Why sustainability must be a priority for Irish firms

Ireland’s transition to a low carbon economy is a whole-of-society challenge. As a country we must achieve a 51 per cent reduction in in carbon emissions by 2030, across all sectors of the economy.

Yet for many businesses, the talk surrounding sustainability feels like a language they don’t feel fluent in. Green Transition, a new eight-part webinar series from Enterprise Ireland is designed to help. It will enable all businesses to play their part, regardless of size, sector, and how far along the sustainability journey they already are – or aren’t.

A key element of the webinars is mapping out a sustainability plan, “Regardless of what sector you are in, having a robust sustainability plan has become a critical part of any company’s growth strategy,” says Alexa Toomey, department manager for sustainability, renewable energy and agritech at Enterprise Ireland.

Such a plan is now as critical to business growth as cash flow and positive productivity and evidence of one is essential to now tender for many public and private contracts.

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Enterprise Ireland supports Irish businesses to develop and grow internationally. “We are committed to helping firms of all sizes to meet the costs of their decarbonisation journey. We have a broad suite of practical measures to help small to medium-sized firms to develop and fund their sustainability plans and stay competitive in the market,” she explains.

Delivering results

“Businesses need to be able to show their customers and consumers that they are embracing the sustainability challenge if they want to win big in global markets,” she says.

“In some sectors having a strong sustainability plan in place is already essential. In others, it will help you to stand out,” she explains.

A sustainability plan focuses on resource efficiencies, helping you to review waste so you can generate less, increase the reuse of materials, and minimise energy outflows. “Businesses face so many costs today. Using inputs as efficiently as possible leads to gains on the cost side too,” says Toomey.

Embracing sustainability also helps with recruitment and retention of staff, an area that is currently challenging.

“It’s a really competitive market. Increasingly, when people look at job opportunities, including your own employees, they look to see that a company’s values align with their own. Having a credible sustainability plan in place helps,” she explains.

It helps with funding too. “Banks offer better rates if you can demonstrate your green credentials,” says Toomey. “And venture capital, private equity and investors are also keen to ensure their portfolios are as credible as possible.”

“Of course, it’s also about doing the right thing,” says Toomey.

It will help them to develop and execute a comprehensive sustainability plan for their business, identifying the opportunities, overcoming the challenges and enjoying the benefits of decarbonisation.

Kore benefits

Enterprise Ireland-backed Kore Insulation knows the benefits of putting a sustainability plan in place. The Cavan family business, which includes Kore Retrofit, was set up in 1997 and is one of the SEAI’s one stop shops in relation to retrofit works. “We’re quite advanced on our sustainability journey,” says commercial director Caroline Ashe Brady.

“In 2017 we started gathering baseline data in relation to energy use, and identifying the biggest energy users on our premises.”

The business identified government-backed supports that could help, via Enterprise Ireland, SEAI and LEADER. It availed of Enterprise Ireland’s Green Start and Green Plus grants to develop environmental management capabilities, drive environmental efficiency and achieve improved sustainability by training employees in a range of activities including energy management, carbon foot-printing, life cycle assessment, sustainable procurement, waste management and resource efficiency. The company also availed of the energy metering and tracking grant to install meters to better understand it’s energy usage.

By seeking out leaks and poor water practices, it saved one million litres of water annually.

It looked at waste. “We found just five per cent of the waste coming off our products was reused, while 95 per cent of it was packed off to China,” says Ashe Brady.

New regrinding machinery vastly improved the quality of its manufacturing waste, enabling it to reuse 30 per cent of it today, a huge boon. The company also achieved ISO 50001 energy management certification.

It received its Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) certification in 2019, a key consideration in the construction industry. Having it makes it more likely architects and developers will specify Kore’s products, even if a rival’s is the same price. “It gives us a competitive edge,” says Ashe Brady.

Larger construction companies actively look at the sustainability plans of its suppliers, she says.

“Anyone whose funding model is external, whether from banks or funds, has to be delivering on their own ESG (environmental, social and governance) performance, so it’s all linked,” she explains.

“The other thing all this work has done is improve our brand. We are now known as a leader in this space. As a small indigenous producer, up against much larger companies, we look for nuances to position ourselves as leaders,” she adds.

“SMEs can do this. They can make the changes, the changes can have a massive impact, and the supports are there for them to do it.”

The compelling commercial argument

Businesses that supply large private and public sector clients are increasingly finding that in order to win contracts and sales they must be able to share their sustainability plan and explain how they are putting it into practice.

Those that sell direct to consumers are finding their customers want to buy from businesses that can demonstrate what they are doing in this space.

Enterprise Ireland has you covered

Enterprise Ireland’s Green Transition webinar series kicked off in early September.

The webinars take place weekly so you can join live from your desk to hear experts as well as business owners who have embraced the sustainability journey. All episodes are posted online, so you can return to them or catch up later.

Topics include such tools as the SME Climate Hub, a global initiative that empowers small to medium sized companies to take climate action and build resilient businesses for the future.

Other topics include green funding, B Corp accreditation, and how the new Corporate Sustainable Reporting Directive is impacting businesses and supply chains.

The series includes a deep dive into the green skills enterprises now require, and how to participate in – and benefit from - the circular economy.

Steps to take

A sustainability journey is like every other. It starts with a first step. “Establish your carbon footprint,” says Toomey. “Use one of the many freely available carbon calculators out there to take stock of where you are at currently.”

Next look to see where you can make changes, through reducing the use of fossil fuels, improved resource efficiency, or changes in your own supply chain. Simple changes to how you treat products at the end of their life could make a big difference.

“There is a very broad spectrum and an awful lot that people can do. The whole point of the webinar series is to engage with people wherever they are at,” she says. “Irish companies who embrace this can be ahead of their competition. This is not something other countries are far ahead in, so the time to start off on your journey is now because, if you can show a robust sustainability plan, you’ll be able to stand out. That’s why this is an opportunity as well as a challenge.”

“Decarbonising your business is not an option. If you want to stay competitive, be ready to meet the sustainability demands of your customers and contribute to Ireland’s national effort to reduce emissions, Enterprise Ireland is here to help.”

Watch Enterprise Ireland’s Green Transition webinars here

For information on Enterprise Ireland Green Transition Fund supports click here