SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS
one of the first facilities at DIT’s Grangegorman Campus, and DIT is working on the establishment of an Energy Product Innovation Centre on behalf of Te Green Way and in col- laboration with University of Houston, Texas. Boyle says the initiative’s ultimate goal is the creation of jobs
and business opportunities for companies. “It’s about jobs, it’s about development and it’s about creating an economic zone centred on green tech,” he adds. In 2010, Enterprise Ireland reported there were 240 clean-
tech companies operating in Ireland, with 5,900 jobs. DAA’s plan to regenerate the airport central area as a hub for clean- tech foreign direct investment could increase this number quite significantly. Te authority hopes that the launch of Terminal 2 will help
Te Green Way to connect with other emerging clean-tech centres in Europe, China, India and the US. An international clean-tech services centre at the airport is
proposed to provide space for large multinational clean-tech innovators, as well as export-led indigenous firms. Te initiative will expose companies to venture capitalists,
who continue to recognise clean-tech as an important invest- ment area, according to Boyle. Indeed, clean-tech stood third in the list of sectors that received most venture capital in the US last year. “Tose firms struggling to find financing will be helped to
bring their ideas to fruition through their association with us,” says Boyle. “We’re now members of a global clean-tech cluster association, which includes some of the key investors in these clean-tech businesses.”
GREEN EGG IS BORN
Rob Merriman, co-founder and business development man- ager, GreenEgg Technologies, says Te Green Way holds a lot of potential for firms like his. GreenEgg is the first new start-up firm to launch from the
alliance. Te company is working on a number of products, with its first, the EcoBike, used to demonstrate the concepts of energy efficiency and green living. By pedalling, users of the EcoBike can power various elec-
trical appliances, and the more energy the appliance uses the harder it is to pedal. Te company developed the product for Global Action Plan (GAP), an international environmental organisation, which wants to use the bike to demonstrate energy efficiency to schools and businesses. GreenEgg is now working with GAP on another project based around water conservation, and hopes to move into the clean-tech area with a range of products for the sector. Merriman says one of the main advantages of the firm’s ass-
ociation with Te Green Way so far has been the contacts it has made through it. “It’s at an early stage but it’s opened up a network to us. For
a new business like us, we have an association with many large organisations.” As a green- and clean-tech company, GreenEgg Technolo-
gies is certainly compatible with the focus of Te Green Way, and the firm sees its relationship with the latter as a long-term one. “Any sort of assistance is greatly welcomed. Tis is only the beginning of Te Green Way; the more businesses that get involved in it, the bigger the network and the stronger it will become.” Merriman also expects much of the business to be export- focused in future years, a plan that will be ably assisted by the
‘ANY EARLY-STAGE BUSINESS REALLY NEEDS GUIDANCE AND DIRECTION, WHICH THE GREEN WAY OFFERS. IN MANY WAYS IT WILL PUT US ON A FIRMER PATH’
clean-tech hub at Terminal 2. “Any early-stage business really needs guidance and direc-
tion, which Te Green Way offers. In many ways it will put us on a firmer path,” he says. Sheena McCambley, senior planner and head of social and
environmental regeneration at BRL, says the collaborative approach that is premised in Te Green Way will make for a successful clean-tech industry in Ireland. “Collaboration and collaborative approach is the way
forward for innovation in the future. It’s a very powerful alliance to have third-level institutions, local authorities, an active community such as Ballymun, which is ripe for eco- nomic development, the airport and businesses work together. Tere will be opportunities along Te Green Way for foreign direct investment and locally grown enterprises,” she says. McCambley says participation in Te Green Way was a
natural progression for the Ballymun area, which has focused on the environment for a number of years. She says the BRL’s involvement in the process springs from a desire to upskill local people and to bring business into the area. Boyle agrees with this. “Tis is about transformation; it’s about
rebuilding our economy,” he says. “It was difficult to convince the principals that it was a priority, but they saw the opportu- nity and have carved money out of their budget. Hopefully it’ll pay back handsomely.”
VOL 4 ISSUE 1 2011 OWNER MANAGER 37 The EcoBike
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