In this week’s Sustainability/ESG Bulletin read about a new guide on how accountants can integrate nature into their work, a report on costs facing Ireland for non-compliance with climate targets, the Climate and Environmental Expenditure for 2025 and sustainability in IDA Ireland’s new five-year strategy. Also covered is sustainability in Northern Ireland’s Programme for Government 2024-2027, the UK’s new National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan, Accountancy Europe’s analysis of the Omnibus proposal, the conclusion of COP16 in Rome, and the usual articles, resources and upcoming events.

Ireland news

New guide for accountants on nature

Chartered Accountants Ireland has welcomed the publication of a new guide on how accountants can integrate nature into their work. Why nature matters to accountants addresses the urgent need for accountants to understand and integrate nature-related issues into their work and highlights the financial impact of nature-related issues. It is relevant for accountants in any global region or jurisdiction, and in business and practice. Providing tailored guidance for board members, senior managers, analysts, report preparers, and external auditors, it will help accountants getting started with nature in these roles and for those further along their nature journey or maturity pathway.

The guide was developed and prepared by ICAEW for the Global Accounting Alliance (GAA), of which Chartered Accountants Ireland is a member. It launched on World Wildlife Day, 3 March to emphasize the importance of reversing global nature loss to business resilience and economic prosperity.

Ireland could face ‘staggering’ costs for non-compliance with climate targets

A joint report from two Government advisory councils – the Irish Fiscal Advisory Council (IFAC) and the Climate Change Advisory Council – has warned that Ireland could face costs of between €8 and €26 billion if it misses legally binding climate targets. The report also warns that Ireland is currently on track to overshoot 2030 greenhouse gas emissions target for transport, buildings, small industry, waste and agriculture by around 57 percent.  The costs, described by the report as ‘staggering’, could potentially be more than halved if the Government follows through on its Climate Action Plan, although the report warns that the Plan is not being delivered at the scale or the speed required. The report recommends several actions that would cost less than one-tenth of capital spending planned by the Government out to 2030, and which could dramatically reduce the costs burden, as well as transform Ireland into a healthier, more sustainable, and energy-secure society, reduce reliance on imported fossil fuels, and also boost economic activity and employment in related sectors.

Parliamentary Budget Office publishes Climate and Environmental Expenditure 2025

The Parliamentary Budget Office has published its Climate and Environmental Expenditure 2025 in which it details relevant budget allocations for climate action. Within the Revised Estimates for 2025, just over €9 billion has been identified as being climate and environment-related – an increase of almost €2 billion on 2024. €6.996 billion relates to climate ‘favourable’ measures i.e. actions that have a positive impact on Ireland’s transition to a low carbon, climate-resilient and environmentally sustainable economy. The remaining €2.124 billion is identified as being climate ‘unfavourable’ i.e. measures that impede these actions. The report concludes with recommendations that Departments set ‘clear and separate’ performance metrics linked to all climate-related spending – including the use of carbon tax revenues – to help Members of the Houses of the Oireachtas and the public better understand how the allocation of these funds works.

IDA Ireland’s new five-year strategy for sustainable growth and innovation

IDA Ireland has unveiled its new five-year strategy, Adapt Intelligently: A Strategy for Sustainable Growth and Innovation, 2025-29 with four key strategic objectives: Strengthen long term investment, Scale cutting-edge innovation, Drive sustainable change and Maximise regional opportunities. Under ‘driving sustainable change’ the strategy describes client companies as ‘instrumental in shaping a green and digital global economy’, and Ireland as ‘having the potential to be a prime location for green-powered and digitally enabled enterprises’. The new strategy, which is aligned with the Programme for Government and the White Paper on Enterprise, also identifies four key growth drivers – digitalisation and AI; semiconductors; health; and sustainability.

Northern Ireland/UK news

Northern Ireland publishes programme for government

The NI Executive has launched its Programme for Government 2024-2027, Our Plan: Doing What Matters Most. Growing a globally competitive and sustainable economy and protecting the environment are among its immediate priorities, and its targets include achieving self-sufficiency with clean and affordable energy and becoming a net exporter of renewables. Proposed measures include helping local businesses cut their energy bills by investing £15 million in the Energy and Resource Efficiency Support Scheme and investing a further £75 million via the Invest to Save Fund into the public sector’s transition to net zero, in addition to publishing a Circular Economy Strategy and a Green Growth Strategy.

Unlocking business value through sustainability integration

New research from the Sustainability Value Creation Partnership reveals that businesses with deeply integrated sustainability strategies unlock greater value, driving innovation, boosting sales, enhancing reputation, and improving cost control. However, while two-thirds of leaders recognize sustainability’s importance to commercial success, only 37 percent report full integration within their organizations. Read more from Accounting for Sustainability.

UK National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan

The UK government has published its National Biodiversity Strategy & Action Plan (NBSAP) in which it commits to achieving all 23 targets of the Global Biodiversity Framework (see below) at home. The document sets out how the four countries of the UK will work together to address biodiversity loss, drawing on the commitments made by the UK and the UK’s Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies to summarise and emphasise a collective ambition and determination to work together to address biodiversity loss.

Europe News

Accountancy Europe publishes its analysis of the Omnibus proposal

Accountancy Europe’s has issued three factual analysis of the European Commission’s (EC) recent Omnibus proposal focusing on:

• Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD)
• sustainability reporting standards (ESRS), and
• Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD).

These papers aim to give stakeholders an initial overview of the key proposed changes expected to reshape sustainability reporting and due diligence practices across Europe. The papers can be read alongside Accountancy Europe’s statement on the EC Omnibus sustainability proposal.

European Commission adopts Union of Skills

The European Commission has adopted a package of initiatives to improve high quality education, training and lifelong learning in the EU. The Union of Skills aims to deliver higher levels of basic and advanced skills, provide opportunities for people to regularly update and learn new skills, facilitate recruitment by businesses across the EU and attract, develop and retain top talent in Europe. The plan is accompanied by an Action Plan on Basic Skills and a STEM Education Strategic Plan to improve skills in science, technology, engineering, and maths, promote STEM careers, attract more girls and women, and boost preparedness in the face of digital and clean-tech transitions.  

Environment and climate change a concern of European 16–30-year-olds

Forty percent of 25,863 participants in the latest Eurobarometer Youth Survey have identified ‘rising prices and the cost of living’ as a concern, with one third of respondents saying the EU should focus its attention on the environment and climate change over the next five years. The majority of the participants, aged 16-30, for whom social media is the main information source, are also aware of the risks of online disinformation, with 31 percent believing the economic situation and job creation should be a priority.

World news

COP16 concludes in Rome

The extended session of COP16 concluded in Rome on Friday 28 February, with participants reaching a significant new agreement to address the global nature crisis. Governments agreed on the strategy to raise the funds needed to protect biodiversity and achieve the action targets of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (KMGBF), an international agreement aimed at addressing the global biodiversity crisis. The session brings to a successful close the business of the UN Biodiversity Conference, COP16. That meeting was suspended in Cali, Colombia in 2024 after failing to find common ground on a financing deal.

UN Global Compact reaffirms support for mandatory human rights and environmental due diligence

The world’s largest corporate sustainability initiative, the UN Global Compact, has reaffirmed its support for mandatory human rights and environmental due diligence, a crucial issue as businesses navigate evolving sustainability requirements. The Compact’s newly available Decent Work Toolkit for Sustainable Procurement helps companies, procurement professionals and suppliers align purchasing decisions with decent work principles to enable procurement staff and their suppliers to take action to improve labour conditions for supply chain workers.

Report finds financial institutes remain committed to net zero

Resources

Sustainability trends 2025

2025 is already seeing changes that are reshaping our future. Read about what to expect from sustainability in 2025 in this roundup by Institute Sustainability Advocacy Manager, Susan Rossney, with contributions from experts in reporting, assurance, tax, skills, procurement and more.

Climate Ambition Accelerator (Limited Places)

Did you know?

A report commissioned by Wind Energy Ireland, Good for your Pocket - How renewable energy helps Irish electricity consumers, has found that scaling up of renewable energy sources in Ireland since 2000 has cut spending on fossil fuels by €7.4 billion and prevented the production of more than 47 million tonnes of CO2 up to the end of 2023.

Articles

• EU firms give cautious welcome to ESG deregulation amid fears of weakened standards (Business Post)

   

• Euro ‘omnibus’ proposal reveals softer CSRD and CSDDD (ICEAW Insights)

   

• European Commission proposes simplification of sustainability reporting rules (Chartered Accountants Ireland)

   

• Trump’s return prompts companies to stifle climate talk with ‘greenhushing’ - Businesses that used to tout carbon-cutting are switching their message (Bloomberg)

   

• Don’t Call It ESG, Call It Resilience - A new taxonomy around environmental, social and governance investing comes as political pressure mounts on investors (Wall Street Journal)

   

• One in seven Irish firms have no women in senior roles (Irish Examiner)

   

• Stand up for the future we want (Sustainable Views – Subscriber only)

Podcasts

Zero: Why (Almost) Everyone Hates ESG Right Now (Bloomberg, 26 mins)
Reporter Frances Schwartzkopff tells Akshat Rathi why the EU is rolling back some ESG legislation. And reporter Saijel Kishan explains that many companies today are still keeping their ESG plans in place — but just not talking about it.

Why ignoring women endangers the climate | International Women's Day 2025 (Outrage + Optimism, 50 mins)
Are women the key to solving the climate crisis? Why are they - and their children - so disproportionately affected by the issue? And how can men step up to support change? To mark International Women’s Day, Christiana Figueres is joined by top climate scientist Dr Katharine Hayhoe.

Events

Institute of Chartered Accountant England and Wales (ICEAW), 2025: ESG – how should the financial statements reflect sustainability?
Gain a practical understanding of how to reflect ESG principles in financial reporting for your organisation.
Virtual, 14 & 24 March 2025, 9.30-12.30  

EPA, Climate Change Lecture Series - Transformation in a Changing Climate: Insights from the IPBES Transformative Change Assessment
Virtual, 26 March, 2025, 7pm

Chartered Accountants Worldwide, Difference Makers Discuss Special: Global Challenges and the Drive for Sustainability with Carmine Di Noia (OECD)
In our upcoming episode of Difference Makers Discuss, Ainslie van Onselen, Chair of Chartered Accountants Worldwide and CEO of Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand, will be speaking with Carmine Di Noia, the Director for Financial and Enterprise Affairs at the OECD. This special conversation will dive into the crucial global challenges we face today and the role of finance professionals in tackling them.
Virtual, 3 April, 18:00 - 18:30 pm BST

Chartered Accountants Ireland ESG Masterclass: Take your sustainability knowledge to the next level (ROI/NI)
Masterclass designed for all professional accountants working in business or practice, wishing to consolidate their knowledge and understanding of the sustainability regulatory, reporting and assurance landscape.
9 April, 08:30 – 14.00, Virtual

Chartered Accountants Ireland, The SME and SMP Sustainability Workshop
A workshop for SMEs and small/medium accounting practices (SMPs) on how to get ahead of the sustainability curve. This interactive half-day session will focus on positive actions you can take to understand the ‘trickle-down’ effect of the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive ('CSRD’), green public procurement, access to sustainable finance, and how to make your practice more sustainable to save costs and respond to staff and client demands.
Virtual, 23 May, 9.30- 12.30; €60 members; €75 non-members; 3 hours CPD points.

EPA, EPA Annual Climate Change Conference 2025
The EPA Annual Climate Change Conference will be held on Wednesday 28 May 2025 in Dublin Castle. Please save the date for this event.
In person, May 28, 2025

Sustainability Centre

You can find information, guidance and supports to understand sustainability and meet the challenges it presents in our online Sustainability Centre.