Sustainability Framework Tender 2022-2023

Tender description

ICOS Skillnet, a national network of co-operatives that represent many sectors of the Irish economy and agribusinesses, aims to provide and facilitate up-skilling and enhancing the skills of their staff and management through innovative customised and structured training & development programmes. The network consists of mainly dairy/multi purpose co-operatives and livestock marketing co-operatives. Skillnet is an enterprise-led support body set up to manage enterprise training and workplace learning. ICOS Skillnet is co-funded by Skillnet Ireland and member companies. Skillnet Ireland is funded from the National Training Fund through the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science. The network seeks to develop a two-tiered Sustainability Framework and a virtual Bioeconomy Resource Centre database that will host content and become a one-stop repository of sustainability skills for the co-operative and farming sectors across Ireland. The aim is to develop a sustainability framework focused on three pillars, namely Environmental Sustainability, Business Sustainability and Social Sustainability. The first pillar will focus on areas such as climate change, the second on practical elements to reduce business costs through efficiencies and increasing profit margins and the last pillar will focus on understanding consumer demands and trends and rejuvenating rural economies. The idea would be to create a sustainability database where people can go to find out information on sustainability in one place. The target audience can be by sector within agriculture, such as co-operatives, farmers, food companies etc., thus targeting the broader agricultural sector.