Sustainability/ESG bulletin, Friday 26 May 2023

In this week’s Sustainability/ESG bulletin, read about Ireland Strategic Investment Fund’s €68m investment in international decarbonisation funds, the Department of Enterprise Trade and Employment’s responsible business webinar, and Ireland’s request to the EU for a modification to Ireland’s recovery and resilience plan. Also covered is the decrease in Northern Ireland’s business sector emissions, the EU’s progress towards socio-economic Sustainable Development Goals and the usual as articles, podcasts and events. 

Ireland Strategic Investment Fund invests €68m in international decarbonisation funds

The Ireland Strategic Investment Fund (ISIF), part of the National Treasury Management Agency (NTMA), is investing €68m in two leading international decarbonisation funds as part of its €1bn 5-year climate action investment programme. The funds are managed by Energy Impact Partners LP (EIP), which plans to invest in emerging Ireland-based decarbonisation and energy technology companies. Commenting, Paul Saunders, Head of Climate with ISIF said “This investment demonstrates clear intent around the strength and scope of ISIF’s climate investment plans. It shows how we can leverage our investment capability to build a deeper, stronger network with climate investors from all over the world - and ultimately attract more international capital to Ireland while supporting emerging Irish businesses in this space.”

Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment’s ‘Responsible Business’ resources

Over 300 delegates registered for the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment’s webinar on Responsible Business initiatives, which took place on 23 May. The event opened with remarks from Minister Simon Coveney, T.D., who stated that the event was part of a series of initiatives planned by the Department to provide guidance to businesses on new wide-ranging initiatives being developed to address increasing stakeholder demand for businesses to act responsibly and with accountability. The event included presentations from officials on three initiatives with implications for Irish businesses: the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises on Responsible Business Conduct; the EU Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD); and the proposed EU Directive on Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence (CSDDD). Further details can be found on the Department’s website on Responsible Business.

Ireland requests modification to recovery and resilience plan

Ireland has submitted a request to the European Commission to modify two measures within its recovery and resilience plan. The measures include one aimed at encouraging private investment in energy efficiency through a guarantee scheme, and another aimed at increasing the supply of social and affordable housing. First published in 2021, Ireland’s recovery and resilience plan outlines how Ireland intends to utilise grants from the EU’s Recovery and Resilience Facility to support economic and social recovery, and address green and digital issues, as the country emerged from the COVID-19 pandemic. The Commission has up to two months to assess whether the modified plan still fulfils the assessment criteria in the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) Regulation, after which it may make a proposal for an amended Council Implementing Decision to reflect the changes to the Irish plan.

Report notes decrease in Northern Ireland’s business sector emissions

Northern Ireland’s 2020 greenhouse gas emissions reduced by 24 percent since 1990, according to the 15th annual Northern Ireland Environmental Statistics Report. The report, published by the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA), found that businesses accounted for 13 percent of all greenhouse gas emissions in the region in 2020, compared to agriculture (27 percent), transport (16 percent) and energy supply (14 percent). According to the report, the largest decreases were in the energy supply, waste management and business sectors, a reduction driven by improvements in energy efficiency, fuel switching from coal to natural gas, and the introduction of methane capture and oxidation systems in landfill management.

Tax Update

(From our colleagues in the Tax Team)

HMRC has recently updated its plastic packaging tax guidance as the tax is now more than 12 months old. HMRC has also published a consultation seeking views on draft legislation amending the Plastic Packaging Tax regulations.

Report finds EU’s socio-economic Sustainability Development Goals show most progress

The statistical office of the European Union, Eurostat, has published an overview of progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in the EU. Findings from the report indicate that the EU has made most progress towards ensuring decent work and economic growth (SDG 8), with the EU's employment rate in 2022 reaching a new record high of 74.6.

The report is published together with the European Semester Spring Package, in order to increase its relevance for policy, and for the first time included analysis of the short-term impact of current crises on the SDGs, such as the energy crisis in the context of Russia's war against Ukraine and the aftershocks of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Technical Sustainability Accounting Updates

From our colleagues in Professional Accountancy 

• The European Financial Reporting Advisory Group (EFRAG) is holding a symposium on Connectivity between financial reporting and sustainability reporting at the European Accounting Association Annual Congress which will take place in Helsinki and Espoo on 26 May, 2023.
• The Joint Committee of the European Supervisory Authorities (EBA, EIOPA and ESMA - ESAs) has  published its 2022 Annual Report, which provides an account of its joint work completed over the past year.  It focused on issues of cross-sectoral relevance, such as joint risk assessment, sustainable finance, digitalisation, consumer protection, securitisation, financial conglomerates, and central clearing.
• IAASA, Ireland’s accounting enforcer, has published a Paper “Transparency Regulations – information requests”. This Paper lists some information requests that IAASA has made to companies as part of its financial statement examinations.

Podcasts

By 2050, almost 70 percent of the world’s population will live in cities — and nearly 1,000 cities will see their average high temperatures hit 35C (95F) during summer months. This episode of Bloomberg’s podcast Zero, interviews UN Habitat’s first ‘global chief heat officer’ about what urban centres, including businesses, can do to prepare. 

Institute interview - Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive

This week, Dee Moran, Professional Accounting Lead with Chartered Accountants Ireland, interviewed Lisa Campbell, Head of Operations in Irish Auditing & Accounting Supervisory Authority (IAASA) to understand more about the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) and what future developments might mean for Irish organisations. Also in the webinar was an overview of the proposed European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRSs) and an update on the assurance of sustainability reporting, followed by a questions and answers session. Watch webinar.

(This interview was the first in our series on EU sustainability reporting. For the second event, Dee will be joined by Orla Carolan, Director in Grant Thornton. Find out more and register here.)

Recording

A recording, slides and report from Accountancy Europe’s webinar - Towards digital corporate reporting with CSRD  - are now available. The webinar, which took place on 16 May, covered the role of different parties for an effective CSRD implementation, lessons learnt from the European Single Electronic Format (ESEF), the interconnectivity between financial and sustainability information via digitalisation, and current activities and plans of EU authorities for supporting digital sustainability reporting.

Articles

• Five steps to improved ESG reporting  (Accountancy Ireland - Briefly)
• Prioritising ESG a struggle in current climate (ICEAW)
• France bans short-haul flights to cut carbon emissions (BBC News)
• “Greenhushing” is the new greenwashing (Bloomberg)
• UK students pledge ‘career boycott’ of insurers over fossil fuels (The Guardian)

Upcoming Events  

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

• Dublin Chamber, 2050 Series, Urban Planning: What will Dublin look like in 2050? Dublin Chamber's series of events focusing on sustainable mobility, flexible working practices, a focus on renewable energy, circular economy adoption, and urban density. Dublin Chamber, 7 Clare Street, Dublin 2, D02 F902, Free. 8.30-10.00
  1 June

• Accountancy Europe - Developing Green Skills for Finance Professionals – Building Capacity for a Fair and Sustainable Transition
  In this EU Green Week 2023 partner event, the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA), Accountancy Europe and the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) will bring together global experts to discuss the skills and education needed for finance professionals to contribute to a green and just transition.
  8 June, 15:00 - 16:15 (Dublin time)

• Ulster Society, Chartered Accountants Ireland - Advising on Net Zero for clients: the opportunities and the threats
  This free webinar in partnership with British Business Bank and featuring Julia Groves, will address the issue of sustainability, and the responsibilities upon businesses and their advisers in meeting sustainability targets. This presentation will cover the basics of net zero and carbon accounting, the broader consideration of environmental, social and governance factors in business decision, why SMEs should take action, what they can do and how British Business Bank is involved.  
  8 June, 12:00 - 13:30

• Chartered Accountants Ireland - Further your knowledge about the European Sustainability Reporting Standards
  In the second of our series on EU sustainability reporting, join Dee Moran, Chartered Accountants Ireland and Orla Carolan, Director in Grant Thornton to understand more about the requirements of the CSRD, the content and disclosures included in the first set of ESRSs and what undertakings should do to prepare for implementation.
  8 June, 10:00 - 11:00

• Northern Ireland Healthy Working Lives Conference 2023 
  This free conference, organised by Business in the Community Northern Ireland for 8 June from 8:45am to 1pm in Riddel Hall, Stranmillis Road, Belfast, will bring together expert speakers and key business representatives to discover how businesses can embed a human-centred approach into their organisation’s culture.
  8 June

• The Northern Ireland Energy Summit
  Delivered in partnership with the Department for the Economy and the Centre for Advanced Sustainable Energy (CASE), the Northern Ireland Energy Summit will take place at the ICC, Belfast, on Wednesday 21 June 2023. The event will focus on building an informed consensus on how best to take Northern Ireland forward in meeting its renewable energy targets and net zero ambitions, whilst driving 10X economic growth across innovation, sustainability and inclusion.
  21 June

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 or 4th Wednesday of every month
• Next: 28 June, 2023 
• 14.00-15.00/30
• Chartered Accountant House/Teams

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