In this week’s sustainability/ESG bulletin, read about the launch of a new global Sustainability Hub by Chartered Accountants Worldwide, new planning permission exemptions for rooftop solar panels on homes and other buildings in Ireland, our upcoming event at Climate Finance Week Ireland 2022, a report from the Financial Reporting Council on failures by companies to give investors sufficient information about their net zero plans, and CFOs and finance teams in the climate transition.
New global sustainablity hub launches
A new global Sustainability Hub has been launched by Chartered Accountants Worldwide (CAW). The hub pulls together a wealth of content from CAW member institutes and trusted partners around the world to help Chartered Accountants – and the businesses they support – in becoming more sustainable and resilient now and for the future. Content is curated under the headings Environment, Society and Governance, with additional subgroups for SMEs and Reporting and a ‘Roadmap’ designed to provide signposts to Chartered Accountants to understanding sustainability and its impact on their work.
The new hub was launched at the CAW ‘Difference Makers Discuss’ webinar, Sustainability: Connecting the Dots, on 13 October. Over 2,400 people from 80 countries registered to attend the event, which focused on the vital role that Chartered Accountants play in driving positive change on sustainability. The recording is now available here.
New planning permission exemptions for rooftop solar panels on Irish homes and other buildings
New regulations have been signed by Ireland’s Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Darragh O’Brien, T.D., which will remove the requirement for planning permission for the installation of rooftop solar photovoltaic (PV) panels on the majority of buildings in the country. The exemptions are aimed at increasing Ireland’s generation of solar energy and combating climate change. The changes take immediate effect. The regulations are seen as a significant driver of the rollout of micro- and small-scale solar PV generation, increasing Ireland’s generation of solar energy and strengthening energy security. They will also support the rollout of small-scale generation and act as an enabler for the Small-Scale Generation Support Scheme (SSG), which is expected to become available in 2023.
The announcement comes one week after Taoiseach Micheál Martin, Tánaiste Leo Varadkar, Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications, Eamon Ryan, and other members of Government launched the new National Implementation Plan for the Sustainable Development Goals 2022-2024, setting out 5 strategic objectives and 51 actions, with 119 individual measures, to increase Ireland’s ambition and strengthen implementation structures to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The plan was developed in collaboration with all government departments and key stakeholders, and based on input from two public consultation processes held over the last year.
Chartered Accountants Ireland at Climate Finance Week Ireland 2022
It’s Climate Finance Week Ireland 2022 (CFWI) next week and Chartered Accountants Ireland is partnering with CFWI to deliver a webinar on the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR). The Institute will host Laura Heuston, FCA and Co-Founder of SustainabilityWorks, and Ann Shiels, solicitor and founder of the sustainable finance regulatory consultancy, FinLexSus. Laura and Ann will give their expert accounting and legal perspective on the legislation, its interrelation with the EU Taxonomy Regulation and the difference between Article 8 and 9 funds. Register here
Companies failing to give investors sufficient net zero information
A new report from the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) has found that companies are failing to give investors sufficient information about their greenhouse gas net zero plans. The report, FRC Lab Report: Net zero disclosures, found that investors want to understand what companies plan to do about reaching net zero greenhouse gas emissions, but that reporting is too often aspirational and high level, frequently failings to provide users with sufficient information. Listen to this podcast from FRC for more.
CFOs and finance teams in the climate transition
IFAC, the global organization for the accountancy profession and Accounting for Sustainability (A4S) recently hosted their Climate Week NYC event Finance Leaders Plugging the Net-Zero Information Gap: Exploring the critical role of CFOs and finance teams in the climate transition. The event brought together finance and accounting leaders to better understand how they are enabling their organization’s decarbonization strategies and transition planning and what obstacles they are facing.
“The task to decarbonize economies is no mean feat,” said Kevin Dancey, IFAC CEO. “The quality of sustainability-related data and reporting processes must be improved to meet the demands of investors, regulators, and policy makers and the urgency of the climate crisis itself. Leveraging the skills of professional accountants to identify risks and opportunities and enhance climate-related information is an essential starting point.” A recording of the event and takeaways are now available.
Articles
- Where climate change isn’t global: auditing (Financial Times)
- Tánaiste wants professional firms added to energy subsidy scheme (The Irish Independent)
- OECD recommends major redesign of Irish transport to meet climate targets and improve wellbeing (Irish Times)
Upcoming events
- Sustainable Finance Ireland, Ireland Climate Finance Week, 17-21 Oct
- Chartered Accountants Ireland at Climate Finance Week Ireland 2022, 21 Oct (Virtual)
- CDP Ireland Network in-person event: How to Achieve Net-Zero Emissions, 20 October 11.30am – 12.30pm (As part of Climate Finance Week)
- Ecosystems Knowledge Network, Natural Capital Finance & Investment Conference, 19 Oct (London) 20 Oct (Edinburgh)
- Change by Degrees’ Climate Club webinar, Creating your Sustainably Strategy, 25 October, 10.00-10.30am (Virtual)
- Accountancy Europe, Sustainability Tax Systems, 25 Oct 9.30-12.00 GMT (10.30-13.00 CEST)
- 2022 United Nations Climate Change Conference, more commonly referred to as ‘COP27’, Sharm El Sheikh, 6 - 18 November 2022.
- ‘Biodiversity’ COP15 Part 2, 7-19 December
You can find information, guidance and supports to help members understand sustainability and meet the challenges it presents in our online Sustainability Centre.