Local business receives Origin Green sustainability programme certification

Tullamore-based Bia Sol was recently awarded the Origin Green status by Bord Bia, a certification which acknowledges improved sustainability practices.

Co-founder of BiaSol, Niamh Dooley, said that she was “delighted to get support” from Bord Bia and that employees approach the business from a “holistic” standpoint.

As part of the process to become certified by Bord Bia the Tullamore-based food business was audited and had to meet certain targets in terms of waste, energy, packaging, biodiversity and health and wellness. Farmers who are certified members of the Bord Bia Quality Assurance programme and who participate in farm sustainability assessments as part of their audit, are the essential first link in Origin Green. The Bord Bia Quality Assurance schemes are Origin Green operating at farm level.

BiaSol was set up by sustainably-focused sibling entrepreneurs, Niamh Dooley (28) and Ruairi Dooley (31) in July 2020, as a way of combating food wastage, improving nutrition and bringing their family closer together. BiaSol upcycles brewers spent grain, a by-product of craft beer, into functional grains and baking mixes. These products are high in protein and fibre, full of calcium and B-Vitamins, iron, and zinc, and are locally made in Offaly.

Encouraged by the rapid growth of craft brewing across Ireland, they launched BiaSol based around the concept of repurposing brewers’ spent grain, a by-product of the industry that accounts for 85% of all brewing waste and using it to create a range of nutritious zero waste products.

Origin Green is Ireland’s pioneering food and drink sustainability programme, uniting government, the private sector and the full supply chain from farmers to food producers and right through to the food service and retail sectors.