering a secure documented and

witnessed destruction of sensitive or outdated company documents, data and media.

Certificates of destruction and recycling; and video evidence of disposal are supplied on

request.

The Greenstar research team investigate the recycling / recovery potential of any waste

materials that are present on a clients site. Materials that are resigned to residual landfill may

prospectively be recycled or recovered which can result in cost reductions and improved

recovery rates. Other recyclables such as glass, metal, timber and C&D waste are also

managed in the programme.

Greenstar provides a specialist composting service for food and biowaste for all industry sectors

including industry canteens, restaurants, food production companies and hotels. They specialise in the

management of bulk food waste recycling, in a safe and cost effective manner, from large containers

through to bulk tankers. All organic waste collected is digested or composted in an environmentally

friendly manner.

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‡

Greenstar regards environmental protection as an integral and essential part of good business

practice. We are committed to achieving and maintaining a high standard of environmental

quality in all of our operations. Greenstar aims to set the standard by:

At a minimum, meet, and where appropriate, exceed the requirements of all relevant

legislation.

Reduce waste in all operations and ensure use of the best environmental option for

disposal of unrecoverable waste.

Promote the use of recycled materials and find sustainable markets for recovered

materials.

Promote the concepts of continuous improvement and pollution prevention through

the setting and review of environmental objectives and targets.

Provide the necessary training and support to staff so that they can carry out their

environmental responsibilities effectively and professionally.

Promote the adoption of environmentally sound practices by contractors, suppliers

and customers.

Communicate their Policy to all employees and sub-contractors who work on behalf

of Greenstar.

Foster openness and dialogue with our neighbours and the general public.

Make their environmental policy and records available to the public and interested

parties.

Communicate their Policy to all employees and sub-contractors who work on behalf

of Greenstar.

‡ Adopted from Greenstar Service Offering Pack provided by Greenstar Online

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Gold for Best Direct Mail High Volume

Silver for Best Billing Communication

Silver for Best Loyalty Campaign

Bronze for Best Utility

Greenstar won the Distinction award (the highest award in the prestigious awards category)

from the National Irish Safety Organisation. The Distinction award is given to companies that

have "demonstrated the existence of a proactive health & safety management system

combined with evidence of strong management leadership of continual improvement, health

& safety management system reviews and superior performance".

The award was made based on:

The implementation of an Integrated Environmental Health & Safety Management system at

our Material Recovery Facility at Fassaroe, Bray, Co. Wicklow

Evidence of continuous improvement in relation to our health & safety performance across

the Group

Evidence of senior management involvement in driving culture change through the Safety

Leadership Team and management and staff training

New Product or Service Award - (for its domestic Pay As You Go Service, New Centralised

Administration Department & Text Messaging Service).

Best Small or Growing Contract or Shared Service Centre Award – this award recognises

small, new and growing contact and shared services centres and rewards excellence in

standard, procedures and results in centres with less than 50 staff.

Greenstar won the Distinction award (the highest award in the prestigious awards category)

from the National Irish Safety Organisation. The Distinction award is given to companies that

have "demonstrated the existence of a proactive health & safety management system

combined with evidence of strong management leadership of continual improvement, health

& safety management system reviews and superior performance".

The award was made based on:

The implementation of an Integrated Environmental Health & Safety Management system in

Millennium Park

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Evidence of continuous improvement in relation to our health & safety performance across

the Group

Evidence of senior management involvement in driving culture change through the Safety

Leadership Team, MBR meetings and management and staff training

Greenstar‟s Ballynagran landfill won the Green Apple Award for Environmental Best

Practice. It is established as one of the major environmental recognition schemes in the UK

and internationally, the annual Green Apple Environment Awards recognise, reward and

promote environmental best practice around the world. The Green Organisation which runs

the annual awards is an independent, non-political, non-activist, non-profit environment

group dedicated to recognising, rewarding and promoting environmental best practice around

the world. Greenstar‟s Ballynagran Landfill was also invited to join National Green Heroes,

an elite group of environmental achievers who their experience to help environmental best

practice around the world.

Greenstar won the Best Small or Growing Contract or Shared Service Centre Award at the

CCMA Ireland Awards 2008. This award recognises small, new and growing contact and

shared services centres and is dedicated to rewarding excellence in standard, procedures and

results in centres with less than 50 staff.

This prize is awarded annually by the Chartered Institute of Wastes Management to the waste facility

judged to have the highest standard of excellence in its operational team. The 2008 PEEL cup was

awarded to Ballynagran Residual Landfill, Co Wicklow, Ireland, operated by Greenstar. This is the

first occasion in the 20 year history of the PEEL People's Cup that it was awarded to a facility in

Ireland.

Greenstar won the "Outstanding Large Business Award”. These awards recognise excellence in

service, local employment and contributions to the local community.

In 2007 Greenstar became the first recipient of a Vodafone Passion for the World Around Us business

award for the Bray area. The company was recognized for their continued contribution to their local

community and work in promoting environmental awareness and waste management throughout the

locality, making Bray a more pleasant place to live. The Passion for the World around Us Awards are

run by Vodafone in partnership with Bray Chamber and 17 other Chambers nationwide. The awards

recognize and reward people and businesses who make an effort to improve their local communities

and who have been successful in making a positive contribution to the world around them.

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Greenstar Recycling Ltd was named the Repak Recycling Large Operator of the Year at the Award

Ceremony which highlights companies that have contributed to the environment by minimising and

recycling packaging waste and this year had the theme of "Keep Recycling - let's get it sorted".

Greenstar recorded a 110% increase in its recycling of packaging waste such as metal, paper and

plastic between 2004 and 2005, resulting in over 28,000 tonnes of waste being diverted from landfill.

The annual Repak Awards Dinner took place on the 7th of October 2004 in the Berkeley Court.

Greenstar Recycling Ltd. was chosen through a stringent judging process as one of five finalists for

the coveted Repak Packaging Recovery Operator of the year Award 2004. A certificate was presented

to Greenstar in acknowledgement of substantial achievements in the area of packaging recycling in

the above category. The awards were established to promote and encourage good recycling practice,

amongst industry, Local Authorities, waste contractors and young people in Ireland. In the spirit of

recycling even the Repak Recycling Award was made from recovered / recycled glass, plastic, steel

and wood!

Stephen's Green Shopping Centre won a best practice award from Dublin City Council for their

environmental endeavours in waste management. The principal areas that they were recognised for

was in housekeeping, bin structure and segregation of waste streams. The improvements that the

Greenstar waste management programme made in the Stephen's Green Shopping Centre also resulted

in reduced administration time, thereby creating more free time for staff to perform other functions.

Greenstar Recycling Ltd. was accredited with the Excellence through People certification in 2002. It

is Ireland's national standard for human resource development. The certificate was received as

acknowledgment of the human resource structure put in place to promote excellence in the workplace

through the training, development and involvement of the key resource, Greenstar employees.

Greenstar Recycling Ltd. won a Green Apple Award in the Waste Recycling Category. The Green

Apple Awards for Environmental Best Practice are awarded jointly by the Chartered Institute of

Wastes Management and The Green Organisation, an independent, non-profit making environment

group with the main aim of recognising, rewarding and promoting the positive side of environmental

endeavours throughout all sectors of the environmental industry.

KTK Landfill received the prestigious CIWM Green Apple Award in 2001 for Best Landfill

Operation in the UK and Ireland. The Awards are presented in recognition of companies or

organisations in the Waste Management Industry that demonstrate environmental excellence in their

particular field. The award was received – for both – the operation of the landfill, in relation to quality

programmes, standard operations and controls on site; and the public information programme that was

implemented. The programme involved open communication with the local community, designed to

encourage community involvement, improve community relations and impart information through an

open and transparent policy.

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Greenstar is a sponsor of Green-Schools, the international environmental education programme,

designed to promote and acknowledge school action for the environment. By working with Green-

Schools Greenstar are committed to educating, influencing, and improving environmental awareness

of young people and the wider community.

Greenstar's service includes an on-site education programme tailored specifically to the requirements

of the company. They offer educational talks, activities and reading material in relation to recycling

and waste minimisation. Clients are advised on the best methods of implementation and operation of

new systems. As part of the programme, in-house staff training, (including sub-contractors) is

provided and includes an environmental awareness section. Updates on developments in

environmental and waste management related legislation are provided on a regular basis.

Greenstar works with local schools and educational establishments to provide educational visits to its

various recycling facilities and landfills around the country. To date, hundreds of schoolchildren have

been able to visit our facilities and get firsthand experience of the state-of-the-art technology and

engineering designs used.

Greenstar is the main sponsor of the Green Awards, a major awards programme set up to celebrate the

achievements of Irish businesses and organisations that are making substantial efforts to tackle the

challenge of climate change. As lead sponsor of the Awards they recognise the importance of

supporting and rewarding Irish companies who have 'set the standard' in terms of environmental

leadership. In addition, Greenstar believes that companies who adopt environmentally sustainable

practices into their business strategies can also benefit commercially. They believe that these efforts

are vital for Ireland's green economy and our positive contribution towards global sustainability. In

2008 10 of the 17 award winners were Greenstar customers.

Greenstar is one of the main sponsors of the National Green Pages which is the largest ever free and

independent Green marketing initiative of its kind in Ireland. The National Green Pages provides over

250,000 homes and businesses with a comprehensive and valuable reference book of environmentally

friendly products and services throughout Ireland.

Greenstar has sponsored this unique open art exhibition in the Mermaid Arts Centre, Bray for the last

3 years. Each year Greenstar provided a prize of €5,000 for the winner of the exhibition which

showcases a wide range of local artists in the Wicklow area. The exhibition offers both established

and emerging artists to have the opportunity to demonstrate their talents in the form of sculpture,

print, video, photography, painting and drawings.

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Greenstar provided the Bray Lions Club with financial sponsorship for €5,000 per year for the use in

their community events. In addition, the company has been closely involved with all of the Bray

Lions Club events such as the Student of the Year Award, Christmas Food Appeal, Fund raising for

Chernobyl, Meals on Wheels to name but a few. Greenstar has also provided additional practical

support in terms of waste management provision to the charity.

Greenstar has sponsored this charitable event for the last 5 years. Open Door provides care, facilities

and activities for people with physical disabilities in North Wicklow and South County Dublin on a

daily basis.

It is Greenstar's company policy to reinvest back into the communities in which it works. In

demonstration of this, Greenstar has established Community Development Funds in Meath, Kildare

and Wicklow in the areas where our landfills are located. Greenstar invest a percentage of the landfill

profits back into the local community for specific projects and activities such as youth projects,

sporting facilities, educational programmes, environmental enhancement and the preservation of listed

or historic buildings. For example, approximately €250k of community development funds were

allocated to various community organisations located near our landfill facility at Knockharley, Co.

Meath such as Balrath Woods preservation, Churchfields Residents Association, Kentstown &

Seneschalstown Accordian Band and Seneschalstown GFC. A further €500,000 has been contributed

to the fund by Greenstar for which applications are under consideration.

This organisations works in partnership with An Taisce and local residents to organise clean ups of

the Wicklow coastline. Greenstar provide practical waste management support in the form of free skip

collections and provided over ten skips to this organisation in 2007.

These organisations works in partnership with An Taisce and local residents to organise clean ups of

the Wicklow coastline. Greenstar provide practical waste management support in the form of free skip

collections and provided many skips to these organisations in 2007

Greenstar work in partnership with Bray Lions Club, Local Schools and Bray Town Council to

undertake community clean ups on a regular basis. Once again, Greenstar provide free skips to assist

in the clean ups. To date, between 2 – 5 tonnes of litter have been collected in the Bray area alone.

Greenstar provide support to local residents associations in the Wicklow area and assist in clean-ups

of the area through the provision of free skips, wheelie bins and bags. Some examples of this are as

follows:

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Ardmore Residents Association in Bray, Co. Wicklow – Greenstar provided refuse bags,

recycling bags and skips provided free of charge to the residents association to assist with

their annual clean up.

Hollybrook Park Residents Association, Bray, Co. Wicklow - Refuse bags, recycling bags

and skip provided free of charge for annual clean up of estate.

Applewood Residents Association, Greystones - This is quite a large estate in Greystones for

which Greenstar provided refuse bags, recycling bags and skips for their clean up free of

charge.

Newcastle Residents Association - Refuse bags, Recycling bags and skip provided free of

charge

Woodstock Road Residents Association, Newtownmountkennedy - Skips provided by

Greenstar for Community Clean up free of charge

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§

For the purpose of utilising the biogas produced by KTK Landfill, Greenstar and G.A.S. a German

based landfill company have formed a joint venture company known as “Greenstar Gas Energy Ltd”.

When fully commissioned KTK will generate 3.75 MW of green electricity from biogas. A supply

arrangement for the off take of this power is in place with Airtricity. The ESB has issued a

connection agreement to the National Grid. Both electricity generation and supply licences from the

Commission for Energy Regulation (CER) have been issued. All necessary legal instruments are now

in place for this valuable green energy project. G.A.S. as a shareholder in the joint venture company

has entered into a Design, Build, Operate and Maintain contract to carry out this function over the

next decade. Greenstar will follow this model in developing landfill gas to energy projects for other

Greenstar landfills and other County Council owned sites.

§ Adopted from Greenstar Online 2011