The programme, which is celebrating its 10th year, includes a fully funded masters at UCD Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School, a bursary and a guaranteed work placement through Bord Bia’s domestic and global network.

The closing date for applications is 10 May 2023 and the programme commences in September 2023.

Industry-leading sustainability talent

The Origin Green ambassador programme runs in partnership with the UCD Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School and is intended for graduates with four or five years of professional experience.

Origin Green is the world's first sustainability programme for Ireland’s food and drink sector.

Origin Green enables Ireland's food industry to set and achieve measurable sustainability targets, establishing a baseline for continuous improvement.

The Origin Green ambassador programme is unique, in that it brings education, global food and drink brands and entrepreneurial sustainability professionals together in a collaborative environment to learn and grow.

The programme is led by some of the world’s best food industry educators from business schools including Harvard, IMD, NYU Stern and UCD Smurfit School.

Designed to improve participants' expertise in business sustainability, the 22-month programme grants students fundamental expertise in the area of business sustainability.

It allows participants to gain in-depth knowledge of the emerging issues and the key skills necessary to integrate them so that a genuine, realistic and practical sustainability agenda can be created within the organisation.

In-depth industry experience

Ambassadors will gain hands-on experience within some of the world’s leading food and drink organisations.

The programme focuses on building the business case for sustainability and ambassadors will get the opportunity to network with a wide range of stakeholders, industry leaders and sustainability experts, so they can effectively understand how to position and adequately respond to the sustainability agenda.

Previous Origin Green ambassadors have partnered with global brands in Europe, North America and Asia, including Abbott Nutrition, Coca-Cola, Subway, Fair Oaks Farms, WWF, McDonalds, Nestlé, Pepsico, Starbucks, Unilever, the World Bank and Mars.

Employment prospects are outstanding, with numerous companies regularly recruiting directly, including Kerry, Glanbia, Ornua, Dawn Meats, Dairygold, Kepak, Lidl, Google Food, Bunge, Diageo, Alibaba and Sainsbury’s among many more.

Speaking about the programme, Bord Bia organisation and industry talent director Michael Murphy said: “The opportunities for our ambassadors through this programme are immense.

"Successful participants will get the opportunity to work with some of the world’s leading food and drink businesses. Last year, Ireland’s food, drink and horticulture sector had an export value of €16.7bn and is one of our most important and vibrant export industries.”

Origin Green ambassador experience

Speaking about his experience of the Origin Green ambassador programme, current ambassador Marcus Shortall said: “Having spent the previous seven years working as an accredited performance nutritionist with Irish Rugby, I applied for the Origin green ambassador programme with the intention of advancing my career prospects in the food industry.

"What stood out about the programme, for me, was that the programme included both a taught element, delivered by experts from many of the world’s best universities, and placements, where the knowledge and insights gained from the modules could be put to use in some of the world’s leading food companies.”

Commenting on the highlights and benefits of the programme, he said: “There have been a number of highlights since joining the programme, but, above all, the most enjoyable aspect has been getting to know the other people on the course.

"What struck me, immediately, when I joined the programme was the diversity of backgrounds and calibre of my fellow classmates.

"As the course has gone on, we have all drawn from our collective expertise and experiences and put these to good use during the company placements.”

Practical company placements are a cornerstone of the Origin Green ambassador programme.

“What I observed in these organisations is that the role of sustainability in the food industry is becoming more pronounced and that this is happening at a very fast pace," added Marcus.

"During my placements, I got to see how the respective sustainability strategies were being designed and implemented and I was able to gain experience in several sustainability topic areas, including sustainable nutrition, plastics and packaging, regenerative agriculture, responsible sourcing and social innovation.”

“On a day-to-day basis, the work has been quite varied. This week, for example, I’m helping to write a guidance document for companies wishing to improve the health and nutrition profile of their products, I attended a webinar on the upcoming EU corporate sustainability reporting directive and I sat in on a number of committee meetings,” he explained.

Speaking about the overall experience and impact of the programme, he said: “Taken together, the Origin Green ambassador programme is a unique opportunity to fast track your sustainability skills for work in a food industry that needs the expertise and input if they are going to meet their climate and environmental targets.

"I would certainly recommend it to anyone wishing to change career or to move into the area of sustainability.”

A decade of Origin Green

Origin Green, Ireland’s food and drink sustainability programme, has supported a decade of progress in the Irish food and drink industry’s journey to a more sustainable future.

By providing a national framework for farmers and processors to embed sustainability into their ways of working, it has brought something entirely new to the food industry landscape, in Ireland and elsewhere.

Since its launch by Bord Bia in 2012, Origin Green has become a pioneering national sustainability programme, covering the entire supply chain from farm to fork and has remained as the world’s only national food and drink sustainability programme, enabling the industry to set and achieve measurable sustainability targets that respect the environment and serve local communities more effectively.

Origin Green currently collaborates with more than 55,000 farmers and 300 company members across Ireland and represents 90% of Ireland’s food and drink exports.

Over the last 10 years, the Origin Green programme has demonstrated leadership in food sustainability, providing the food and drink sector in Ireland with the knowledge and guidance to embed sustainability into their businesses, helping to bring a competitive advantage to the Irish food and drink industry and forging a reputation for innovative leadership internationally.

Programme applications and requirements

Applications for the Origin Green ambassador programme are now open and can be made by clicking here.

The closing date for applications is 10 May 2023 and the programme commences in September 2023.

The Origin Green ambassador programme is designed for individuals who come from a broad range of specialist areas and who want to develop their expertise in business sustainability in the global food and drink industry.

This full-time, highly intensive programme will challenge participants to learn and develop leadership and management competencies. Applicants should have four or five years’ work experience and can demonstrate an ability to manage academic requirements along with the flexibility to relocate internationally and a passion for pursuing a career in the food, drink and horticulture industry.

In particular, the programme is suitable for:

  • High achievers with the potential to be effective industry leaders.
  • Candidates with a genuine interest in sustainability and the food/agribusiness sector.
  • Experienced functional or technical specialists in transition to a change to management role.
  • Participants with key technical skills and experience in areas such as food, agricultural, environmental, social responsibility, sustainability, science and energy, among other areas.
  • A strong passion for pursuing a career in the food, drink and horticulture industry.
  • Working-level fluency in English, Italian, French, German, Spanish, Dutch or Chinese.

    • About the Bord Bia talent academy

    The Origin Green ambassador programme is just one of an innovative suite of Bord Bia scholarship talent development programmes run by the Bord Bia talent academy, which also serve to support the growth of the Irish food, drink and horticultural industry on a global scale.

    The Bord Bia talent academy programme is an initiative that hothouses executive talent as a pipeline for the Irish food and drink industry.

    Through corporate and academic partnership, the talent academy is made up of five programmes, which focus on nurturing individuals in areas of sales, marketing, sustainability, consumer insights, innovation, supply chain and procurement.

    The Bord Bia talent academy partners with two of Ireland’s leading business schools, UCD Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School and DCU Business School.