The Derry entrepreneur who is at the helm of Natural World Products, Ireland's largest organic waste recycling company, will address the next gathering of the West Belfast Small Business Circle.
Colm Warren has an unusual CV: a qualified accountant from a working class background, he was also the lead singer in a punk rock group which practiced in the Blackstaff Mill on the Springfield Road.
Located in a former quarry in the Colin hills, Natural World Products is the lead manager of organic waste in Ireland — processing more than 250,000 tonnes of organics annually, producing high-quality, peat-free organic compost with significant benefits for soil health and carbon sequestration. As CEO, Colm Warren, and the NWP management team are passionate about the business and have a proven track record of partnering with Councils to manage organic waste.
NWP has diverted over 1.5 million tonnes of organic waste from landfill in the past five years alone.
He has now led the business through three successful exit processes and secured over £150m of external institutional capital investment into one of the island’s most challenged sectors historically, using those funds to build out and modernise a business and infrastructure that has become critical to Ireland’s circular economy and decarbonisation aspirations.
In February 2025, NWP attracted a major investment from Ara Partners, a global decarbonisation investment firm.
The only business forum in West Belfast, the Ciorcal Gnó will next meet in An Chultúrlann on Thursday 4 May. Limited tickets are available from Aisling Events.
Previous Roundtable speakers have included Kainos CEO Brendan Mooney, Staffline founder who hails from West Belfast Tina McKenzie and Cirdan founder Hugh Cormican who grew up in Gransha.
Belfast Media CEO Máirtín O Muilleoir, who convenes the monthly networking events, says the Roundtable gives business owners a chance to learn from the best entrepreneurial minds in the country. "A positive off-shoot is that the entrepreneurs who attend our gatherings often end up winning new business through the contacts they make," he said.
