Free Sustainability Training Programme to run for six months in South and West Cork

A free Sustainability Training Programme which will run from April until November 2021 for Food Businesses across South and West Cork was recently launched.

The programme which has limited spaces has been developed with small, micro and artisan food and beverage producers in mind. It aims to educate and enlighten these businesses in various areas where they may be experiencing challenges regarding sustainability.

The SECAD Sustainable Food Training Programme has been designed and developed by SECAD Partnership CLG in conjunction with delivery partners The Clean Technology Centre (MTU), SustHub and Change by Degrees.

Developed with food producers in mind, this training programme seeks to assist food producers in rural areas to understand and commit to more sustainable business practices.

Having identified the following challenges faced by food and beverage producers in relation to sustainability: sustainable sourcing and supply chain practices, packaging, energy, water and waste, carbon emissions, renewable energy and climate change, training modules will be offered to owners and their key staff members to equip them to address these challenges. The programme will be run over SECAD’s two operational areas in South and West Cork.

This programme will run from April 2021 to November 2021 with a break across July and August. Attendees will take part in the following: 10 x 3-hour training modules all delivered online, site visits to businesses considered to be pursuing best practice in the area of sustainability and/or resource efficiency which is subject to Covid-19 government restrictions. They will also receive one-to-one training relevant to their business needs and networking opportunities with food businesses.

The modules covered in the training programme will include topics such as sustainability, resource efficiency, climate change, communication, packaging, storage, transport and distribution, as well as managing food waste.

Companies that wish to participate in this training programme must satisfy the following criteria. They have to be based within SECAD’s operational area, be registered as a food producer, be trading for a period of no less than six months, and commit to a company representative attending each of the ten modules.

People are encouraged to visit secad.ie/food to register their place before Monday, April 5. The closing date to sign up for this free course is Monday, April 5 with training starting on Wednesday, April 14 for South Cork and Friday, April 16 for West Cork.