Dawn Meats, which has operations in ten locations around Ireland, and many more across the UK and Europe, has been recognised with more than 20 stars at the prestigious Great Taste Awards, organised by the Guild of Fine Food. 

As the premium beef and lamb supplier of choice to a wide range of blue-chip food businesses in over 40 countries, Dawn was awarded three of the top ranked 3 Star awards for its:

• West of Ireland 50-Day Dry aged French trimmed bone in Rib, described by the judging panel as “the Sunday joint of our dreams”
• Borders Lamb Shoulder Joint of which the judging panel remarked “the depth of flavour is truly remarkable”
• Caledonia Crown Aberdeen Angus matured marbled Standing Rib described by the judging panel as “simply beef at its best”. 

In 2018 over 500 judges assessed entries from March through to early July. 12,634 products were entered in 2018. 

Commenting on the awards, CEO of Dawn Meats, Niall Browne said, “Well done to our teams across Ireland and the UK who have outdone themselves this year, in their dedication to quality, taste and presentation. This recognition is a great result for the team and their collaboration with our farmer suppliers.” 

Great Taste, organised by the Guild of Fine Food, is the acknowledged benchmark for speciality food and drink. It has been described as the ‘Oscars’ of the food world and the ‘epicurean equivalent of the Booker prize’. 

Dawn Meats CEO Niall Browne along with many of the CEOs of Ireland’s top companies have this week launched The Leaders’ Group on Sustainability which is a business coalition focussed on addressing some of the most urgent sustainability priorities for Ireland.

Business in the Community Ireland (BITCI), the national network for sustainability, has brought together 26 leading Irish companies, representing a workforce of over 90,000 people, to work collaboratively to address social, environmental and economic priorities.

Dawn Meats CEO Niall Browne stated “As a company Dawn Meats has always had sustainability at its core and formal sustainability targets have been in place since we launched our first sustainability plan in 2009.  We believe in the power of collective action and the leadership role that business can and must play in delivering a sustainable future for our employees, suppliers and customers.”  

One of the first actions announced by the Group is the Low Carbon Pledge – the first dedicated public commitment generated by Irish business to lead on the transition to a low carbon economy and reduce Scope 1 & 2 carbon emissions intensity by 50% by 2030.

The CEOs are calling on business leaders to make sustainability a central priority of their leadership and promote a low carbon vision across their operations, products and services to help Ireland achieve its international commitments under the Paris Climate Agreement. 

The companies involved with the Leaders’ Group on Sustainability have all achieved BITCI’s Business Working Responsibly Mark, the NSAI audited standard for CSR and sustainability. 

Tomas Sercovich, CEO of Business in the Community Ireland, said, “The imperative set by the Sustainable Development Goals demonstrates the scale of the challenges we face. Business will play a critical role in the achievement of these goals and this can only be done through collective action. The US$ 12 trillion economic opportunity of the low carbon and inclusive economy needs to be embraced by Irish businesses. We must adopt a long term and beyond 2030 view of our business models. We are delighted to convene this unique platform for change in corporate Ireland and we will seek to influence the business community as well as policy in key areas”.

Mr Browne added “For many years Dawn Meats has worked collaboratively with Origin Green, Bord Bia, Teagasc, our customers and other stakeholders to deliver sustainability improvements within our sector, but what is really powerful about this coalition is the cross sectoral nature of the group, which will encourage all companies to make even greater progress.”  

In addition to addressing the transformation to a low carbon economy, The Leaders’ Group on Sustainability is also working together to remove barriers to social inclusion in Ireland by examining how Irish businesses can improve their processes and culture to train, attract and retain marginalised and vulnerable people. The Group has also identified the need for businesses to adapt to emerging work practices that will transform Irish industry like the gig economy, contract work and automation to ensure those changes benefit employee, employer and society as a whole.

The Leaders’ Group on Sustainability meets regularly to discuss best practice and to review progress on its stated aims. UCD is the knowledge partner for the Group and will provide ongoing research support to help develop and refine the sustainability goals.

Dawn Meats has been awarded the McDonald’s Global “Scale for Good” Award. This Global award is a first for McDonald’s and is the second occasion where Dawn Meats sustainability credentials have been recognised by the McDonald’s Global Leadership Team.

The award recognises the key leadership role that Dawn Meats has played over many years in programs which advance the cause of ethical, environmental and economic sustainability in European beef production. The award was presented to Dawn Meats CEO, Niall Browne, Group Commercial Director, Richard Clinton & Food Safety and Quality Director, Brian Hyland by McDonald’s Corporate Executive Vice President Francesca DeBiase and Vice President Keith Kenny with the senior leadership team of the Global Supply Chain and Sustainability team in attendance.

Scale for Good is McDonald’s strategy to leverage its global reach with millions of customers, employees, franchisees, suppliers and other partners to take collaborative action on some of the most pressing social and environmental challenges in the world today. 

McDonald’s is the first restaurant company in the world to address global climate change by setting a Science Based Target to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions. To reach this target, McDonald’s will partner with franchisees and suppliers to reduce greenhouse gas emissions related to McDonald’s restaurants and offices by 36 percent by 2030 from a 2015 base year. Additionally, McDonald’s commits to a 31 percent reduction in emissions intensity (per metric ton of food and packaging) across its supply chain by 2030 from 2015 levels. This combined target has been approved by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi).

Niall Browne CEO Dawn Meats said: “We are delighted and honoured to accept this award on behalf of all the team at Dawn Meats. As a business we have recognised for some time that doing the right thing and using our scale for good will build a more robust business for the future, for the benefit of our employees, customers and farmers. Our CSR strategy is aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Goals, and in McDonald’s we have a true partner who is equally committed to furthering the achievement of these Goals. We look forward to continuing our progress in the coming years.” 

Keith Kenny Vice President Sustainability at McDonald’s commented: “Improving the sustainability of how beef is produced for McDonald's is a key part of our Scale for Good strategy. Dawn Meats, champion sustainable beef production, both through their actions and ambitions within their own supply chain and in their industry leadership, working with external bodies to define and develop sustainable farming techniques.”

Dawn Meats proudly sponsored this year's Galway Food Festival which was held over the Easter Bank Holiday Weekend from Thursday 29th March to Monday 2nd April 2018.

The festival now in its seventh year celebrates the city and county's culinary landscape, showcasing the people, produce, and passion that have firmly established Galway as the food capital of the west.

We were delighted with the response and engagement we had from festival goers who enjoyed the beef and lamb cooking demonstrations presented by the talented JJ Healy. 

JJ created six fantastic dishes that featured Dawn Meats premium quality beef and lamb, to provide festival goers with inspiration for cooking delicious beef and lamb recipes at home. Recipes included:

• Roast Loin and Rack of Lamb, Gratin Potato, Honey and Herb Glazed Vegetables
• Mini Lamb Burgers in Brioche Buns Topped with a Rhubarb Chutney
• Grilled Spiced Lamb Sausages on a Skewer with a Mint and Chive Yoghurt
• Beef Wellington, Grilled Asparagus, Beef Dripping Potatoes and Béarnaise Sauce
• Chilli Con Carne with Pilaff Rice
• Beef Lollipops Glazed with Sweet Soya Sauce, Garlic, Chilli and Ginger

Click the link below to view the full recipe booklet from the event.