Bloomfield Shopping Centre & Retail Park is the first shopping centre in Ireland to pass through the Green Dragon Environmental Management System.

Administered by Arena Network NI, the environmental arm of Business in the Community, Green Dragon helps businesses tackle and manage environmental challenges.

Jamie Bill, Centre Manager at Bloomfield Shopping Centre is delighted to have reached such a high environmental standard.

He said; "Green Dragon has given a real boost towards creating an environmentally focused structure at Bloomfield at a time of operational growth.

"Overall waste disposal costs have fallen by 33% in the last 3 years, against a backdrop where disposal costs per tonne have increased by 10%.

"It is our belief that with the Green Dragon system in place, we will further drive down waste and energy costs which will be beneficial to our customers in the long run."

Michael Schwartzentruber, Project Manager at Arena Network, congratulated Bloomfield on this achievement and encouraged other organisations to follow their example.

He said; "Bloomfield recognise the importance of environmental responsibility and have taken measures to ensure they consider eco-friendly options.

"More and more consumers are becoming environmentally conscious and often search out businesses with 'green credentials'.

"This was borne out by the recent Business in the Community Corporate Image Survey, conducted by Ipsos-MORI, showing that 83% of local consumers base purchasing activity on how responsible businesses are.

"Bloomfield acknowledges good environmental practice makes good business sense and I congratulate them on becoming the first shopping centre on the island to meet the Green Dragon standard.

"They are an exciting example of what can be achieved with fresh ideas and energy and they are an inspirational example for other businesses to follow."