Northern Ireland
Chamber of Commerce
Encouraged by the work of
organisations such as the Carbon
Trust, Northern Ireland now has
a cluster of ambitious companies
developing products and services in
areas such as waste management,
recycling and alternative energy
sources including wind energy,
solar power and biomass. Wave
power was also pioneered at
QueenÕs University, Belfast.
QueenÕs University remains at the
forefront of environmental issues,
for example through pioneering
research at the Questor Centre,
which was established in 1989 and
remains Europe's only industry/
university co-operative research
centre (I/UCRC). The I/UCRC
concept is a highly successful model
developed by the National Science
Foundation in the United States
where more than 50 such centres
have been operating successfully
for over 20 years. Questor has
been formally linked to the NSF
Programme since its formation.
The Questor centre provides
companies and organisations with
world-class environmental research
programmes to meet their specific
needs. It has also developed a
unique model for the transfer of
environmental technology and
knowledge to member organisations
and for the commercial exploitation
of research in general.
The centre is now an international
multi-university setup with a
network of member companies and
organisations that decide both the
direction of the research effort and
the specific research projects that are
funded. It includes major multinational
corporations among its members.
Northern Ireland is also home to
Thermomax, an award winning
company that pioneered the
development of the solar tube for
collecting thermal energy and
using it to heat water. Clients for
its products include the Department
for the Environment and the
Pentagon in Washington and NASA
in Florida. Increasingly companies
are recognising and harnessing the
business benefits of environmental
practices and strategies. They are
aware that addressing environmental
issues can improve credibility
and reputation with customers,
regulators, the local community,
employees, investors and suppliers.
Effective environmental practices are
now being developed and implemented
to cut costs, as businesses face
financial pressures from higher
energy, increasing waste disposal
costs, more environmental taxes and
reduce insurance premiums which
are among the highest in the UK.
Tel. 028 9024 4113
Preserving the environment and embracing sustainability are
becoming key considerations for commerce and industry in
Belfast and the wider Northern Ireland community.