Ms Rowena Dwyer:

Our strategy to support enterprises in the Enterprise Ireland client company base comes under three pillars - market diversification, innovation and competitiveness. Competitiveness and innovation are the areas where the environmental supports for companies are most relevant. As has been mentioned, there is the ETS for larger companies. For smaller companies, in particular, we have a significant number of competitiveness supports under the Lean programme. The programme aims to make companies aware of the dividend available by improving their resource efficiency. That will increase their competitiveness and, in many cases these days, their access to the customer base. We know that consumer demand is driving behavioural change in companies. Our competitiveness supports for companies in this area range from straightforward guide books on resource efficiency for smaller companies - many of our client companies are quite small - through to funding feasibility projects to examine improving production design to make it more environmentally sustainable.

On the innovation side, there are a number of initiatives co-funded by us and IDA Ireland and in close co-operation with SFI. Our technology centres, for example, are industry-led, collaborative research entities that look at where industries together can achieve a competitive advantage through research. In a number of the technology centres there is a strong focus on energy efficiency and improving environmental outcomes. A good example is the dairy processing technology centre based in the University of Limerick, in which all of the major dairy players are involved. As well as looking at their cost competitiveness, one of the pillars is energy efficiency and environmental research.