In this week’s bulletin, read about efforts to strengthen financial confidence and resilience through Ireland’s updated National Financial Literacy Strategy, alongside progress in accelerating infrastructure delivery. Also covered is the new momentum behind Ireland’s EV charging rollout, climate and sustainable finance skills development, SME climate action, and investment in urban nature-based solutions, as well as falling emissions in Northern Ireland, UK proposals to expand community energy storage and fair work in offshore wind, and EU measures to boost technological sovereignty while balancing climate goals, as well as the usual resources, articles and events.

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Chartered Accountants Ireland

Chartered Accountants Ireland and British Irish Chamber of Commerce held a panel discussion on mobilising private-sector investment in infrastructure on 9 June to discuss the changes needed to secure investment for critical infrastructure projects and the role of financial professionals. Read more here.

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Ireland

National Financial Literacy Strategy Action Plan to build financial confidence and resilience

The National Financial Literacy Strategy Annual Review and Action Plan 2026–2027 was published this week, containing more than 100 actions designed to further enhance financial confidence and resilience across society.

The Strategy aims to improve financial wellbeing and resilience by ensuring people are better equipped to navigate financial challenges, seize opportunities and plan for the future. The Plan’s actions focus on key areas including saving, pensions, fraud awareness and investing, along with supporting consumers in understanding new opportunities such as the Government’s planned Investment Account, which will be announced as part of the upcoming Budget.

The National Financial Literacy Strategy is being implemented by the Department of Finance in close partnership with the Central Bank of Ireland and the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission, with support from stakeholders across Government, education, financial services and civil society. 

Progress confirmed on delivery of Accelerating Infrastructure Action Plan

The Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation, Jack Chambers TD has confirmed that delivery of the Accelerating Infrastructure Action Plan is on track, and that all Q1 2026 commitments have been completed.

The Plan, which includes 30 targeted actions to address key barriers to infrastructure delivery, is already delivering results, with legislative, regulatory and process reforms progressing strongly across Government. Up to 26 weeks have been saved on the Waterford Wastewater Treatment Plant project, while timelines for Marine Area Consents have been reduced by approximately 30 percent for fit and proper bodies following reforms introduced by MARA. These shorter timelines for licences and consents are also expected to shorten delivery timelines for the Greater Dublin Drainage project by up to 12 months.

Coordination across Government has improved through new structures such as the Joint Utilities and Transport Clearing House, which is actively addressing bottlenecks and simplifying processes, alongside ongoing work with the Environmental Protection Agency to streamline licensing. The Minister also announced reforms to improve dispute management in public construction projects, supporting more timely and efficient infrastructure delivery.

Supercharging Ireland’s EV charging network

The European Investment Bank (EIB) will work with the Department of Transport and Transport Infrastructure Ireland to supercharge Ireland's public electric vehicle (EV) charging rollout, partnering with Zero Emission Vehicles Ireland (ZEVI) to design and deliver a nationwide network that will put a charging point within reach of every community. The new best practice advisory cooperation — managed by the EIB and funded by the European Commission through the Climate Neutral and Smart Cities Mission — will equip ZEVI and local authorities across Ireland with a comprehensive suite of implementation tools: procurement strategies, concession contract templates, financial models and structured guidance to drive a fast, cost-effective and equitable build-out of charging infrastructure. The partnership directly supports the Regional and Local EV Charging Network Plan to 2030, Ireland’s roadmap to delivering neighbourhood on-street charging, local hubs, and destination charging at car parks, workplaces and public facilities in every city, town and rural area. Over 235,000 electric vehicles were on Irish roads by the end of 2025, with rapid growth expected to continue as Ireland presses toward its ambitious target of 30 percent of its car fleet to be electric by 2030. The new EIB advisory partnership is designed to keep public charging infrastructure ahead of demand — ensuring that those without off-street or home parking are never left behind in the transition to clean transport.

Central Bank launches climate and sustainable finance learning resource platform

The Central Bank of Ireland has launched a Climate Change Training Directory, a new learning resource bringing together essential courses on climate risks and sustainable finance in one accessible platform for the financial services sector. Developed by a cross-industry team from the Central Bank’s Climate Risk and Sustainable Finance Forum’s Capacity Building Working Group, the new Training Directory will enable professionals to understand climate risks and their financial implications, develop sustainable finance expertise and capabilities, build climate transition readiness across organisations, and access structured learning pathways from introductory to advanced levels.

Business in the Community Ireland launches Future Ready SME Climate Action Programme

Business in the Community Ireland has launched the next evolution of its SME Climate Action Programme. The Evolve: Future Ready SME Programme supports collaboration between member companies and SMEs to drive practical sustainability action across value chains. Delivered with the Carbon Literacy Project, the programme helps SMEs accelerate decarbonisation, improve social and environmental impacts, and align with VSME reporting standards. Through targeted training, expert guidance and tailored support, participants build skills to measure emissions, develop climate action plans and strengthen reporting. To date, 60 SMEs have completed the programme, gaining Carbon Literacy accreditation and identifying cost-saving opportunities, while preparing to meet growing expectations from customers, partners and regulators and wider stakeholders.

Additional funding announced for urban nature-based solutions projects

An additional €5 million in funding for urban nature-based solutions projects nationwide has been announced. The investment will support projects to help manage surface water, increase biodiversity and reduce flooding in urban areas, and will be administered by the Local Authority Waters Programme. Nature-based solutions can help solve many societal challenges, including water quality and quantity and support improved biodiversity. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) estimate that one third of climate mitigation, needed to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement, can be provided by nature-based solutions.

UK/Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland’s net greenhouse gas emissions continue to decrease on the ‘base year’ of 1990 for carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide, and 1995 for the fluorinated gases. This is according to a statistical bulletin on greenhouse gas emissions for Northern Ireland from 1990-2024.  Published by the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA), this is the seventeenth release of the Northern Ireland greenhouse gas inventory statistical bulletin, which outlines key Northern Ireland figures from the Greenhouse Gas Inventories for England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Other findings include that agriculture was the largest emitter, responsible for 31.4 percent of emissions, followed by domestic transport, responsible for 21.3 percent of overall emissions. The buildings and product uses sector, along with the land use, land use changes, and forestry (LULUCF) sector, contributed 15.5 percent and 11.7 percent respectively. Additionally, the electricity supply sector accounted for 10.8 percent of emissions. In 2024, Northern Ireland contributed 4.9 percent of all UK greenhouse gas emissions, which stood at 373 metric tonnes (MtCO2e).

UK government sets out new proposals to cut bills with community batteries

The UK has launched a call for evidence, seeking to unlock barriers to the roll-out of shared battery storage across the UK, helping communities store locally generated renewable energy and pass on the savings to households. Community batteries allow multiple homes to access stored electricity – for example by capturing excess solar power during the day when it is cheaper and more abundant and releasing it when demand is higher – meaning households can make better use of clean, cheap energy and cut bills. This can reduce reliance on expensive peak-time electricity while making the energy system more flexible.

This call for evidence will gather views on how to scale up deployment of the currently underdeveloped UK market for community batteries, remove regulatory and commercial barriers, ensure safety, and make sure the benefits reach those unable to install their own battery – such as renters and people living in flats. It also comes as the government drives forward with rules to make new homes cheaper to run, with solar panels and clean heating as standard. Plans to make plug-in solar available in shops within months are hoped to help more households generate their own renewable electricity and lower their energy bills.

New data published shows that 2025 was the strongest year on record for solar deployment, with 269,000 installations completed across the UK. Around 255,000 of these were rooftop solar - meaning at least 95 percent of all new solar was installed on homes, businesses and other buildings.

New signatories to UK Government’s Offshore Wind Fair Work Charter

37 supply chain companies and 5 trade unions have agreed to sign up to the UK government’s Offshore Wind Fair Work Charter so that unions can get better access to workplaces and opportunities to speak directly to staff, alongside strong workplace standards on health and safety. The move could also pave the way for trade union recognition across the booming offshore wind sector, with future agreements between offshore wind companies and trade unions expected to include commitments on fair terms and conditions, apprenticeships, and more inclusive workplaces. Signatories to the Charter include Belfast Harbour, Hutchinson Engineering and Peter McCormack & Sons Ltd.

Europe

EU presents package of measures to strength ‘technological sovereignty’

The European Commission has presented the European Technological Sovereignty Package, a set of measures to strengthen Europe’s capacity in semiconductors, artificial intelligence (AI), cloud and open source.

The package includes two legislative proposals – the Chips Act 2.0 and the Cloud and AI Development Act – as well as the Open Source Strategy and a Strategic Roadmap for Digitalisation and AI in Energy.

The Act will support research and innovation in cutting-edge and sustainable technologies, while balancing AI ambitions with climate commitments. It will streamline conditions for deploying data centres across the EU, with a focus on highly sustainable and innovative facilities at the scale needed for the green and digital twin transition.

The Roadmap aims to ensure that data centres are integrated into the EU’s energy system in a sustainable and transparent manner. The Commission will facilitate cooperation between the energy and digital sectors to ensure their efficient integration into the grid as well as the necessary clean energy supply, while safeguarding water and energy resources.

Before adoption and entry into force, the legislative proposals will be negotiated by the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union. The Commission will also launch a consultation with the Member States, the European Investment Bank Group and other key stakeholders to set up a European equity capacity at scale to finance Europe's tech sovereignty ambitions. 

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Resources

Ibec launches new Sustainability Hub

Ibec has built a Sustainability Hub, centralising its insights, expert assets, and business supports under three main pillars: legislative updates, practical guidance and toolkits, and events, briefings, and network knowledge.

Competition for European manufacturing SMEs

50 manufacturing SMEs in Europe could receive financial and technical support to pilot new solutions, adopt advanced technologies and strengthen competitiveness under the MANTRA project, a project funded by the European Commission to drive the green and digital transformation of European manufacturing SMEs. Successful SMEs can access up to €50,000 in funding, matchmaking with technology providers and experts, as well as training, mentorship and peer learning and visibility through the MANTRA digital platform. This opportunity is particularly relevant for SMEs working on energy efficiency, circularity, automation, supply chain resilience or data-driven decision-making. Find out more here.

Skillnet’s new Climate Risk and Resilience programme launches

Skillnet Climate Ready Academy has launched a new Climate Risk and Resilience programme designed to help businesses transition to resilient business models, demonstrate global best practices, enhance their reputation, and be positioned to thrive in a changing climate. A short introductory webinar on Wednesday 24 June will give an overview of the new programme, information on the difference between adaptation and mitigation and why businesses needs both, how building climate resilience will position your business to thrive in a changing world, and how to secure a place on the programme.

Report on how technology can strengthen human rights due diligence

The United Nations Global Compact has published a report into how technology can strengthen human rights due diligence. Published through the Human Rights Think Lab, Leveraging Technological Solutions to Support Human Rights Due Diligence explores how companies are using AI, traceability platforms, satellite monitoring and worker voice tools to strengthen due diligence across complex global supply chains. Drawing on insights from 25 leading companies and organisations, the report examines both the opportunities and risks of technology adoption, while underscoring a critical message: effective human rights due diligence must remain grounded in human judgement, stakeholder engagement and responsible governance.

EEA publishes resources to support climate resilience

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Articles

• Biodiversity Decline Threatens Sovereign Credit Ratings, Study Says (Bloomberg)
• ‘Fuel the Runner, Not the Route’ - Applying a double materiality lens to marathon-generated litter - nature-related risk at both ends of their value chain (Business for Biodiversity Ireland)
• Iran Shock Jolts Asia and Europe to Speed Up Energy Transition (Bloomberg)
• Big Irish businesses face ‘significant reputational risk’ if they don’t prepare for new EU corporate sustainability rules, says expert (Irish Independent)
• Tax-break trees: how woodland became a store of wealth for the rich (The Guardian)
• Adding carbon accounting to your skillset (Acuity Magazine – Chartered Accountants Australia New Zealand)
• Ireland’s €102bn infrastructure pipeline needs deeper UK cooperation, British Embassy paper says (Business Post)
• How the state plans to use education to get people investing (Business Post)
• Two thirds of women feel underpaid or undervalued in the workplace (Irish Examiner)

Events

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Sustainability Centre

You can find information, guidance and supports to understand sustainability and meet the challenges it presents in our online Sustainability Centre.