Supporting companies in embedding all aspects of sustainability into their business models and operations is core to what Business in the Community Ireland (BITCI) is about. Our purpose is to inspire, challenge, and facilitate businesses in bringing about a sustainable, low carbon economy and more inclusive society where everyone thrives.

Our membership comprises over 100 large companies – a mix of semi state bodies, large indigenous businesses, as well as multinational corporations that have a significant base in Ireland, spanning a collective workforce of over 215,000 employees. For 25 years, we’ve been trusted advisers in all Economic, Environment, Social, and Governance (EESG) aspects of Sustainability and Inclusivity, ensuring our network of businesses builds capacity, ambition, and leadership.

The Growing Importance of Purpose Driven Business

Over this timeframe, the effects of the climate and nature crises have become ever more visible, and there is rising social inequality and division. Companies know they have a role to play, and many are keen to adopt responsible business practices and drive change towards impactful sustainability, continuous improvement, and transparency. This is in response to demands by investors, staff, customers, and stakeholders, and it is also a main source of differentiation and competitiveness. Becoming a more sustainable and responsible business guarantees the future viability of the company whilst simultaneously protecting the planet and its people.

However, challenges exist for companies in making this shift. These include:

• Unifying different sustainability and CSR actions into an organisation-wide sustainability strategy.
• Having the required staff and resources to implement it and senior management buy-in to monitor it.
• Ensuring compliance with reporting directives, given such data may not have been gathered before.
• Upskilling to understand the impact the company has on nature and biodiversity.
• Creating more sustainable supply chains to lower emissions and protect workers across the value chain.
• Diversifying recruitment and retention policies to create an inclusive workplace culture.
• Providing evidence of impact and building trust with wider stakeholders at a time of greenwashing.
• Using the influential voice of business on our society’s most critical challenges of nature, climate, and inequality amid polarisation.

Elevating Corporate Sustainability Standards

BITCI is responding to these challenges and the growing demand for enhanced sustainability by working with members at an individual level, helping to upskill staff across EESG through peer learning, training and workshops, as well as encouraging companies to go beyond compliance with current regulatory frameworks such as Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) by becoming certified with the Business Working Responsibility Mark which is Ireland’s independently audited EESG standard. The demonstration of continuous improvement, as opposed to pure data gathering, is core to attaining the Business Working Responsibly Mark and showcases these companies as leaders in sustainability.

Driving Carbon Reduction and Inclusivity

BITCI has also led a series of campaigns over the years to highlight members' collective commitment and impact as they strive to be more purpose-driven. These have included the Low Carbon Pledge and Elevate, Inclusive Workplace Pledge. These two acknowledge that a holistic approach to sustainability is now imperative for businesses as they must address their carbon footprint and social footprint through inclusivity and fair labour practices.

The 70 signatories of the Low Carbon Pledge committed to setting Science Based Targets (SBTs) no later than December 2024 across their entire carbon footprint (Scopes 1, 2, & 3). Our latest report, published in September 2023, found that 50% of pledge signatories have fully set SBTs and have had them approved by the Science-Based Target Initiative. Another 31% have formally committed to setting SBTs. This means that 81% of the signatories will have progressed to setting science-based targets by the end of 2024. The Low Carbon Pledge will be updated to include a nature angle in 2025, and BITCI urges more members to demonstrate their commitment to being a nature-positive and net-zero company by becoming a signatory.

The Elevate, Inclusive Workplace Pledge emerged from some BITCI members knowing that creating a workforce that mirrors the diversity within society leads to greater productivity and enhanced social inclusion and social cohesion. To date, 65 members spanning multiple sectors have signed the Elevate Pledge, which asks signatories to proactively measure (across different indicators of diversity), disclose and profile their workforce. The latest report found progress in gender representation, especially in senior positions, increased recruitment across different ethnic backgrounds and improved disability data gathering.

While sustainability can be seen as a buzzword, it significantly benefits companies, communities, and the planet. For it to be effective, companies must be authentic in their mission to be more sustainable, setting realistic yet ambitious targets and upskilling and unifying staff behind this mission. BITCI is proud to have collaborated, supported, and challenged our members to be leaders in sustainability for the past 25 years.

To find out more information about BITC, please visit www.bitc.ie.

Connect with June on LinkedIn to learn more about her work with BITCI.

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At Codex, we are working together to identify actions and initiatives we can implement to reduce our carbon footprint and positively impact our workplace and the wider community through our Codex Cares Programme.

We believe diversity is morally essential and beneficial for our success. We have implemented initiatives to foster a culture of diversity, equity, and inclusion, which will have a lasting impact on Codex and our communities. Our commitment is to create a welcoming, equitable, and inclusive workplace for all employees.

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