Latest news with #FRSCo-op
RTÉ News
09-05-2025
- Business
- RTÉ News
Herdwatch opens global headquarters in Roscrea
The new state-of-the-art global headquarters of Irish agritech company Herdwatch has officially opened today. The livestock management software platform is used on over 20,000 farms and ranches around the world. The company has teams across Ireland, the UK, Canada, and Ukraine. The new HQ is in the heart of Roscrea, Co Tipperary, where the company was founded in 2012 by Fabien Peyaud and the FRS Co-op. The 4,000 sq ftspace is located within the new multi-million Roscrea Enterprise and Community Hub , and is focused on innovation, featuring collaborative spaces designed to support software development and customer success. Herdwatch now employs almost 100 people with almost half of these roles based in Roscrea, and recently expanded with a second office close to Harper Adams University in Shropshire, an agricultural university. Herdwatch has been digitalising farms and ranches, enabling smarter, more efficient operations by simplifying record-keeping, compliance, and productivity, empowering farmers to track livestock, manage breeding, and optimise herd health. The new office was officially opened Minister for Enterprise Peter Burke who praised Herdwatch's impressive growth and its commitment to digital innovation within the agricultural sector. "The Herdwatch innovation is critical to the future of the agriculture sector, as it can help reduce costs on farm enterprises, create efficiencies, support decision making, all the while improving outcomes in a sustainable manner. Herdwatch is also a key local employer that is committed to Roscrea community, and I would like to congratulate Fabien and all the Herdwatch team on their growth and success and wish them luck in this exciting new phase of their journey." Fabien Peyaud, Herdwatch CEO said: "We're incredibly proud of our roots here in Roscrea. What began as a local innovation has grown into a global platform, and we are thrilled to continue our journey from our new home in the heart of the community that first believed in us."
RTÉ News
22-04-2025
- Business
- RTÉ News
FRS Co-Op launches sustainability strategy
Social enterprise co-operative FRS Co-op has launched a new sustainability strategy committing to cut carbon emissions by 20% and landfill waste by half by 2030. In its first Environment, Social Governance (ESG) report, the farmer owned co-operative is also aiming to develop a biodiversity strategy with a focus on agriculture, increase their community engagement and continue to provide support to the farming and wider communities in which they operate. Founded in 1980, the group has expanded over the years and currently employs more than 2,000 people and has an annual turnover of about €100m. Among the specific commitments made by FRS Co-Op are a 20% reduction in Scope 1 and 2 carbon emissions by 2030, working towards a net zero target by 2050 and reducing greenhouse gas emissions from the company's vehicle fleet by 25% by 2030. It is also aiming for a 50% cut in landfill waste by 2030, evolving to a target of zero waste by 2050 and installing solar renewable energy panels in its headquarters and other large offices by 2026. Speaking on RTÉ's Morning Ireland, the Group CEO of FRS Co-Op, Colin Donnery, said its internal team has developed the strategy which he believes can accomplish its goals. "By 2030 we think we will achieve that, obviously the bigger goal is to reach net zero by 2050 which will ultimately depend on outside forces such as technology and so on," he said. "Where we see ourselves making a big difference is through both our own supply chains and onto our customers. We've replaced all our fencing materials with sustainable fencing materials to improve our fencing products," he noted. "We run some of the largest government programmes in biodiversity, we manage the national soil sampling programme and have sampled over 13,000 farms measuring carbon to support farmers, " the CEO said. "We also just started on the National Deer management strategy, which is I suppose, an important biodiversity programme to reduce the impact the increase in deer is having on our biodiversity across the country," he added. The commitment by members to take part in the scheme is voluntary and Mr Donnery said they will support farmers to reach their own targets. He said it has been a challenging couple of years for farmers and they will continue to support them further.
