Green business leaders to sign open letter to government

Green for Growth, a coalition of leading Irish businesses set up to demand strong government leadership on green procurement, will be launched tomorrow, Friday 14 May 2010 in The Annesley Suite, Alexander Hotel, Merrion Square, Dublin 2 at 12pm. The coalition has been organised by Construct Ireland magazine.

The coalition aims to apply pressure on the government to ensure that the Department of the Environment produces robust, ambitious green public procurement guidelines at the National Conference on Green Public Procurement on 21 May, which coincides with the public consultation on green public procurement guidelines.

The total annual state procurement spend is some €17bn, only a fraction of which is currently being spent on green goods and services. There is now a golden opportunity to move the market to develop greener goods and leading expertise in green services in Ireland. A robust green public procurement policy is fundamental to developing new products and skills and generating new jobs for Ireland’s economic growth.

An open letter to the government will be signed by those in attendance at tomorrow's press conference. The event will be attended by the managing directors, chairpersons and CEOs of Siemens Ireland, Kingspan Renewables, Ecocem Ireland, Pierse Group, Glen Dimplex, Greenstar, SSE Renewables (parent company to Airtricity), Gypsum Industries and Isover Ireland. Other signatories of the letter include Bord Gais, Arup, Durkan Homes, Wavebob and the President of the Royal Institute of Architects of Ireland.

Members of the media are invited to attend the launch. Photograph and interview opportunities will be provided.  A media release will be issued following the launch. For further information, contact Construct Ireland at 01 2107513 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..