Can a sustainable business be profitable?
Convene is our collaboration with TU Dublin that seeks to transform university and enterprise engagement. As part of Convene, we’re bringing universities and business together to ask whether a sustainable business can be profitable.
The UpCycle Farm - a Convene Partnership
The Upcycle Farm and UCD Innovation Academy are using coffee and mushrooms to find an answer.
We’ll be combating food waste on campus by collecting coffee grounds and using them to grow mushrooms, and turning those mushrooms into a delicious Ragu.
About
The UpCycle farm is a social enterprise founded by Paddy Arnold and James Egan, in a partnership with the UCD Innovation Academy and Convene. The main goal of this venture is to highlight the positive potential of food waste here in Ireland, starting with utilizing waste coffee grounds as a growing medium to create a more circular flow of resources.
The farm
Located right on the UCD Quad, this converted old trailer houses a mobile mushroom farm. This upcycled container contains all the equipment needed for mixing, incubating and fruiting the mushrooms that go into the Revolution Ragu.
HCL
The Human Capital Initiative (HCI) is an education fund established by the Government of Ireland and administered by the Higher Education Authority.