Sustainability at Chartered Accountants Ireland

Our Institute’s journey to net zero carbon

An overview of sustainability at Chartered Accountants Ireland

• Our Advocacy and Voice Board is invested in driving the Institute’s agenda on sustainability. It mandated the establishment within Chartered Accountants Ireland of a Sustainability Expert Working Group, to inform the development of research for the accountancy profession in Ireland. This working group comprises representatives from accounting firms, government organisations and NGOs, academia, business, professional accounting organisations, and the energy, banking sector and technology sectors. 

• Institute representatives sit on the Sustainability Working Group of the Global Accounting Alliance, and through this we are a member of the Accounting Bodies Network of “Accounting for Sustainability” (A4S). A4S is Prince Charles’ Accounting for Sustainability Project and was established in 2004 with the aim of promoting sustainable decision-making in business. The Institute was one of 14 accounting bodies worldwide to become signatories to a call to action on climate change issued by A4S in February 2020. In October 2021, Barry Dempsey signed a commitment for Chartered Accountants Ireland to achieve net zero emissions and enable members to do the same.
• We have begun a campaign with our sister Institutes in Scotland (ICAS) and England and Wales (ICAEW)  to celebrate 1,000 Chartered Accountants whose work include action on the climate crisis, and to encourage their fellow Chartered Accountants to join them in this challenge. 

• In 2020 we launched our Sustainability Hub with information, guidance and supports to help members understand sustainability and meet the challenges it presents.

• In November 2020, we launched a new guide, Sustainability for Accountants, detailing the risks and opportunities presented by sustainability, and the steps that need to be taken to address the challenges.  

• We respond to national and international consultations of relevance to sustainability, for example, the review of the EU’s Non-Financial Reporting Directive and the IFRS's consultation on the establishment of global sustainability reporting standards. 

• In 2021 the Institute responded to the public consultation on the review of Ireland's Climate Action Plan 2019, which will set out actions that must be taken in order to ensure Ireland delivers on the commitments in the Programme for Government. These commitments include reaching our 2030 target of a 51 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, achieving climate neutrality by 2050, and making Ireland a leader in responding to climate change. We also responded to the public consultation on the review of Northern Ireland's Ireland's Climate Change Bill, which aimed, among things, to establish a legally binding net-zero carbon target for the region and provide for a Northern Ireland Climate Commissioner and Northern Ireland Climate Office. We further responded to the call for evidence on Northern Ireland’s Climate Change (No.2) Bill which seeks to set targets for the years 2050, 2040 and 2030 for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and among other objectives establish a system of carbon budgeting.

• Through Chartered Accountants Worldwide the Institute is involved in a range of initiatives, including Finance & Business 2030 (FinBiz2030). The Irish Task Force is focussing on goals 4, 5, 10 and 13, and on raising awareness of all the UN SDGs.

• We have integrated sustainability into the student curriculum, with the introduction of Corporate Social Responsibility, Sustainability and Integrated Reporting as a core area within Topic Area 4 Risk Management & Sustainability. 

• Sustainability is also included as a topic area in our Professional Development programme with members able to take integrated reporting at Diploma level in the new Excellence in Financial Reporting Diploma, starting in 2020. In 2021 we launched a new webinar series: Demystifying Sustainability for Accountants (NI/ROI)  to cover Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) issues that are impacting businesses across all sectors of the economy.

• Accountancy Ireland and Briefly regularly features sustainability-related content, including on its podcast series. 

• We run knolwedge and networking events, connecting experts with each other, and providing accountant-relevant information on the topic. Our largest event in 2021 will be a Sustainability Conference on June 16, at which the keynote speakers will be Eamon Ryan TD, Minister for Transport and Minister for the Environment, Climate & Communications in Ireland; and Nichola Mallon MLA, Minister for Infrastructure in Northern Ireland. 

• Through our District Society activities we run events on the topic of sustainability. Sustainability is also included as a topic area in our CPD programme, as part of the CPD Blitz business workstream.