INNOVATION COMMERCIAL PROFILE: GREEN WAY:With $10 billion in green assets managed or serviced, Ireland is keen to secure a leading place in the world of green finance

ACCORDING TO the Expert Group on Future Skills Needs, the cleantech sector in Ireland employs 18,750 people and is worth more than €3 billion to the economy. This employment figure is set to rise to 29,000 by 2015. Ireland is currently ranked ninth in the Global Cleantech Innovation Index 2012, which stated that “Ireland stood out surprisingly well” and “scored in the top 10 for evidence of commercialised cleantech innovation”.

Dublin City Council is playing a major role in the development of the sector and is aiming to develop an internationally recognised green economic zone through participation in a number of initiatives. These include the creation of the Dublin Sustainable Energy Zone, the Green IFSC, and the Green Way cleantech cluster.

Conceived in response to the 2009 Report of the government’s High-Level Action Group on Green Enterprise, the Green Way aims to support the transformation of the Irish economy into a sustainable green economy. Founded by an alliance of businesses, academic institutions and local authorities, including Dublin Institute of Technology (DIT), Ballymun Regeneration, Dublin Airport Authority, Dublin City University (DCU), Fingal County Council, Dublin City Council and North Dublin Chamber of Commerce, its key goals are economic stimulation and employment generation.

When it was set up, the original vision for the Green Way was for it to be located mainly in an “innovation corridor” running from DIT’s proposed new campus at Grangegorman, the DCU campus, the Ballymun area and Dublin Airport. “The vision is to create an internationally recognised green economic zone where innovation in various aspects of the green economy will be promoted by the partners,” says Green Way chief executive Tony Boyle.

The main reason for the geographic focus is to bring as much cleantech activity together in close proximity so that a genuine cluster develops. “Much of the activity already exists in the area and the country; the aim is to activate it into a cluster. We want to give indigenous cleantech companies access to the things they need to be successful – things like research and development and testing facilities that exist in DIT and DCU, and access to customers and international relationships. This international dimension is what the recent agreement with the Environmental Business Cluster in San Jose is all about.”

The agreement is aimed at the RD, business development, commercialisation and investment opportunities for Irish and San Jose companies looking to access the US and EU cleantech markets.

“This agreement is a concrete example of our mission to create jobs and international trade opportunities for Dublin cleantech companies, as well as attracting the next generation of cleantech companies from the Valley into Ireland,” says Boyle. “The Environmental Business Cluster, alongside its sister Biocenter facility, is responsible for the largest and most successful private incubator programme for cleantech companies in the US. This bilateral agreement will offer Irish cleantech companies access to this ecosystem, and enhance Ireland’s standing internationally in this rapidly growing industry.”

He sees the agreement as very much a two-way street. “It will offer Irish firms access to the US cleantech market and it will also offer significant technology transfer opportunities with companies from San Jose either setting up here or establishing joint ventures with Irish firms. Irish companies will also be able to set up over there.”

Another significant milestone for the sector in Ireland was the recent confirmation that DIT is to take over the former Enterprise Ireland headquarters in Glasnevin. “DIT is going to create a cleantech innovation campus there and it will also be the headquarters for the Green Way. This is a major boost for the development of the cluster.”

The Green IFSC is an initiative aimed at developing and implementing a cohesive strategy to position Ireland as a world-class centre and supportive culture for the burgeoning green finance industry. Ireland already has a deep well of experience and expertise in related financial sectors, and the Green IFSC aims to combine these existing strengths with the wider expertise in Irish industry and education in renewables, research and green enterprise.

“We believe that Ireland can become a global centre for green finance,” says Angela Madden of the Irish Funds Industry Association (IFIA). “There are five principal reasons for this. Firstly, we have the entrepreneurs and the companies in the green sector. Secondly, the IFSC has been here for 25 years and now has more than €2 trillion in funds under administration, and it is the number one location in the world for alternative funds.

“The sector requires talented people and the Green IFSC is specifically focused on developing new educational programmes in green business and finance. Added to that, we have a very attractive business environment, tax certainty and a supportive government. Finally, we have the natural resources to support the green sector generally – we are blessed with some of the best wind, wave and tidal resources in the world.”

“Ireland is now being recognised as a global leader in the sphere,” says Madden. “Indeed, research conducted by PwC and KPMG indicates that green assets under management in Ireland have doubled in the past year and tripled in the past four years. As a result, Ireland now manages or services more than $10 billion in green assets.”

The most recent initiative by the Green IFSC was the launch of the Global Green Asset Management Network at last week’s Ireland Day Summit in the New York Stock Exchange.

The network aims to accelerate the growth of Ireland’s green asset management cluster by developing a forum for market practitioners in the industry through which a consensus on regulatory, legislative and educational needs can be addressed through engagement with government, state bodies and other industry groups both nationally and internationally.

“Irish green asset management and green enterprise firms are active all over the globe, and with $10 billion in green assets managed or serviced, Ireland is already emerging as a world leader in green finance. The establishment of this network can only serve to accelerate the continued growth and copper-fasten Ireland’s growing reputation in this sector,” commented Taoiseach Enda Kenny at the launch.

“Initiatives like the Green IFSC and the Green Way are mutually complementary and fit right into the vision of Dublin as a sustainable city,” says Boyle. “The ultimate goals are jobs and economic development. and I believe we are making real progress in that regard.”