Oversight Board

The EcoMerit Oversight Board consists of individuals from a range of EcoMerit Community stakeholders.
The role of the board is to:

• Agree the EcoMerit Certification requirements and process
• Oversee the quality of EcoMerit Certification, including the commissioning of independent reviews as may be deemed appropriate
• Provide strategic advice and guidance to the EcoMerit Community
• Promote membership of the EcoMerit Community amongst eligible organisations
• Advocate on behalf of the EcoMerit Community
• Promote environmental awareness among their own stakeholders, including owners, staff, suppliers and customers

			James Hogan Chair of the Board B.Sc. (Env. Sci. & Tech).  Project leader, Clean Technology Centre, Cork Institute of Technology James is an environmental scientist with 20 years experience in the field.  He is currently managing the Savour Food Programme.  With 25 years of experience in CTC, James has previously managed 2 national waste prevention programmes: The Green Business Programme (2011 – 2018) and the Green Hospitality Programme (2008- 2015). James was instrumental in developing the Green Business online tool which has been used to generate waste prevention reports for in excess of 900 businesses.  James managed the EPA funded Green Hospitality Certification Programme 2008 – 2015, which provides certification for 20% of Irish Hotels. This programme also provided extensive benchmarking in hotels and restaurants.
			Leonard Kelly Board Member Post Grad Diploma in Adult Guidance Counselling, BSc Quality Management, BA in Counselling and Psychotherapy With various roles in 17 years Leonard has a strong background in Quality Management and Validation Engineering, including assessment of supplier quality management systems.  Following this  he retrained in Counselling and Psychotherapy Studies (BA) and Adult Guidance Counselling (Post Grad Diploma) and now works in private practice and as an Associate Trainer with AWARE and Mental Health First Aid Ireland.  He is also a Regional Coordinator for Business in the Community Ireland, an elected member of Wexford County Council and a member of Waterford and Wexford Education & Training Board.
			Camillus Muldowney Board Member B.E. PhD CMC FIC Independent Consultant, Energy Efficiency Engineer After 9 year working in Industry in the UK and then Ireland, and 30 Years running his own Sports and Leisure Business, Camillus has worked for the last 10 years or so as an energy consultant which he enjoys immensely.  His area of expertise is in the Leisure Industry through which he has first-hand knowledge of the EcoMerit Environmental Certification programme.  He looks forward to contributing as best he can to reducing the world’s carbon footprint.
			Fionnuala Murphy Board Member PhD, B.E. Biosystems Engineering Lecturer at School of Biosystems & Food Engineering, University College Dublin Dr Fionnuala Murphy is an Assistant Professor in the UCD School of Biosystems & Food Engineering, and is UCD Programme Director of the MSc Bioeconomy with Business, and Programme Coordinator of the MSc in Sustainable Energy and Green Technologies and ME in Biosystems & Food Engineering.  Her work aims to understand, quantify and analyse complex environmental exchanges resulting from renewable energy deployment across the full value chain. She is a leading national and EU research in the development of the sustainable circular bioeconomy.  A key element of Dr. Murphy’s work is to carry out industry relevant research, participate in effective and relevant knowledge transfer, and foster links between industry and academia.
			Michelle O’Sullivan Board Member Founder, ConsciousCopy.ie Masters in Sustainable Development, BA Business Studies & Personnel Management Michelle is Founder and Copywriting Specialist with ConciousCopy.ie. Working with businesses that are active, ambitious and making inroads from a sustainability perspective, ConsciousCopy.ie supports these businesses to effectively communicate this message, product or service to the consumer. Michelle is an experienced sustainability professional with a demonstrated history of working in not for profit organisations. She is very passionate about the promotion of a sustainable, equal and inclusive society and the value of communication and community/ stakeholder engagement in achieving this goal.
			Phil Walker Board Member M.Sc. Production Technology, B.Sc. Naval Architecture Managing Director EcoMerit Ltd. An engineer who started his career in the UK shipbuilding industry. Later in South Korea and China he developed quality and environmental certification businesses for an international certification body. He designed and launched EcoMerit in 2009 and has progressively developed the business since that time. To date, he has assisted more than 150 Irish business to improve their sustainability. In addition to his other qualifications, Phil has a Diploma in Welding Technology and a Fellowship in Manufacturing Management.
			Seán Aylward Board Member MSCSI  MRICS  BCSC Dip SCM Retired Shopping Centre Manager Nutgrove Shopping Centre, Dublin
			Maura Bell Board Member Manager Irish National Heritage Park, Wexford
			Thomas McHugh Board Member Director of Public Affairs and Communications, Cork Chamber Thomas works to drive impactful advocacy on behalf of members and to ensure Chamber communications are deliberate, cohesive and compelling. Having worked on stakeholder engagement for multiple record-breaking renewables projects in the UK and USA, and with a background in communications and the built environment, he is proud to commit his time to lobbying for a more sustainable, resilient and quality of life focused Cork.