National Enterprise Award for innovative Ballina company
James McConville of ACT accepting the award at the Mansion House in Dublin.
A Ballina company has triumphed at the National Enterprise Awards.
ACT (Accelerating Change Together) won the Green Business of the Year award at the ceremony held in the Mansion House in Dublin.
ACT is a pioneering social enterprise reimagining the built environment through a regenerative lens.
As a non-profit company limited by guarantee, ACT operates at the intersection of architecture, digital innovation and policy, reinvesting all surpluses into climate-focused research to deliver scalable, nature-positive solutions for Ireland’s green transition.
The company was founded by James McConville, Kevin Loftus, and Tom Lindsay.
This is the 26th year of the National Enterprise Awards – a Local Enterprise Office initiative – with ACT representing the Local Enterprise Office Mayo.
"This is recognition of the incredible work ACT do in the sustainability sphere,” said John Magee, Head of Economic Development and LEO Mayo with Mayo County Council.
Finalists competed for a total prize fund of €80,000 across a range of categories, including Best Start-Up, Best Export Business, Innovation, Digital, Green and Female Entrepreneur awards, and an overall National Enterprise of the Year award.
The awards have a long history of recognising businesses that go on to achieve significant success. One such success story is Mayo’s Advanced Cosmetics Manufacturing, which won the overall National Enterprise Award in 2023.
Founded by cosmetic chemist Noreen Hackett, the Mayo company identified a gap in the market for a fully integrated cosmetics manufacturing service. Since winning, the business has continued to expand and grow.
In 2025 alone, LEO-supported companies created 7,261 new jobs, a 7% increase on the previous year. More than 82% of those jobs were created outside Dublin.
