85% of businesses consider themselves environmentally friendly, according to a new survey by SSE Airtricity.
The Green Business Sentiment Index, carried out by Behaviour & Attitudes measures the progression of attitudes among businesses towards renewable energy and green recovery
71% said sustainability and climate change have an impact on decision making when it comes to purchasing and partnerships,.
This is the second national report, following the first instalment in July 2020.
It has been carried out against the background of Covid-19, with a focus on COP26, the United Nations Climate Change Conference that will be held in Glasgow this coming November.
With positive progress in some areas over the past 10 months, the survey shows that there is still some way to go for businesses to see the benefits of renewable energy as 47% of businesses are still unaware if their energy is renewable or not, unchanged from July 2020.
30% claim to use renewable energy, an improvement on July 2020.
However, 47% still see cost as the main hurdle in reducing their carbon footprint, unchanged from the previous report.
"The results of the second instalment offer real promise as we've seen progress across a number of areas," said Klair Neenan, Managing Director of SSE Airtricity.
"It’s really encouraging to see that, despite the current challenges facing the Irish business community due to Covid-19 and economic recovery, there’s been an increase of 10-percentage points in the number of businesses that consider the issue of climate change to be of importance.
"Along with an increase of 11 percentage points in the number of businesses that say sustainability and climate change have an impact on decision making when it comes to purchasing and partnerships," she said.
