Irish Exporters Association prepares members for the Climate Action Bill 2021

The Irish Exporters Association (IEA) today hosted a webinar on preparing its members for Ireland’s Climate Action and Low Carbon Development (Amendment) Bill 2021. Today’s webinar is the first in the IEA’s 2021 Sustainability Series of webinars, training courses and information campaigns. We were delighted to have participation from Deputy Brian Leddin T.D. Chair of the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action, Conor Molloy, Independent Energy Management Auditor and Raoul Empey, Managing Director of Sustineo.

Sustainable trade and investment is a key policy priority for the IEA. Supporting members efforts to operate in line with Irish, EU and international legislation will drive the Association’s work in the years to come. The IEA will identify measures to support and prepare its broad membership base for policy changes coming down the line through a series of informative and proactive webinars, sustainable supply chain training programmes and sustainability focused information campaigns.

Chief Executive of the Irish Exporters Association Simon McKeever commented: “Events of the past year have magnified the intricacies of supply chains and led us to analyse the way in which trade flows and indeed investment. While efforts have been focused on ensuring that supply chains are kept moving throughout the pandemic and disruption, owing to Brexit, minimised as much as possible, it is now time to bring the sustainability of supply chains back to the fore. The ongoing climate crisis continues unabated and we all must play our part by changing business practices and adopting measures and policies that are in line with overarching climate focused and sustainability driven legislation.

We have developed our Sustainability Series to ensure that the National 2050 Climate Objective, written into the Climate Action Bill 2021, is central to our members business planning. Through our regional network groups, we have gauged our members’ initiative and preparedness. Based on feedback received, I am delighted to announce details of our Sustainable Supply Chains Training programme, the initial part of which has been designed to bring companies on a journey from understanding their carbon emissions right through to the practical steps needed to measure, report and reduce their supply chain emissions, and to adopt more sustainable procurement practices.”

Deputy Brian Leddin T.D, Chair of the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action said: “The ambition in the Climate Bill requires all sectors to play their part, and I welcome the continued work of the IEA in supporting the sustainability of Ireland’s export businesses. The innovative capacity of the private sector will be crucial to achieving our climate targets in the decades ahead.”

 Conor Molloy, Independent Energy Management Auditor and Trainer stated: “The Climate Action and Low Carbon Development (Amendment) Bill 2021 brings  long-awaited clarity to climate governance and target setting in Ireland. Whilst many exporters have worked towards a climate neutral economy, the act enables work towards system wide change. We look forward to training IEA members and their supply chain partners, building trust, reducing emissions and improving competitiveness.“

 Raoul Empey, Managing Director of Sustineo added: “The policy on achieving net zero by 2050 or sooner is becoming increasingly clear both internationally and within Ireland. Every business leader needs to understand how this effects their operations and supply chains. We have developed this suite of courses with the IEA to help businesses improve their carbon literacy and give them the confidence to move forward in a carbon constrained world.”