The SMEs shortlisted for the Cork Chamber Company of the Year Awards in Ireland. Since then, the company has grown rapidly and today employs 35 people helping firms to decarbonise and providing ESG solutions.
Based on the South Mall, in Cork, Climeaction was founded in 2021 by Paul Murphy, below, with the aim of providing specialised energy audits for micro-businesses and SMEs.
The firm’s services include consultancy, digital tools, and climate action programmes that are tailored to companies to achieve their sustainability targets and goals.
Cork Chamber Company of the Year Awards
Climeaction said its approach to companies is a holistic one. It blends deep industry expertise with cutting-edge digital solutions. These include its proprietary ESG assessment tool and sector-specific climate action programmes. These tools engage supply chains and create actionable strategies for energy efficiency and carbon reduction.
Its processes include Fast (Footprint, Audit, Strategy, Training), which ensures clients receive a thorough, step-by-step roadmap to drive results. The processes are also scalable and are not only technically robust but also accessible and effective across industries, from SMEs to global manufacturers.
A new innovation from the company is its Dairy Tool, which helps dairy manufacturers and their customers track, manage, and reduce their environmental footprint. By enabling large-scale, data-driven decarbonisation, the Dairy Tool empowers the sector to take meaningful climate action.
The company said: “Climeaction is revolutionising how businesses tackle decarbonisation and ESG. Based in Cork with a global reach, we provide innovative solutions through expert consultancy, digital tools, and climate action programmes. Our approach helps clients, from SMEs to global manufacturers, significantly reduce their environmental impact. In just a few years, we’ve become a leader in climate and responsible business sectors, with a customer-focused, results-driven strategy that delivers measurable impact across Irish and international markets.”
National Beauty is behind Ireland’s top cosmetic brands
Since its foundation, Climeaction has delivered impressive results. It has worked with more than 500 companies, across 25 countries, identifying more than 233,000 tons of CO2 reduction opportunities, helping to reduce more than 25,000 tons of CO2 emissions.
Over the next 18 to 24 months, the company will expand into the US, opening five new offices to establish a strong presence in key regions. This growth will increase the team to 100 employees, with revenues forecast to reach over €10m this year as they scale both domestically and internationally.
The company is on track to identify carbon savings for clients equivalent to 3% of Ireland’s national emissions and it aims to achieve similar results in the US by 2028.
Founded in 2012 by Kieran Walsh, below, and headquartered in Blarney, National Beauty Distribution is the leading importer and wholesaler of some of the most well-known beauty and cosmetic brands.
Kieran Walsh National Beauty Distribution
Today, the company is one of the cornerstones of Ireland’s beauty industry and is a disruptor in digital and viral marketing. It works closely with top beauty journalists and influencers in the country to transform the way products are marketed, sold, and distributed.
Over the years, the company has been responsible for introducing new brands and products to Irish consumers, whether through importing and distributing or ones they have developed themselves with key Irish influences.
National Beauty Distribution is the creator of brands such as Bare by Vogue Williams and Luna by Lisa Jordan. Beyond that and from a distribution standpoint, global brands such as Estée Lauder, Unilever, Color Wow, and Kevin Murphy trust the company to manage all elements of their brands within Ireland.
Today, National Beauty Distribution has 72 employees and continues to invest in its on-the-ground teams while other companies are reducing theirs. The company has a dedicated four-person in-house team focused exclusively on managing customer satisfaction.
The company has also placed a focus on sustainability. This year, it is scheduled to move fully solar in conjunction with the rollout of the AutoStore warehouse automation through a €1.6m investment. AutoStore is a sophisticated robotic warehousing solution. National Beauty Distribution will be the first site in Munster to utilise such an advanced system and it will enable the firm to quadruple output with their current team and operating expenses.
All its packaging is more than 77% made from recycled material, which is used to make the cardboard for the 120,000 boxes it ships every year. The firm also makes its own bubble packing in-house from recycled plastic.
Internally, the company has prioritised creating an environment where team members feel valued and recognised through initiatives that include employee discounts, activities such as running clubs, book clubs, and professional events to foster a dynamic workplace culture. Regular employee engagement surveys ensure that feedback is actively considered, allowing continuous evolution.
This year, the company said it will further focus on the aesthetics and skincare space — an area it believes is ripe for disruption. National Beauty Distribution has signed an exclusive deal to bring a state-of-the-art skin-scanning device called EveLab to Ireland, which the company believes has the potential to transform the way people browse and shop for products in skin clinics nationwide.
Reliance has been leading innovation in Cork for a century. Reliance is a fourth-generation technology company rooted in Cork. Peter Creighton, Managing Director of Cork firm Reliance Automation.
Initially, the firm operated as a sole trader and then as a limited company in 1925. In another strong link with Cork’s past, the company began operating from the back of a Ford Model T truck. Since then, the company has evolved significantly into a technical powerhouse in engineering components, robotics, and sustainable automation.
Today, the company is based in Little Island and is Ireland’s largest technical supply partner of engineering components, automation solutions, and support services to a wide range of industries in Ireland.
It has more than 2,500 clients helping businesses navigate technological and sustainability transitions while meeting their engineering needs. This is backed by an extensive stock of over 40,000 items across four facilities, supported by a team of 50 employees.
Reliance’s growth is intertwined with the growth of Cork itself, reflecting its commitment to innovation.
Currently, the company offers a diverse range of products, including bearings, gearboxes, motors, drives, and lubricants.
Their investment in technology and operations enables them to deliver solutions to clients, often on the same day. They tailor solutions for all customers, from small agri-resellers in Ardfert to multinational corporations in Dublin.
In their automation division, Reliance focuses on optimising manufacturing processes through advanced robotic solutions.
The technologies they support include various robot arms, AGVs, gripper technologies, and vision systems. Last year, they expanded into service robots, deploying them to assist passengers with disabilities in moving independently from security to their departure gate at Dublin Airport.
Reliance has also implemented IoT-connected solutions, to enable real-time monitoring and predictive maintenance, optimising resource usage and reducing waste across various sectors.
The SMEs shortlisted for the Cork Chamber Company of the Year Awards
A strategic partnership with Pudu Robotics has facilitated expansion into the service robotics sector, allowing them to introduce advanced autonomous cleaning and service robots that enhance operational efficiency and productivity in diverse industries, including airport solutions.
Reliance partners with advanced manufacturers to provide energy-efficient motors and drive solutions, enabling our clients to minimise energy consumption.
Last year, they opened a new facility in Antrim Town, securing the capacity to service all-Ireland supply contracts.
The firm is also nearing the completion of an acquisition of a competitor offering further. components.
Reliance is also seeking new, strategically located warehouse space to support continued grow
