Meet the Social Enterprise Mark Holder: The Rediscovery Centre

The Rediscovery Centre is the National Centre for the Circular Economy in Ireland, a creative movement connecting people, ideas, and resources to support greener low-carbon living.

We bring together the skills and expertise of artists, scientists, designers and craftspeople united in a common purpose of sustainability. Located in a bespoke demonstration eco-facility, we operate a multi-faceted visitor centre and unique social enterprise that champions & highlights the actions required to achieve a circular economy. This includes, a range of educational and research programmes, a shop, a cafe, and four workshops: Rediscover Furniture, Rediscover Fashion, Rediscover Paint, and Rediscover Cycling. Our workshops provide training and courses related to reuse, repair, resource efficiency & low carbon living, and utilise unwanted materials for new product development and design.

When did your business become a social enterprise and why?

We established ourselves as a social enterprise from the very beginning, with the inception of Rediscover Furniture in 2004. The organisation was developed in response to a public consultation regarding the needs of Ballymun during the regeneration of the town, so the ideologies of social enterprise were the foundations of the Centre.

What social needs are you trying to address and what types of social outcome are you striving to deliver?

From the beginning, we aimed to address two key needs in the area: to create opportunities for people to divert their waste into something of value, and to provide employment and training opportunities for local people.

What is your main reason for having our accreditation? What were your expectations?

A large part of what The Rediscovery Centre has been trying to do is to elevate the discourse around second-hand reuse, to show that secondhand items are not low quality. We also wanted to promote the quality of training we provide through our employment progression schemes.

This accreditation elevates the credibility of our social and environmental work.

What does accreditation mean to you? What does it say about your business?

Accreditation means reassurance to ourselves that we are doing a good job, as well as elevating our credibility to customers and clients.

What benefits has there been as a result of being accredited? E.g. did you find the assessment process useful? Do you feel the accreditation give you more credibility as a social enterprise?

It’s beneficial to see what our peers think is important in relation to regulation and accreditation. Additionally, the assessment process allowed us the opportunity to reflect on all that we have done, which is always a useful tool, and to take pride in all we have achieved since the Centre’s inception.

Are there any specific achievements/accomplishments that are linked to holding the accreditation?

We have an incredibly high level of progression of our trainees, which we are very proud of as a social enterprise.

What would you say to another social enterprise considering accreditation?

Go for it!

Find out more about The Rediscovery Centre by visiting their listing on our Mark Holder Directory, and find out more about our International Mark Holders on our website.

What next

If you would like to find out more about becoming an accredited social enterprise please complete our Eligibility Quiz to find out more.