Offaly business among winners at Irish Business Design Challenge

AN Offaly business was named as 2023 winners of the Small Category at the Irish Business Design Challenge last week.

The Factory is a second-generation family run business specialising in the supply of sustainable printing and print products using recycled and sustainable paper, plant-based inks and plastics-free packaging and the reuse of rainwater in its production processes. The Factory has care for the environment and sustainability at the heart of its ethos and the products and services it supplies. It is expanding its services to graphic design and web development.

The winners of Design & Crafts Council Ireland’s Irish Business Design Challenge 2023 (IBDC) were announced at an awards ceremony in Tangent, Trinity College Dublin by Neale Richmond TD, Minister of State at the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment with special responsibility for Employment Affairs and Retail Business; and at the Department of Social Protection. The three category winners, micro, small and medium, each receive a prize of €15,000. Three runners-up prizes of €2,000 each were also awarded, and two entries were highly commendedby judges.

107 businesses entered this year’s Challenge, 44 of whom were shortlisted and invited to the awards ceremony. The Irish Business Design Challenge is focused on raising awareness of the importance of incorporating design and sustainability into business strategy, and the benefits it brings to those businesses and the wider Irish economy and society.

Now in its third year, the Irish Business Design Challenge from Design & Crafts Council Ireland supports companies applying design thinking to future-proof their business and support customer needs. This year’s challenge focused on companies that have used design thinking in their business by making them more sustainable and efficient.

Senator Pippa Hackett, Minister of State for Land Use and Biodiversity, said “I send my heartiest congratulations to The Factory team on winning their category in the Irish Business Design Challenge 2023. With a total of 107 entries, this is no small feat, but it is no surprise that their enterprise outshone the competition. I encourage all small businesses with an interest in sustainability to check out The Factory’s new Eco School courses. They are sharing their experience with other businesses to help them on their journey – and there couldn’t be a nicer setting or more encouraging bunch of people to learn from. I hope this award, and financial boost, provides extra encouragement to them to keep progressing along the sustainability path and communicate the many benefits as they go.”

The awards were presented by Neale Richmond TD, Minister of State at the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment. Speaking at the awards, Minister Richmond said; “Programmes such as the Irish Business Design Challenge shine a light on the innate creativity and innovation of Irish MSMEs. The last few years have taught businesses to be flexible and adapt quickly, which has been proven through this year’s Irish Business Design Challenge winners. I would like to take this opportunity to thank DCCI for their commitment to championing Irish design and the entrants for proving that smaller businesses can do big things when given the platform.”

Suzy O’Keefe, Head of Digital & Communications at Design & Crafts Council Ireland said: “Each of these companies highlighted a deep understanding of how design thinking can be used to increase a business’s efficiency and the impact this can have on an economic and environmental level. It is incredible to see the ingenuity and innovation behind some of Ireland’s MSMEs and it makes us very hopeful for the future of both Irish businesses and Irish design.”

Tom Watts, Head of Design at Design & Crafts Council Ireland said: “It is an honour to be able to recognise these companies for the amazing work they have done to transform their businesses into such models of sustainable and circular design. The outcome of this challenge is that six companies have been funded in furthering their commitment to these principles, raising the bar and creating a new benchmark. Support like this will encourage these companies to consider themselves as thought leaders and design thinkers, and that is a great thing to be a part of.”

The awards presented were designed by previous Irish Business Design Challenge winners, Notions Creative, with sustainable and circular principles in mind. The awards were created from waste materials which they already had in their workshop - an effective reuse of by-products from manufacturing which were otherwise destined for landfill.

As a testament to the positive impact that the Irish Business Design Challenge is having in driving the design and sustainability agenda across the business community in Ireland, all 44 shortlisted entrants have also been invited to apply to participate in the Circuléire Accelerator Programme.

Commenting, IBDC judge and Circular Lead at the National College of Art and Design, Gwen Cunningham said: “Business as usual, is not an option anymore. This year’s Irish Business Design Challenge celebrates SME's that have recognised this reality, and are demonstrating what it means to do things differently. How do we serve and satisfy people’s needs and wants - such as nutrition, mobility, housing, and basic goods - within planetary boundaries? This is the greatest design challenge of our time.

It's been really heartening to see the calibre of circular design innovation. This year's IBDC winners and runners-up demonstrate how circular business makes common sense - allowing us to decouple economic growth from material use, improve competitiveness and resilience, accelerate innovation and create jobs - all whilst fighting the climate and biodiversity crises.”

The Irish Business Design Challenge was open to micro, small and medium Irish businesses offering a prize fund of over €50,000. The judging panel, comprising of Elaine Butler, Circular Design Institute; Gwen Cunningham, Circular Lead, National College of Art and Design; Jamie Maguire, owner and founder of Notions Creative, along with Edwin Jebb, Creative Director at Notions Creative; and Sophie Reynolds, Circular Economy Policy and Innovation Lead, Irish Manufacturing Research, evaluated each entry based on the criteria of sustainability through design in an effort to future proof the business. Previous winners of the IBDC Challenge include GRÁ Chocolates, Bó Steel, Aqueduct, Notions Creative and Benson Clothing.

For further information on the Irish Business Design Challenge, visit www.dcci.ie/ibdc-2023.