Ali Sheridan is the sustainable development manager for Origin Green, a Bord Bia programme which encourages Irish farmers and producers to produce food in a carbon-efficient manner. Ali is part of a team that creates sustainable plans for more than 500 companies that are part of the programme.

She has had an interest in the environment from a young age and decided to study a level eight science degree in environmental management in DIT. From there, she went to work with the Green Schools NGO.

After deciding she wanted to move into industry, Ali completed a masters degree in management for sustainability development in DCU.

“In 2012, I got involved with Origin Green when they rolled out the Bord Bia Ambassador two-year programme which ran in conjunction with the UCD Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School. The programme had three placements in different industries around the world and I worked with Texaco and Subway in the UK as well as the Sustainable Agricultural Initiative Platform in the Netherlands,” Ali said.

“What I learned from these places has been invaluable to my career,” she added.

Ali’s day varies greatly. You might find her walking the factory floors with a client or delivering workshops to companies.

“There’s lots of travel within Ireland and we would also travel to relevant conferences to upskill or promote the good work Origin Green does,” said Ali.

Ali advises those who would like a career within sustainability in the food sector to “find a core skill and build sustainability into it because the whole area is so broad. Decide early on whether you would like to specialise in water, energy or even management, and work from there.”

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Special focus: agri careers