Fiacre O’Donnell: Guided Tour of Encirc Bottle Manufacturing, Eniskillen

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In the glass industry we think of glass in 3 areas. Best for health, taste and environment. Whilst the first 2 ‘bests’ are without contention, glass being an inert product doesn’t release anything into the product or react to anything from the product, thus preserving the taste of the product and the health aspect of the consumer, the environment section is a challenge. Although 100% recyclable, glass does have to focus on emissions from the fuels we use in furnaces, the emissions from raw materials and the transportation challenges of moving a product heavier than all its rival packaging products. Vidrala Group are tackling these projects head on and with the recent acceptance of the SBTi 1.5o are making a public statement of intent on the environment.

Biography

Fiacre O’Donnell is Sustainability Director at Encirc Bottle Manufacturing, Northern Ireland.

Fiacre joined Encirc 1998. Having held various roles in planning, sales, marketing and sustainability, he was appointed Sustainability Director of Encirc’s Spanish based parent company, Vidrala in 2020.

An MBA graduate from the Ulster Business school and an alumni of the Timoney Institute, he is a former winner of the Drink Business ‘Green personality of the year’ for the work undertaken to decarbonise the UK beverage industry. He is a member of the BITC NI environmental leadership team and BITC climate champions team, and is a member of the NI CoC Infrastructure committee and Council.