Raidió Teilifís Éireann scoops top national recycling award at 2017 Pakman Awards

RTÉ was this evening named the winner of the 2017 Pakman Award, sponsored by Repak, at the third annual Pakman Awards. The awards ceremony, which took place at the InterContinental Dublin Hotel, saw 400 representatives from leading businesses, organisations and community groups come together to recognise excellence in recycling, energy and waste management. 

Leading the congratulations was Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment Mr. Denis Naughten: “I am delighted to be here tonight to acknowledge the excellence in environmental and sustainability efforts from such a variety of companies and industries, with a particular congratulations to the overall winner, RTÉ.

The Pakman Awards is an excellent initiative and seeing the development and success of the event year on year brings great hope and optimism for the future of recycling in Ireland. I strongly commend Repak for continuing to recognise and reward this success”.

The Pakman Awards seek to recognise complete excellence in the environmental approach taken by a business, organisation or community group in all aspects of their operations. The Pakman judging panel was looking for measurable impacts across all elements of the waste hierarchy. Reuse, reduction, recycling and waste minimisation alongside environmental management of food, water, energy and biodiversity and Raidió Teilifís Éireann demonstrated these and has shown continuous improvement since the Pakman Awards began.

The entry from Raidió Teilifís Éireann was exceptional in terms of presentation, measurable impacts and overall buy-in from stakeholders. The company has shown great leadership and advocacy of environmental sustainability. RTÉ delivers excellent waste management and recycling, not only because it makes good business sense but also because it is the right thing to do.  

Commenting on the work done by RTÉ was Séamus Clancy, CEO of Repak: “The award for RTE is in acknowledgement of the excellence in recycling initiatives demonstrated by the institution at large. The company contributes to community and society with a corporate and social responsibility program that is exemplary. They are setting the standards for others to follow.

As the Pakman Awards continues to grow, we are delighted to see entries increase year on year with the highest number ever received in this our twentieth year in business. Repak is hugely proud of its achievements to date and we look forward to continued success long into the future”.

Among the other winners were Ireland’s Children’s Hospice LauraLynn which campaigned for people to recycle batteries by showing them that in doing so, they are truly making a difference to the hospice. 

Waste Collection Operator of the Year, Thorntons Recycling, continues to actively exceed customers’ expectations through investment in technology, services and innovation. In 2016 the company promoted its ‘One Stop Shop’ for commercial clients, boosting recycling rates and streamlining waste management operations.

The green journey taken by passenger transport company Matthews.ie has resulted in a 26% reduction in fuel usage, and a €50,000 annual saving in diesel costs. They were the first passenger transport company in Ireland and the UK (and only the second in the world) to achieve the coveted ISO 50001 certificated energy management standard. Matthews.ie have trained their drivers in a more eco-friendly and less stressful driving style, with has seen them reduce their greenhouse gas (GHG) and carbon dioxide emissions by 20%.