Over the last 10 years, the topic of sustainability has moved from the barricades to the boardroom. Where previously ‘environmental protection’ was considered a constraint to agriculture and food production, the efficient and sustainable use of natural resources is now considered a key driver of growth. Rogier Schulte of Teagasc (the Agriculture and Food Development Authority of Ireland) discusses this new narrative in a wide range of initiatives that would have been considered utopian in the not so distant past.