Pioneering all-island programme led by Business in the Community will ensure that SMEs can take commercial advantage of their environmental credentials.
Yesterday (11 June 2024) at Bank of Ireland’s Cabinteely operations in Dublin, mid and senior management from 10 SMEs across the island of Ireland took part in a Carbon Literacy Programme full-day workshop.
Bank of Ireland, in collaboration with SSE Airtricity and Musgrave, has partnered with Business in the Community Ireland and Northern Ireland on an all-island Climate Action Pilot Programme for SMEs.
“The pilot will provide educational and practical support to allow SMEs to determine their carbon footprint and a pathway for future decarbonisation actions”
The three-part programme provides hands-on, in-person training and support to ensure that participating SMEs across the island of Ireland are well-placed to take commercial advantage of their environmental credentials.
One-to-one mentoring will be offered to each SME to receive tailored advice or guidance resulting in full-certification and graduation in October.
Taking positive action
SMEs will be supported to take action on the climate crisis by completing the following programme, including such actions as:
- Understand how they can address the climate crisis through accredited Carbon Literacy Training
- Measure their carbon footprint.
- Plan for the future by working with a BITC Environmental Adviser to develop a climate action plan that’s bespoke to their organisation.
- Learn from real-life examples through peer-to-peer and cross-sector collaboration.
- Shared learnings
The participants will take part in three workshops as well as complete a short assessment in order to achieve certification and graduate.
A graduation ceremony will take place along side an evaluation report launch of the pilot programme with recommendations. The programme will also feature as part of the annual Business in the Community CEO Forum on 10 October.
“The pilot will provide educational and practical support to allow SMEs to determine their carbon footprint and a pathway for future decarbonisation actions,” said Colette Shirley, director of Sustainability, Bank of Ireland.
“These demonstrable outputs will then allow SMEs to transparently communicate with their key stakeholders about their sustainability journey, which will become a commercial imperative over time.
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