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Applications close today for this year’s Design & Crafts Council Ireland (DCCI) Irish Business Design Challenge (IBDC). DCCI is calling on micro, small and medium sized businesses to apply and showcase how their commitment to sustainability through innovative design, and circular and ethical practices works in real life businesses.
Now in its fourth year, IBDC celebrates businesses that add value, repurpose products, develop eco-friendly processes, enhance efficiency, and tackle societal and environmental challenges through sustainable design.
This year’s challenge has a prize fund of over €50,000 and businesses have until the end of today to apply.
DCCI is calling on businesses who have identifited pressing challenges or opportunities and have devised sustainable solutions, or utilisied eco-friendly design strategies to breathe new life into products or services, or have revolutionised their business models to benefit both the environment and society, to enter this year’s IBDC.
Commenting on the Irish Business Design Challenge, Mr. Peter Burke TD, Minister of State at the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, said, “DCCI’s Irish Business Design Challenge showcases the important role that design plays in our economy and society. Businesses with creative and design led solutions at their heart are the key to making Irish business more sustainable to help reduce any negative impact on the environment. I would encourage all creative talent to apply and help champion design and design thinking across Ireland.”
Adding to this, Rosemary Steen, CEO of Design & Crafts Council Ireland commented, “This is the fourth year of the Irish Business Design Challenge. It has been hugely inspiring to meet with the businesses that have emerged through this programme and to create a national platform for their endeavours.
“They are led by people of vision, creativity and commitment who are pioneering the principles of sustainability and circularity that are essential to the progress and growth of Ireland. We are encouraging any medium, small and micro businesses to apply for the awards to help add more value to your business and to be recognised for the hard work you are already doing in the sustainable space.”
Head of Design at Design & Crafts Council Ireland, Tom Watts, said, “There are many principles of sustainable design that Irish business is practicing from enhancing environmental quality to minimising energy consumption, enhancing indoor and outdoor environments to reducing waste generation and prioritising environmentally preferable materials. With IBDC we want to shine a light and support these businesses in their practices and showcase them as examples to other Irish businesses on the best ways to maximise sustainable design and design thinking.”
Businesses can enter this year’s IBDC (https://www.dcci.ie/ibdc) and entries to the IBDC are judged across three categories, with a winner chosen in each category: micro, small and medium. This programme provides expert guidance to companies who wish to further their sustainable and circular design principles as part of their business model.
Previous winners of the IBDC Challenge include West Country Willows, The Factory and Farrell Furniture.
For further information on the Irish Business Design Challenge, visit https://www.dcci.ie/ibdc
Photograph: Leon Farrell / Photocall Ireland
