The EU Clean Vehicles Directive could benefit Ireland’s emission targets, but what are the best steps to take to ensure alignment across public bodies? Suzanne Cloak, Alan Dickson and Terence McGovern lay out a possible roadmap. Road transport accounts for nearly one-quarter of Europe’s total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The energy transition from fossil fuels to sustainable sources of energy requires changes across all sectors. To accelerate this transition, the EU member states will lead the way, driving implementation and demand of low and zero-emission vehicles. The EU Clean Vehicles Directive was passed into Irish law on 2 August 2021. This Directive sets targets for public procurement of clean vehicles in each member state by increasing the share of low and zero-emission vehicles in contracts tendered by public authorities. Ireland has agreed to adopt the maximum target of almost 40% for cars and light trucks, and 10% for heavy duty trucks that will be procured from August 2021 to be clean vehicles. For buses, the target is even higher, with 45% procured to be green vehicles and half of those to be zero-emission. Certain vehicles, however, do not come under the purview of this Directive, such as special vehicles used by armed services, civil defence or fire services, and vehicles designed for use on construction sites or mobile machinery. Fuelling demand This Directive sends a positive signal to the market as it stokes demand for cleaner vehicles and is a move towards decarbonisation of transport across EU member states. The targets give manufacturers the confidence to ramp up production for low and zero-emission vehicles, thereby encouraging the price of clean vehicles to fall. Ireland still has a long way to go, with 36% of new cars sold this year being diesel powered and 31% being run on petrol. This Directive will also encourage EU member states to further develop their own refuelling and recharging infrastructure. The emergence of new technologies on a bigger scale would usher in important changes to road transportation infrastructure that would include depots, workshops, charging stations, access to electric grids, etc. It would also require training and creating teams of personnel with the required skill sets. Through these high-priced (compared to cars powered by fossil fuel) cleaner vehicles, we could potentially see increases in procurement budgets. Therefore, it will require financial schemes in place to cover additional costs for cleaner vehicles and infrastructure. However, lower operational costs would contribute to a competitive total cost of ownership. This Directive will see EU member states lead by example in the ramp-up of low and zero-emission vehicles through their public procurement policies, thus setting a pathway of lower entry points to the market for private individuals. But are public authorities prepared for the switch to cleaner vehicles with increased requirements for specific infrastructure, financing for more expensive vehicles, and do they have strategies to achieve the targets? Roadmap for tomorrow The scope of this Directive is not prescriptive in its implementation and each member state will need to define their own strategy. To ensure public authorities, state and semi-state bodies are in alignment with the Directive, there needs to be consideration of, or at least some, of the following: Start preparing your procurement structures now. The Directive came into play this year, which means new contracts will need to factor in the targets. Define how and where the clean vehicles will be procured and where those will be used across different public bodies, regions and departments.  Plan out the roadmap for moving to low and zero-emission vehicles. Review and decide on technologies to develop and introduce in respect of future purchases, maintenance, repairs and skilled labour. Be cognisant of purchasing power. Go beyond compliance as there will be incentives/cost avoidance benefits in the long run. Set up future infrastructure and be cognisant of the future marketplace and requirements. Create a plan to operationalise the introduction of clean vehicles across the organisation. Start small and scale up, identify metrics and KPIs while setting out new operating processes to best manage and monitor the fleet performance, and work out a plan to get the best out of new technology. It is important to keep in mind that a one-size-fits-all approach to the Directive will not work as different entities and organisations will have different needs. There will be a need to tailor the responses to suit individual requirements. The EU Clean Vehicles Directive will speed up the switchover to low and zero-emission vehicles. As Ireland moves in this direction, the country will need to decide on technologies for future purchases, maintenance, repairs and skilled labour. Suzanne Cloak is a Supply Chain Manager at EY. Alan Dickson is a Director of Consulting and Procurement and Supply Chain in EY. Terence McGovern is a Senior Manager at EY.

Most office workers have proven they can work just as well – if not better – while working remotely. Why, then, are business leaders so keen to get people back in the office? Patrick Gallen examines the issue of trust and maturity in the workplace.   Flexible and remote working existed in Ireland by exception before COVID-19; today it is a way of working life. COVID-19 has enabled us to prove that flexible and remote working work, but why are so many leaders still keen to ‘get back to normal’? Why is there a belief that having your team in a common physical space between dictated hours allows for better measurement of performance, and how do we challenge this paradigm? I worked in London for seven years in a large multinational; flexible and remote working was an accepted way of working, it was embedded into the culture to work where you want, when you want – as long as the expected output was met. When I returned home to Ireland in 2018, I couldn’t believe the low level of flexible and remote working available. In one experience, I witnessed a senior member of a division ask if it was OK to leave 15 minutes early. One adult asking another adult permission for 15 minutes – this is the ‘aha’ moment. Maturity and trust are key factors to enabling an agile workforce. For this to happen, we must challenge our thinking as leaders on three points. 1. We are all adults As adults, why are we asking permission? Permission removes accountability and power. It is a safety mechanism to move responsibility from one person to another; but if we are not holding our teams responsible for managing their own time or empowering them to do so, what else are we not enabling them to be responsible for? Trusting our people to manage their own time and workload cultivates a mature and empowered culture; empowered people feel safe to be innovative and creative – without asking permission.  2. Attendance vs output: if I can see you, you’re working But if I trust them to manage their own time, how will I know they are delivering their work? Is work measured on attendance or output? In this new reality, establishing the measurement of work will be a major indicator in what the future of flexible and remote working will look like. If our approach as leaders is to look at output rather than attendance, we will need enhanced performance management frameworks, smarter objectives and measures. Processes and systems are just the mechanism; nothing will embed without understanding and working with your people and teams. As leaders, we need to focus on bringing performance management frameworks to life through value-adding conversation and feedback, and making performance management a meaningful experience.   3. Trust, evidence vs fear: if I can see you, I trust you And to come to our third point: is our lack of trust in employees working in a flexible or remote way based on evidence, or fear? For example: two members of your team doing the same job with the same output, but one is in the office and the other is at home – who do you unconsciously trust more? If it is the former, it might be fear-based trust. As leaders, it has never been more important to hold a mirror up to ourselves and find our own resistance: What comfort do I get when my team is in the office? What will I lose if my team works remotely? As humans, we all have insecurities and fears, and every day we do what we can to protect ourselves; most of the time unconsciously. We might be protecting our sense of control, position or status. If we can develop as leaders and bring understanding to this by looking in, we may be able to apply more freedom when we look out. There are many layers to effectively enabling flexible and remote working, but to start it’s important to understand and shift the resistance within ourselves. By bringing maturity and trust into the culture and establishing a consistent focus on output, we will open the gate to a fluid and effective remote working environment – without permission! Patrick Gallen is the Partner of People and Change consulting at Grant Thornton.

When hiring for business-critical roles, it is essential to do your research and plan extensively before you start the recruitment process. Paul O’Donnell explains. For many organisations, current hiring means focusing on business-critical roles (BCR). Uncertainty can put expansionary recruitment on hold; however, no firm can afford the escalating risk of leaving critical positions unfilled and the inevitable intensification of competition that arises for such talent.  Defining what is business critical varies from firm to firm. We know from our work in this area that the one constant in BCR acquisition is the need for a unique approach to identifying and assessing the talent, formed around three steps. 1. Do a deeper role analysis than normal A position becomes business critical if it falls into one or more of four categories: It is essential to business continuity; The role is core to elements of strategy implementation in the near- to mid-term; The skillset is always in demand in your organisation and is difficult to source; and The talent need is due to an important, unexpected and urgent business challenge or opportunity. Work out the key behaviours and values that you seek demonstrated in any BCR hire. Have clear measures for your expected outcomes and assess a candidate for a BCR, not just on what they achieved but how they worked with others to make it happen. As your organisation evolves, this BCR may change, so assess candidates for their stretch potential to meet new and oncoming challenges. 2. Create a unique hiring process for the role The solution to BCR hiring lies in the depth of understanding of the requirement by all stakeholders and the span of research that results. Research-backed hiring is essential for BCRs. We know that the quality of talent suited to such roles does not reside on databases, respond to advertisements or sit on basic networks. Research-backed talent acquisition requires a highly collaborative plan between your firm and the representative undertaking the search. Once sourced, the assessment of candidates must be extremely thorough and deploy several techniques. However, this does not mean seeking opinions from multiple stakeholders, which often dilutes ownership and stalls critical hire decision-making. It requires continuously testing, behavioural interviewing targeting the competencies you seek and rigorous in-market assessment.  3. Avoid the super halo  It is difficult not to get overpowered by the bias that can arise when an experienced candidate for an extreme hiring priority is identified. However, along with the essential core skills central to a business-critical need, suitable hires must also possess four key traits: The drive to perform at the highest standard and with authenticity; An action-oriented mindset with clarity and continuous focus on the required outcomes; The ability to view complex situations at a system level but bring solution tactics down to simple, bite-sized communications; and The capacity to encourage others to embrace new thinking and success orientation.  BCR holders are constantly required to make judgement calls. To do this effectively, they draw on a deep well of experience, rigorously tested data, a thorough investigation of options and great instinct for the right outcome. Your process to hire these key executives should do likewise. Paul O’ Donnell is the COO of HRM Recruitment.

There has been much debate over the future of work, but the most important element is the human aspect. Without humanising the future of work, argues Valerie Daunt, we won’t be able to move forward as a society. The COVID-19 pandemic has been talked about as a “time machine to the future.” This peak moment of accelerated change has created an imperative to consider the choices we will face when the constraints of the pandemic are removed. Where do we want to go? How quickly? And how will we get there? While every organisation will face its own set of challenges and opportunities to accelerate forward, the destination is clear: to humanise the future of work. A new era in work Redefining the human dimension of work in today’s world of perpetual disruption is a continuous process, without a single entry point. It is a way of transforming and evolving with a strategic focus on work and the organisation’s purpose, meaning, and value. It requires us to think and work differently and to constantly challenge the work orthodoxies of the past. Three keys to humanising the future of work It’s time to move from concept to action and focus on the path toward thriving, not merely surviving. To humanise the future of work, it is imperative that we: Re-architect work: This is the time to define new future work aspirations and outcomes and to focus on the “art of the possible” for what we can achieve using technology to enable and elevate human capabilities. Unleash the workforce: We must challenge how we think about the workforce and use technology to help identify and unleash human potential—within and beyond the organisation. Adapt the workplace: We cannot underestimate the organisational and cultural shifts that are demanded in the expanded work environment—which includes the ecosystem of physical and virtual workplaces—and the expectations around how to collaborate, engage, and relate to each other. There is no “waiting for a better time.” The time to start humanising the future of work is now. Valarie Daunt is Partner in Consulting at Deloitte.

When deciding to transfer a business to a child or other family member, it’s very important to understand all the tax implications involved. Mairead Harbon outlines four actions to consider before handing the reins over. The decision to transfer a business to a child is generally not one that is reached lightly. The consequences of such a transfer must be thoroughly considered as there can be unforeseen repercussions, such as potentially giving rise to several tax implications. So, both parent and child must understand the potential upsides and downsides of the transfer of a business, both from a tax and commercial perspective. Tax considerations for parents and children An individual aged between 55-65 can transfer their business to their children without giving rise to CGT, provided certain conditions are met. This relief is known as Retirement Relief. If that individual is over 65, then a lifetime limit of €3 million will apply to transfers to a child. This form of relief can also apply, but in more limited circumstances, to disposals of certain qualifying assets to a niece or nephew. A child can currently receive up to €335,000 from their parents tax-free; after this, CAT at 33% will apply. However, they may be able to avail of Business Relief, which reduces up to 90% in the value of the relevant business property taken by the child. Other tax considerations Stamp duty will most likely arise on the transfer of the business. Stamp duty of 1% will apply on the transfer of shares in a family company. Stamp duty of up to 7.5% will apply on the transfer of certain business assets. However, it may be possible to reduce the stamp duty, for example, by arranging for assets, such as plant and machinery, to transfer by delivery, by availing of stamp duty exemptions for particular asset classes etc. The four key actions to take now Consider the timing Are you approaching 66 years of age? If so, are you happy to transfer some or all of your business to avail of potential substantial tax savings? Relinquishing control Suppose you are content to take a step back from the business but would like to retain some element of control. In that case, it is important to consider if you would like to retain a certain percentage shareholding (notwithstanding the potential additional future tax liabilities) or if you would prefer to hold a "special" share to give you veto rights over certain aspects of the business. Who gets what? Whilst it might seem like a good idea to split your business equally between your children, in practice it could lead to conflict where some of those children don't work in the business. Instead, consider whether there are any investment assets you would prefer to transfer to those children instead. If those investment assets provide you with an income stream that will continue to be required post-retirement, consider whether you should pass on those assets but retain a life interest in them. Tax-efficient will If you are not yet in a position to pass your business to the next generation or have not decided on a succession plan, then you should, at a minimum, put in place a tax-efficient will. This should provide control over the payment of CAT and possibly help minimise the charge to CAT in the event of your untimely passing. Mairead Harbron is a Director at PwC.

Most organisations are pledging to embed net-zero into their strategies, but can they really pull it off? Michael Hayes outlines five pillars of action that every company can take on the journey to net-zero. Investors are acutely aware of the relationship between stewardship and financial performance. The message to leaders is clear: climate risk is viewed as a financial risk, a driver of business insecurity. In a world of concerned stakeholders, organisations that fail to mitigate their emissions face the likelihood of reputation damage. Many Fortune 500 companies have outlined decarbonisation strategies to achieve their targets. These strategies rely on several levers that include accelerating the shift to renewables, developing new product offerings, re-locating facilities, investing in carbon capture and optimising tax credits. The detailed strategies vary significantly across industries, but there are basic elements that apply to every organisation. Five pillars of action Organisations on the net-zero journey need to gather and analyse data that gives a clear picture of their emissions footprints. To build confidence in companies’ pledges, data should be objective, easy to compare and up to date. To achieve this, companies should look beyond simple reporting tools and consider a broader technology framework to manage the entire process, infusing trust along every step. 1. Decarbonise with strategic foresight Leaders across sectors must address several competing imperatives: recover from the COVID-19 crisis, prepare for a world of artificial intelligence (AI) and extreme automation, and grow in increasingly competitive markets, while achieving their net-zero pledges. Key steps toward low-carbon and net-zero operations include: Ensure decarbonisation aligns with your overall business strategy; Evaluate and develop a common understanding of the nonlinearity of climate change, competition for renewables and offsets, and the impact of decentralised energy in the marketplace; Define the reporting strategy for internal and external stakeholders, including public disclosures; Shift your capital structure to account for the increasing role of climate in finance; Align executive compensation with environmental performance;  Demonstrate provable progress through targeted emissions-reduction initiatives that support broader business goals. 2. Operationalise sustainable behaviour Understanding your carbon footprint is just the beginning. The key to ingraining sustainability in your operations is to focus on the business case for these initiatives. Further, incorporating decarbonisation into your existing in-flight and proposed organisational transformations may unlock additional benefits for the business and stakeholders. The fundamental shift that needs to happen when an organisation seeks to decarbonise can only be achieved if the people and cultural psychology of that organisation have fundamentally shifted as well. This is not something that can be easily compartmentalised. It must infiltrate every part of an organisation so that climate risk and opportunity become instinctive parts of business thinking at every level. 3. Gain regulatory agility Without the mechanism in place to reliably report emissions reductions, many organisations risk getting caught flat-footed as regulations and standards tighten. 4. Accelerate climate-focused partnerships Many of the world’s leading brands are setting the standard with ambitious goals of eliminating their GHG emissions. It is becoming increasingly common for leading companies to pursue their agendas in partnership with industry peers, industry groups, NGOs, and suppliers – all of whom can help leaders hone their strategies. All the mechanisms for achieving net-zero are not yet apparent. However, the pain points across organisations are similar. By looking outward for partners and alliances across sectors, organisations can collaborate on action, spark innovation, and accelerate broader progress toward larger societal goals. 5. Build trust and prove results Demonstrating provable progress is critical when it comes to capitalising on the strides made through decarbonisation programs. Customers, investors, lenders, and stakeholders are looking for transparent and high-fidelity data to support claims of progress, i.e., reputational and financial benefits.  The convergence of powerful technologies – cloud computing, machine learning, blockchain – to drive insights into emissions arrives at a tipping point when time is running out to prevent global atmospheric temperature from rising above the threshold marked by 1.5°C. The era of climate action demands climate accounting The era of climate action has arrived: stakeholders want to see net-zero strategies in place – and they will want to see proven results. The degree to which an organisation can pursue action-oriented strategies will depend on the nature of the business and how far the company has already advanced its efforts on net zero. At the centre of the effort is the ability to report mitigation results. The very technologies driving wholesale transformation are the foundations of a platform that serves up two key elements: traceability and accountability. Net-zero pledges won’t mean much to consumers and investors unless there is action and verifiable progress behind them. Regulators will want proof of compliance. A net-zero strategy that deploys emissions accounting can provide the trusted traceability and reporting that are the critical stepping stones toward honouring net-zero pledges. Michael Hayes is the Global Head of Renewables in KPMG.