The Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment has this week published an Action Plan on Competitiveness and Productivity, with 85 actions for enhancing Ireland’s competitiveness and productivity performance. Among the six themes into which these actions are grouped is “growing sustainable Irish businesses and boosting regional development”, under which are outlined the actions intended to support the development of a sustainable, resilient enterprise environment.
The Action Plan is clear that decarbonisation and economic growth are not mutually exclusive, stating that “Our businesses, customers, workers, and the communities in which they are embedded, rightly expect that new industrial developments and successful Irish enterprises can and will operate in a manner consistent with the national objective of net zero emissions by 2050, and an ambitious trajectory of decarbonisation to that target.”
As the broader trend toward sustainability expectations of companies is set to accelerate, it is encouraging to see the focus in the Action Plan on the alignment of sustainable Irish businesses with enterprise growth.
Commenting, Susan Rossney, Institute Sustainability Advocacy Manager, said
"Long term, organisations will only increase the alignment of their operations with global sustainability objectives. The Plan’s assertion that decarbonisation is not just an environmental imperative but a source of economic resilience, cost savings, and competitive advantage for industry and SMEs is one for which Chartered Accountants Ireland has advocated, and which we welcome in this Plan."
Similarly, Chartered Accountants Ireland in its position paper Achieving Our Climate Goalshas called for the Government to support SMEs to embed sustainability in their operations; therefore, we welcome the Action Plan’s emphasis on the importance of independent advice and financial supports for SMEs in order to become more competitive and resilient through decarbonisation, while ensuring that the economic and commercial incentives for all businesses drive decarbonisation and the renewable energy revolution, with resilient employment and indigenous value creation over the medium term.
We will continue to monitor the delivery of the elements in the implementation framework of the Plan, and to advocate for the clarity businesses and communities require to see plan translate to action.
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