Transformative change through social entrepreneurship and circular economy initiatives.
TU Dublin’s ConnectED Business Seminar Series is hosting an in-person event for our students, faculty, and the public at 6pm on Tuesday 8th November. This event is hosted in collaboration with SDG Literacy, a community of practice around sustainability education, as part of the ConnectED Planet Series, a range of expert sustainability seminars throughout the year. We are delighted to welcome Neil McCabe a social entrepreneur with a focus on circularity and community. Neil’s work has taken him to The White House to speak to Barack Obama about ‘Going Green For Social Good’ as well as being awarded the prestigious Ashoka Fellowship.
Neil McCabe, a fire-fighter at Kilbarrack Fire Station, has shown how one person can make a positive difference in the fight against climate change. His sustainability journey started with an effort to boost morale at his fire station. Neil introduced energy-saving initiatives to give the crew a sense of purpose and community. Following that, he and his colleagues started some crowdfunding to invest in thermo-dynamic solar collectors for the station. The station saved €45,000 in energy bills in one year. The idea spread across the fire stations resulting in Dublin Fire Brigade cutting its energy usage.
These projects began Neil’s education around climate change. Next, he started to focus on water quality, plastic waste, and water pollution as part of what’s now the GreenPlan initiative. The Greenplan has successfully released three products to the marketplace, to date. Neil has achieved 25 successful environmental start-up companies including sustainable forestry with Grown Forest and sustainable manufacturing with Grown Clothing offering consumers and corporations alternative products. He has delivered talks at Stanford University, Washington State University and advised on climate policy to both the Irish and UK government as well as the EU. Neil will be introduced by Alacoque McAlpine, a lecturer at Faculty of Business, TU Dublin. His talk will focus on the journey he has taken including the oblique approach to different sustainable businesses which he has set up along the way.
Location: In-person at TU Dublin’s Grangegorman campus, East Quad Building, Room EQ002