Just over half of medium sized Irish companies believe that environmental, social, and governance (ESG) requirements are a barrier to their ability to expand overseas due to different regulations across jurisdictions.
The latest Grant Thornton International Business Report published today provides insights into the attitudes of 10,000 mid-market businesses across 28 countries.
38% of Irish companies cited the resources required in terms of staff and time as their chief concern about ESG compliance, followed closely by the speed at which requirements change, and the capital investment needed.
Despite new requirements under regulations such as the EU’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive, 41% of Irish medium sized companies have not yet developed any sustainability plans or processes such as policy, reporting and data gathering.
This was much higher than their European and global peers where just 8% of companies had no strategy in place.
For those Irish firms that have ESG strategies in place, the main benefit they see, according to the research, is an improved ability to access finance such as low-cost loans to fund green initiatives, for example, retrofitting their office or adding electric vehicles to their fleet.
"Sustainability is moving very quickly from a nice-to-do to a must-do for many Irish businesses as firms quickly realise how ESG regulations are tied to their future business success," said Janice Daly, Partner and Sustainability Lead at Grant Thornton.
"We are increasingly hearing from companies struggling with challenges of being compliant with sustainability requirements.
"It is important, however, that Irish businesses see sustainability as an opportunity rather than a burden as it can be leveraged as a competitive advantage for those firms who get it right," she added.
