SSE Airtricity published its’ Green Business Sentiment Index this week, involving a survey of Irish businesses and their attitudes and actions towards sustainability. The results demonstrate a regression in the sentiment towards sustainability, suggesting that businesses are focused on the short term, day-to-day challenges of the current economy, with a 12%* drop in businesses reporting that they believe the issue of climate change to be important for them. This demonstrates a serious risk to Ireland’s sustainability targets, and households and businesses need to be supported today whilst pace must be increased when it comes to decarbonisation efforts for the future.  

Ireland’s Climate Action Plan aims for a 51% reduction in emissions by 2030. Modelling from the Department of Finance suggests that this alone could require investment of €125bn by 2030. Despite this, just two in five* businesses consider sustainability and energy efficiency a priority in their budget, with almost half of businesses stating that cost is the main hurdle preventing them from proactively reducing their carbon footprint. However, we’re at the point where the effects of climate change are unavoidable. Ireland has just had its hottest June on record followed by the wettest July on record, and more record temperatures in September; the decrease in green sentiment for businesses as highlighted in our research findings, demonstrate a real cause for alarm and should not be taken lightly.  

Short term solutions have to align with long term goals. Climate change will continue to drive up costs for businesses and for society at large, if unaddressed.  

Many of the challenges today have the same solutions as the longer-term issue of climate change. Decarbonisation measures, sustainable practices and the increased development of renewables are all part of the solution to drive down long-term costs and deliver greater economic stability. A transition to renewable energy will not only tackle the climate emergency by cutting carbon, but also improve energy security by reducing our dependence on imported fossil fuels and resulting in lower costs for businesses. SSE’s Net Zero Acceleration Plan includes £40bn investment in critical low-carbon infrastructure by 2030. In the last financial year alone, we invested £2.8bn. This is the floor, not a ceiling to our ambitions – we want to go even faster. 

At the recent Energy Transition Summit in Croke Park, SSE Airtricity Managing Director Klair Neenan said; “It’s hard to focus on tomorrow when you’re navigating your business through a crisis today.” 

There is now a real urgency that business decision makers are facilitated in understanding and supporting Ireland’s sustainability targets. 

The transition to Net Zero, brings both an unprecedented economic opportunity and an unprecedented challenge for businesses. It’s critical that we bring everyone on this Net Zero journey and SSE is pioneering the One Stop Shop model to support businesses in improving their energy efficiency with smart metering, retrofitting their premises, or installing solar panels. 

To find out how your business can work towards a more sustainable future with SSE Airtricity, visit sseairtricity.com/business or call the team on 1850 88 28 03. 

Key findings from the 2023 ROI Green Business Sentiment Index (with percentage point comparison to the 2021 Index): 

• 51% say sustainability and climate change have an impact on their decision making, down 20 points from May 2021 
• 68% consider themselves to be environmentally friendly, down 17 points from May 2021 
• 39% of respondents believe the issue of climate change is very important for businesses, down 21 points from May 2021 
• 11% of respondents believe the issue of climate change is not at all important for businesses, up 5 points from May 2021 
• 26% of respondents don’t consider their business to be particularly environmentally friendly, up 13 points from May 2021 
• 21% of businesses definitely consider themselves to be environmentally friendly, down 16 points from May 2021 
• 36% of respondents said they believe that retrofitting can benefit their business, with 32% of respondents unsure of the benefits of retrofitting 
• 65% of respondents said the purchasing and partnership decisions for their business are influenced by areas of cleaner, greener energy and climate change (down 11 points from May 2021) 

Additional findings from August 2023: 

• 90% of Irish businesses feel it is primarily the government’s responsibility to tackle climate change but both the general public and businesses themselves also play a role  
• 47% feel that being environmentally friendly is important to their customers  
• 37% consider sustainability and energy efficiency a priority in their budget 
• 38% have incorporated smart metering into their environmental practices 
• One-third of Irish businesses are unsure that retrofit can benefit their business 

* Research carried out by Behaviour & Attitudes on behalf of SSE Airtricity among a national representative sample of 359 business owners in Ireland. Fieldwork took place from 26 July - 16 August 2023, conducted via telephone and online methodologies.