Energy dominates this week’s sustainability/ESG bulletin, with news of the Climate Change Advisory Council’s call for 'swift and decisive action' to support businesses, households and communities in Ireland, as well as measures to tackle the energy crisis in the UK and Europe. Also covered is the announcement of free sustainability reports being made available for businesses in Northern Ireland, and an update from the One Young World Summit in Manchester.
“Swift and decisive action” called for to support business, households and communities in Ireland
The Climate Change Advisory Council has called for “swift and decisive action” to support households, communities and businesses this winter. In a press release accompanying the publication of its Annual Review for 2022, it is recommending reducing Ireland's dependence on harmful fossil fuels, urgently progressing the transition to more affordable, clean and secure energy, and focusing on measures that can be immediately deployed to assist those most in need in the coming months and in the years ahead.
The Irish Government is expected to announce plans to reduce energy costs and ease the burden on businesses and households shortly.
UK sees developments in energy planning and Cabinet positions
The UK energy plan unveiled this week by newly elected Conservative Party leader and Prime Minister Liz Truss, includes a support scheme lasting six months for businesses, after which there will be ‘ongoing support’, particularly for vulnerable industries. At present, the energy cap (announced for households) will not be extended to businesses. Instead, the Government is committing to an "equivalent guarantee" on energy prices for six months. In three months' time a review will be carried out to identify where the extra support should be targeted.
Earlier this week a Cabinet reshuffle has seen Jacob Rees-Mogg appointed as Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy. Graham Stuart becomes Climate Minister in the Business Department and will also attend Cabinet, while Ranil Jayawardena has been appointed Secretary of State for the Department of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. Chartered Accountant Alok Sharma will remain in the Cabinet Office as president of the Conference of the Parties (COP), the United Nations Climate Change Conference, while former Chartered Accountant Anne-Marie Trevelyan has been appointed Secretary of State for Transport.
The Climate Change Committee (CCC) and the National Infrastructure Commission (NIC) have written to the Prime Minister setting out key recommendations that they believe can improve energy access and efficiency, and lower costs. They are calling for new policy interventions that promote renewable energy, building efficiency upgrades and low-carbon heat in a bid to respond to the energy cost crisis. A letter from the All Party Parliamentary Group on the Environment has also urged Prime Minister Truss to recommit to the UK’s net zero climate target and support a series of measures that will simultaneously bring down energy bills, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, accelerate the roll out of renewables, deliver a nationwide home insulation programme, and champion the protection of nature.
Free sustainability reports for business – Northern Ireland
InvestNI is making available free Sustainability Reports to all Northern Ireland businesses with an annual energy and resource spend of more than £30k (which could include the combined value of heating, electricity, water, waste disposal, and/or raw material billings). The support aims to enable businesses to measure, monitor and report on environmental impacts across a number of areas, such as raw materials, energy, carbon, packaging, biodiversity and waste, demonstrating transparency and accountability. In addition to making significant differences to a company’s impact on the environment, these measures often lead to consumer confidence and brand loyalty
New Northern Ireland guide helps employers support their staff to access childcare support
The Department for the Economy in Northern Ireland, in partnership with the Department for Communities, Department of Education, Department of Health, Employers for Childcare and the Labour Relations Agency, has published a new guide that will help employers understand the childcare infrastructure in Northern Ireland and the financial support available to assist working parents with their registered childcare costs.
Northern Ireland business benefit from energy efficiency measures
Over 90 Northern Ireland businesses have been supported to improve their energy efficiency, increase productivity and achieving significant environmental benefits, including carbon emissions reduction, using a grant scheme from InvestNI called the Energy Efficiency Capital Grant (ECGG) Scheme. The scheme was developed to provide businesses with support for the installation of energy efficient equipment.
Speaking about the ECCG, Connor McCann, Operations Director of grant recipient Simplyfruit described savings of over £16,000 and over 200,000kWh in energy and a reduction in carbon emissions, while Dr Vicky Kell, Director of Innovation, Research and Development at Invest NI, described the purpose of the scheme as helping “businesses achieve greater energy efficiency so that they can be more resilient, and deliver long-term cost and carbon savings in their day-to-day operations.”
UK’s Department of Business prepares to research winter business disruption
The UK’s Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) is initiating preparatory work to understand business disruptions this winter. It is seeking understand key challenges that are affecting businesses, including the global rise in energy prices, inflation, labour shortages, industrial action etc. We will bring you more information as it is published on how you can submit responses, or you can email the BEIS team.
EU measures to tackle energy crisis
The European Commission has proposed new measures to tackle the energy crisis, including a mandatory reduction in electricity use during peak hours, a windfall tax on fossil fuel companies, and a cap on the prices that can be charged by energy companies which produce electricity through low carbon (and low cost) methods – such as renewables – but which have benefited from the high prices on the market and earned artificially high revenues. In her statement, President von der Leyen announced that “it is now time for the consumers to benefit from the low costs of low-carbon energy sources like, for example, the renewables”, and proposed that the ‘unexpected profits’ enjoyed by these companies be re-channelled to the Member States to support vulnerable households and vulnerable companies. The proposals will be discussed by EU energy ministers at an emergency meeting in Brussels on Friday, 9 September.
Climate change causes rise in risk of air pollution
The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) has warned of an increase in the frequency, intensity and duration of heat waves this century and an associated rise in wildfires, which is likely to worsen air quality. In a new report published this week, the UN agency warns that the interaction between climate change and pollution will create a “climate penalty” for “hundreds of millions of people”, even under a low emissions scenario, posing risks to human health and affecting ecosystems.
Our Chartered Star at OYW 2022
Every year Chartered Accountants Ireland elects one 'Chartered Star' from among our members who are doing amazing work in support of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. This year our Chartered Star is Fiona Smiddy, Founder of Green Outlook. Fiona joined a delegation from member institutes of Chartered Accountants Worldwide to represent us at the annual One Young World (OYW) Summit, a gathering of the brightest young talent from every country and sector, working to accelerate social impact. Find out how Fiona is finding the experience with this short clip.
Articles
Cold showers and dark streets: How EU countries are cutting energy use (Irish Times)
At a glance: where does Ireland’s energy come from (RTE)
Q&A: What does the rise in energy prices mean for Northern Ireland? (BBC)
Upcoming events
Ireland’s Climate Conversation 2022, Have your say, Deadline 9 Sept
Dublin Climate Action Week (Find out more), 12-17 Sept
Chartered Accountants Ireland’s Virtual CPD conference – ESG Sessions (Link), 15 Sept
Carbon Intelligence, Take Control of Your Supply Chain to Achieve Net Zero - Webinar for Professional Services firms, 15 Sept, 3.00 - 3.45 (Register)
Global Week to #ACT4SDGS (Link), 16-25 Sept
Call for Expert Evidence - Climate Action Plan 2023, Deadline: 20 Sept
IFAC/A4S, Exploring the critical role of CFOs and finance teams in the climate transition (Link), 21 Sept 9:00
World Biodiversity Summit (Link), 21 September
(DEARA NI) Webinar on tackling problem waste streams, 23 Sept 2022, 10.00-12.00
Biodiversity Essentials programme, (Link) (funded), 28 Sept 9.30-11.00 | 19 Oct 2.30-5.00
European Business & Nature Summit (Link), 18-19 Oct
Sustainable Finance Ireland, Ireland Climate Finance Week, 17-21 Oct
Ecosystems Knowledge Network, Natural Capital Finance & Investment Conference, 19 Oct (London) 20 Oct (Edinburgh)
You can find information, guidance and supports to help members understand sustainability and meet the challenges it presents in our online Sustainability Centre.