It’s Earth Day, so in this week’s sustainability/ESG bulletin, we announce the date of the Chartered Accountants Ireland Sustainability Conference – ‘Moving Beyond the Pledges’. We also cover an EU announcement of €1 billion worth of commitments to protect the ocean, Northern Ireland grants to sustain rural businesses, as well as developments in diversity from apprenticeships to board level, and sustainability resources and events.
In the news
Chartered Accountants Ireland – Sustainability Conference – 25 May
Chartered Accountants Ireland’s Sustainability Conference 2022 will take place on 25 May 2022, (9.30-13.30). The theme is ‘Moving Beyond the Pledges’. The conference is packed with topics and sessions designed to enhance your existing knowledge and understanding of current sustainability issues. Building on the success of the inaugural 2021 conference, the event will address climate risks, organisational changes needed to transform organisations for the transition to a net zero and sustainable economy, and likely future trends and developments in sustainability that will impact all accounting, business and finance professionals today. Speakers will be announced over the coming weeks. Keep track of developments – and take advantage of the Early Bird Offer – here.
Earth Day 2022 - everyone accounted for, and everyone accountable
Today, April 22, is Earth Day, an annual day to demonstrate support for environmental protection. The theme this year is Invest in our planet. Find out more here.
The FinBiz2030 Irish Taskforce, a group committed to facilitating the effort to unite and mobilise the Irish finance and business community to achieve the SDGs by 2030, is sharing the importance of climate action and the UN Sustainable Development Goals, in particular SDG13 - Climate Action, this week by urging everyone to make one climate pledge and to keep to it for three weeks. You can share your pledge on LinkedIn or Instagram and tag #FinBiz2030.
Diversity in the news
A gender-based bursary worth €2,666 is now available in Ireland to apprenticeship employers in any national apprenticeship programme with greater than 80 percent representation of a single gender. Part of the national Action Plan for Apprenticeship 2021-2025, the bursary covers all new apprentice registrations from 1 January 2022 that are in eligible national apprenticeship programmes. More information, including the list of eligible apprenticeship programmes, can be found here.
In other diversity-related news, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has set three board diversity targets for UK-listed companies, including a goal for at least 40 percent women on their boards. The FCA’s policy aims to improve transparency on the diversity of company boards and their executive management for investors and other market participants. Details can be found here: Diversity and inclusion on company boards and executive committees.
£1million grant aid fund to sustain rural business
The Northern Ireland Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) has announced a scheme to help rural micro businesses to sustain, develop and recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. The scheme, which will open on the 4 May 2022, will provide capital assistance of 50 percent up to the value of £4,999 for the purchase of capital equipment to help rural businesses remain sustainable. It will also provide the opportunity for some businesses to increase innovation activity as well as the efficiency of their rural businesses. Details can be found here.
EU pledges €1 billion to protect the ocean
The EU has renewed pledges towards international ocean governance at the ‘Our Ocean Conference’ (OOC). The conference, which took place in the Western Pacific island of Palau on 14 April, aimed to identify solutions to sustainably manage marine resources, increase the ocean's resilience to climate change and safeguard the ocean’s future health. In addition to presenting a list of 44 commitments for the 2020-2022 period for an amount of almost €1 billion, the EU has also developed a commitment tracking tool to allow citizens to follow the progress of the implementation of the commitments.
Technical Updates
On 28 April 2022, the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) is offering a live webinar on its proposed standards on general sustainability-related disclosures and climate-related disclosures.
Resources
Identify how your company can support human rights aligned with the Ten Principles of the UN Global Compact by taking the online course of four 30-minute modules Business and Human Rights: How Companies Can Operationalize the UN Guiding Principles.
Events
Young Professionals ESG Event “S” Is for Social… But What Does That Mean?
28 April 2022 18:30, Zoom
Speakers Terence O’Rourke and Nuala Murphy will join the Chartered Accountants Ireland’s Young Professionals to discuss the ‘S’ in ‘ESG’ (environment, social and governance) and discuss what a business and an individual can do to action positive social change in your workplace and the wider community.
You can find information, guidance and supports to help members understand sustainability and meet the challenges it presents in our online Sustainability Centre.
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