MBTA 2024: Meet the Best Green Business category finalists
Caring professionals committed to guiding families through a dignified farewell
Pure Reflections
Tell us about your business and team
Pure Reflections is Europe's only water cremation (resomation) facility, offering a sustainable alternative to traditional flame cremation and burial. Proprietor Elizabeth Oakes and team are dedicated to reducing environmental impact, ensuring a compassionate and dignified farewell for loved ones while minimizing carbon emissions, providing a dignified and personalised service to cater to the family’s needs at a difficult time.
Based in Abbeylands, Navan, the team at Pure Reflections are caring professionals who are committed to guiding families through every step of the process with empathy and expertise. With years of experience in the funeral industry, they ensure that every detail is handled with utmost respect and environmental responsibility.
Describe the best thing about your service
The best thing about Pure Reflections is the choice it can offer families during one of life’s most difficult moments. “We are passionate about helping people in their time of need, providing personalized, eco-friendly funeral plans that are affordable and honour both loved ones and the environment,” says Elizabeth.
Our water cremation services are a modern, sustainable option, giving families an alternative to traditional methods. Additionally, all our products are handmade locally, supporting local artisans and ensuring a personal touch in every aspect. We strive to create meaningful, respectful farewells that reflect each family’s values and wishes.
What's the best business advice you've ever been given?
The best business advice I’ve received is to follow your passion, as it will drive you through challenges and bring fulfilment. "A job is what you get paid for; a calling is what you get made for" reminds me to focus on purpose, not just profit, for true success.
What does the future hold for your business?
I believe that by 2030, Pure Reflections will be the largest supplier of funerals in Ireland. Our expansion plans include offering nationwide fully guaranteed prepaid funeral plans. We’ll also provide families with the option of placing urns in Pure Reflections own dedicated columbarium wall for lasting tributes.
Household brands delivered nationwide with a focus on customer service
Bluestone Sales & Distribution Ltd.
Tell us about your business and team
Founded by David & Karen Bates in 2001, Bluestone Sales & Distribution Ltd is a highly regarded independent and Irish owned company selling and distributing a vast array of brands across Ireland & Northern Ireland including being the sole distributor in Ireland and Northern Ireland of BRITA water filters. It also focuses on innovative household brands that offer reliability and value, working in partnership with market leading brands including BRITA, Severin, Leifheit/Soehnle, Strata, Greener Cleaner, Kitchen Devil, Fiskars, E-Cloth & Swan. Based in Trim, it serves our customers with a dedicated sales team that operates countrywide ensuring all our customer’s needs are catered for and ensuring a high quality of customer service and satisfaction.
Describe the best thing about your service
Bluestone Sales & Distribution have a team of four sales reps covering all 32 counties in Ireland working to a scheduled route to ensure efficient regular customer service to its large network of customers. From our office in Trim we deliver excellent customer service on all our brands. In particular, BRITA offer replacement parts for BRITA Water Filters ensuring further sustainability of the product. BRITA also offer the opportunity to recycle their used BRITA cartridges by returning them to Bluestone via Free post. This exercise is incentivised by offering an on-line discount when purchasing replacement cartridges.
What's the best business advice you've ever been given?
The best business advice, we feel, is to plan! Plan for the future, plan for the coming months, plan for the day ahead. Having a structure and a goal to work towards is creative and yields results.
What does the future hold for your business?
Bluestone’s vision for the future is to continue to work towards a more sustainable environment and promote the reduction of single use plastic. As a company Bluestone currently has electric vehicles forming 50% of the motor fleet. The initiative will continue until it reaches the target of 100% electric vehicle Fleet.
Innovative milk dispenser sees McGrane cream rise to the top
McGrane's Milk Barn
Tell us about your business and team
McGrane’s Milk Barn located in Walterstown, is owned and run by brothers Conor and Mark McGrane who provide freshly pasteurised milk from a dispenser in a special custom-built barn at the family farm where it promotes a re-use and re-fill glass bottle system in place of plastic for sustainability. Conor and Mark work alongside both their families in the business with Amanda, Mark’s wife and two children, and Eimear Conor's wife and four children all playing a central part.
Describe the best thing about your service
McGrane’s have created a purpose-built pasteurisation area within the farm. After milking our herd, we can pasteurise 220 litres of that raw milk, which involves heating the milk to 72 degrees for 20 seconds and then rapidly cooling it. This ensures that there are no harmful bacteria in the milk according to Eimear McGrane who says that they thoroughly test each batch of milk to ensure that it is to the highest quality before it reaches the point of sale, ensuring that the integrity and traceability of the product always remains high.
“We do not homogenise this milk, allowing for the milk to retain a very creamy texture.” The cream can be noted as rising to the top of the glass bottle and this fact has evoked a sense of nostalgia for many customers and it is always a pleasure listening to stories of milk in days gone by.
We have a self-service milk barn on site, where people can purchase the milk in 1 litre and 500ml quantities in reusable glass bottles using vending machines.
What does the future hold for your business?
As part of the self-service barn it offers a variety of eight signature flavours. McGrane’s plans to evolve this end of the business.