BITCI takes part in two government-led forums on Business & Human Rights and Climate Change
Last week, Business in the Community Ireland was delighted to take part in two government-led forums that will drive Ireland’s ambition on sustainable development.
We were delighted to take part in the inaugural meeting of the Business and Human Rights Implementation Group, an initiative championed by An Tánaiste, Simon Coveney TD and chaired by Breege O’Donoghue. The Department of Foreign Affairs will be the lead on this vision for Ireland to develop a robust mechanism to ensure the implementation of the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. It was exciting to see representation in this group from across most government departments and agencies like IDA and Enterprise Ireland, as well as the business, trade union and NGO community. A Irish businesses become more complex and global, human rights issues will need to become central to management systems. Awareness will be critical to engage all businesses.
On 18th January we were invited by the Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment to take part in the High Level Consultation Forum for the development of an All Government Plan for Climate Disruption. I was enthused by the wide representation of stakeholder views, including several BITCI members like such as Calor, Eirgrid, ESB or Musgrave as well as a wide government and Houses of the Oireachtas presence.
We were very happy to hear that our Low Carbon Pledge, where 45 BITCI member companies have committed to carbon emission reductions, was referred to as a model of best practice. It is very positive to see the level of interest of business on climate change. This is a huge challenge for Ireland and Minister Richard Bruton TD has set a clear vision and reminded us of David Attenborough’s emotional appeal at COP 24 in Poland last December.
The sense of urgency should make us act clearly and make Ireland as leader and not a laggard on climate change.
Find out more on the Low Carbon Pledge and check out our insights on Business and Human Rights.
Tags:
Related News
The role of sustainable business during Covid19
On April 15th BITCI CEO Tomás Sercovich introduced our new BITCI Webinar Series alongside our Senior CSR Adviser, Linda O’Sullivan. The ongoing webinar series explores, among other things, the links between sustainable business, CSR and the business response to Covid-19. As part of the first webinar, we discussed the global business response to the Covid-19
Unprecedented times call on an exceptional business response
The COVID-19 outbreak brings unprecedented challenges. A recent global survey shows the importance that business will play in this crisis, from being a trusted source of information, to supporting staff, contractors, consumers and local communities, to being perceived as a key partner of Governments to team up and “play its part” in the solutions that will be needed.
5 Easy steps towards a Zero Waste Office
The topic of Zero Waste has been around for quite a while but lately it’s become particularly important, driven by the threat of the climate crisis and the amount of plastic in our oceans. Reducing waste has risen to the forefront of our environmental consciousness, but Zero Waste isn’t just about that. it goes beyond
How Gas Networks Ireland are working to reduce their emissions
Gas Networks Ireland Gas Networks Ireland (GNI) has adopted an iterative multi-year approach to reducing the environmental impact of its business activities. Significant milestones on this journey have been the implementation of an Environmental Management System (certified to ISO 14001) in 2012 and achieving the Energy Management System certification (ISO 50001) in 2014. In 2015
