Sustainability/ESG bulletin, Friday 21 April 2023

In this week’s Sustainability/ESG bulletin, read about the proposed new National Demand Strategy for Ireland, key climate and deforestation laws approved by the European Parliament and sustainability in business competitions in Ireland. Also covered is the webinar on greenwashing from Chartered Accountants Worldwide, as well as articles, podcasts and upcoming events.

New National Demand Management Strategy proposed to reduce congestion

Minister for Transport and Minister for Environment, Climate and Communications Eamon Ryan TD  has brought a Memorandum of Information to Government on the development of a new National Demand Management Strategy. The strategy aims to reduce congestion in Ireland’s towns and cities, improve air quality and provide for more public transport, walking and cycling. The strategy will take a ‘Cities First’ approach, but will consider potential impacts on rural communities. Over the longer term the strategy aims to support a 20% reduction in vehicle kilometres travelled by 2030. Outlined as a key action in Climate Action Plan 2023, the strategy will take a year to complete and will involve widespread public consultation to engage and inform citizens.

27 April: Ask the Expert, How ‘green’ is ‘green electricity’?

Economies urgently need to reach net-zero which means a huge decline in the use of coal, oil or gas in favour of green electricity. But how do we know if the electricity we’re buying is actually ‘green’? In a 15-minute interview, Killian Daly, General Manager with EnergyTag and global expert on science-based decarbonisation at scale, will answer your questions on electricity, what is truly 100% renewable electricity and what standards – if any – exist for renewable electricity. Register here for this webinar on 27 April 2023 12:45-13.00.

Business competitions include sustainability

The InterTradeIreland Seedcorn Investor Readiness Competition has opened for applications, with the prize fund including a €20,000 award for the best investment proposal from a company operating in the sustainability/low carbon sector. New start and early-stage businesses across the island of Ireland have been encouraged to enter for a chance to win a share of the €300,000 prize fund. More information on how to enter can be found at here, and the closing date for entries is 1pm, 28 April, 2023.

The 2023 EY Entrepreneur of The Year Ireland programme finalists of the programme were also announced this week, one of whom will be presented with a special Sustainability Award for the finalist making the biggest contribution towards environmental sustainability through their business.

Winners were also announced this week for the Irish Business Design Challenge 2023, which focuses on raising awareness of the importance of incorporating design and sustainability into business strategy, and the benefits it brings to those businesses and the wider Irish economy and society. The Challenge was open to micro, small and medium Irish businesses offering a prize fund of over €50,000.

European Parliament approves  key climate and deforestation laws 

The European Parliament this week approved sweeping reforms to increase the ambition of EU climate policies. This included several key pieces of legislation that are part of the Fit for 55 in 2030 package, the suite of measures with which the EU plan to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by at least 55% by 2030 compared to 1990 levels in line with the European Climate Law. Parliament voted to approve:

• The reform of the EU’s Emissions Trading System (ETS) which increases the ambition of the ETS and for the first time including the maritime sector and aviation, phasing out the free allowances to the aviation sector by 2026 and promoting the use of sustainable aviation fuels.
• The new EU Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) which aims to incentivise non-EU countries to increase their climate ambition and to ensure that EU and global climate efforts are not undermined by production being relocated from the EU to countries with less ambitious policies. Importers of these goods covered by CBAM would have to pay any price difference between the carbon price paid in the country of production and the price of carbon allowances in the EU ETS. The CBAM will be phased in from 2026 until 2034 at the same speed as the free allowances in the EU ETS are being phased out.
• A Social Climate Fund, to be set up in 2026, which aims to ensure that the climate transition will be fair and socially inclusive for vulnerable households, micro-enterprises and transport users who are particularly affected by energy and transport poverty

The Parliament also voted to approve, with a large majority, a new law to fight global deforestation. This law obliges companies to ensure products sold in the EU have not led to deforestation and forest degradation and that they comply with relevant legislation of the country of production, including on human rights, and that the rights of affected indigenous people have been respected. Penalties for non-compliance shall be proportionate and dissuasive and the maximum fine must be at least 4% of the total annual turnover in the EU of the non-compliant operator or trader.

The text of the above laws has to be formally endorsed by Council, and will then be published in the EU Official Journal and enter into force 20 days later.

EU’s Mission on Climate Adaptation launches portal for regional and local authorities

The European Commission has launched a portal to help drive forward the EU’s Mission on Adaptation to Climate Change. The Portal offers knowledge and tools for use by regional and local authorities to help them develop, implement and monitor their climate change adaptation plans. The knowledge, data and tools can be tailored for use at regional scale and provides easy access to relevant data that can help to inform understanding of the specific climate vulnerabilities and risks that regional and local authorities need to address.

European Commission calls on Ireland to fully transpose EU rules on work-life-balance for parents

The European Commission has sent a reasoned opinion to Ireland and 10 other Member States for failing to notify national measures fully transposing EU rights on Work-Life Balance for parents and carers. The Work-Life Balance Directive aims to foster equal participation of men and women in labour market, by encouraging equal sharing of care responsibilities between parents. The transposition deadline for the Directive was 2 August 2022. Member States now have two months to take the necessary measures to comply with the reasoned opinion; otherwise, the Commission may decide to refer them to the Court of Justice of the European Union.

Technical Sustainability Accounting Updates

(From our colleagues in Professional Accounting)

• The International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) has issued its supplementary April 2023 update which highlights preliminary decisions of the ISSB in the month.
• The World Council of Credit Unions has recently released its 2023 International Advocacy Sustainable Finance Report, ‘What Credit Unions should know about Sustainable Finance’ which highlights important issues, trends and recommendations to promote sustainability in the global financial sector. The report acknowledges the efforts by regulatory and standard-setting bodies in addressing climate-related financial risks and promoting sustainable finance, emphasizing the importance of proportionality language in regulatory frameworks and considering the unique benefits of the cooperative model of credit unions. 

Articles

• Irish CFOs risk falling behind on ESG (Accountancy Ireland)
• European Parliament backs reform of EU carbon market (RTÉ)
• Rise of the Climate Rating Agencies - Government and the private sector rely increasingly on risk-modeling firms that claim they can zero in on exposure to climate change
• Public may be asked take one car journey less per week in second phase of proposed strategy (Irish Times)
• Isme seeks opt-out for small firms from EU law tackling human rights, labour and climate abuses Irish Independent
• A different way to measure the climate impact of food - Introducing The Economist’s banana index (The Economist)  

Did  you know?

TikTok has reportedly decided to remove climate change denial videos and direct users to 'authoritative information'. Any clips which contain misinformation about the climate crisis will be removed, and new search features will direct anyone who looks up climate content towards "authoritative information", sourced in partnership with the UN. This is similar to the approach taken on YouTube, which promotes links to the UN's web pages on climate change when people search for relevant videos.

The announcement was made ahead of Earth Day 2023 on Saturday, April 22. This is a global day of environmental activism to bring about policy changes, mobilize funding and transform human behaviour to fight the climate crisis.

Podcast

RAF plane refuels on cooking oil (RTÉ News) (0:34)

Watch Back

Chartered Accountants Worldwide’s webinar on greenwashing this week featured Daniel Thomas, Chief UK Business Correspondent for the Financial Times and a panel of experts from the worlds of business, finance and law.

Panellists, who discussed issues around greenwashing and its consequences, included Tsuyoshi (Yoshi) Domoto, ESG & Sustainability Consultant, GLIN Impact Capital; Aisling McCaffrey ACA, Director – Sustainability, Financial Services Advisory Grant Thornton Ireland; Elena Margineanu, Ph.D. Lecturer at the Free International University of Moldova; and Emma Schuster, Climate Risk Analyst, Just Share.

Watch back here

Upcoming Events  

• The Chartered Accountants Ireland District Societies are getting together to mark Earth Day 2023 on Saturday 22 April. Each society is organising a clean-up in their area. It's a great opportunity for members to meet up, bring their families and friends and make a positive impact in their communities. Keep an eye out for messages from your own society to find out how to get involved. Find your district society here.

• ICAS special summit on sustainability reporting (London)
  The ICAS sustainability summit will be an opportunity for those closest to developing and implementing UK, European and International sustainability reporting disclosure standards to discuss how we meet the information needs of users and stakeholders. In person, in London, speakers include Andrew Death, Deputy Director at the UK Government’s Department of Business and Trade, Judy Kuszewski, Chair of the Global Sustainability Standards Board, Indy Singh Hothi CA, ICAS President, and Mark Vaessen, President of Accountancy Europe. 26 April

• DETE, Building Better Businesses  Midlands Park Hotel, Portlaoise
  Free event hosted by the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment is holding a series of free events for businesses which will focus on the opportunities and challenges presented by digital transformation and the transition to a low carbon economy. 27 April –  from 8.30 am to 1.30 pm.

• Accountancy Europe - Join Accountancy Europe for the webinar Towards digital corporate reporting with CSRD 

  The European Single Electronic Format’s (ESEF) implementation has taught us that timely preparation and communication are the most important factors for the success of relevant IT projects. Now, EU Member States have started implementing the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) for transposition. This webinar will explore the role of different parties for an effective CSRD implementation, lessons learnt from ESEF, the interconnectivity between financial and sustainability information via digitalisation and current activities and plans of EU authorities for supporting digital sustainability reporting. 16 May, 14:00-16:00 CEST 

• Irish Environmental Network, National Biodiversity Week 2023
  May 19-28th

• Business Post, ESG Summit, Croke Park, Dublin
  May 30

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Member Survey

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Network for Chartered Accountants working on ESG projects

Are you a Chartered Accountant working in ESG or working on ESG-related projects? Would you like an opportunity to engage with other Chartered Accountants working in this space to share insights, challenges and opportunities?

Chartered Accountant now has a network to allow members working in sustainability/ESG to meet and discuss all matters of interest re ESG and accounting.

• 3rd Wednesday of every month
• Next : 26 April, 2023
• 14.00-15.00/30
• Chartered Accountant House/Teams

If you would like to attend please email sustainability@charteredaccountants.ie