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10th March 2023: A new report which analyses Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) knowledge and skillset requirements within the Irish insurance industry has been launched today. Commissioned by the Sustainable Finance Skillnet and produced by KPMG, the report, ‘Insurance industry ESG knowledge and skills analysis 2023’, is the result of...

2022 saw significant movement in the regulatory landscape in tandem with the politicisation of sustainable finance. These movements have been driven by macroeconomic volatility as well as challenges around the implementation phase of sustainable finance in some jurisdictions. ESG regulations for investors: the road to investors’ net-zero transition plan For...

The biodiversity finance agenda is undergoing a global surge, one which is being driven by the inherent risks and opportunities presented to financial systems as a result of economic dependency on the natural world. The recent World Economic Forum global risks report showed that companies are recognising biodiversity risks but...

Pictured: Minister for the Environment, Climate, Communications and Transport – Eamonn Ryan, Commissioner, California Department of Insurance, Ricardo Lara In a further demonstration of Ireland’s commitment to supporting sustainable finance development in emerging markets, Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications, Eamon Ryan announced funding of €2.5 million for the...

Climate Finance Week Ireland 2022 drew to a close for another year in October, but not before offering an insight into how far Ireland has come in developing its response to sustainability demands and obligations. This year’s event marked a number of world-firsts for the sustainable finance agenda both nationally...

Wednesday, November 9th: Minister of State at the Department of Finance with special responsibility for Financial Services, Credit Unions and Insurance, Seán Fleming, has today (Wednesday) launched a report outlining the skills required by the domestic retail financial services sector to finance Ireland’s net zero transition. Released to coincide with...

21 October 2022: Registration has opened today for an innovative new sustainable finance programme for compliance professionals in financial services developed and delivered by IOB. Commissioned by Sustainable Finance Skillnet (SFS), IFS Skillnet and the Compliance Institute (formerly the ACOI), the Professional Diploma in Sustainable Finance for Compliance Professionals is...

Wednesday October 19th: Ireland’s strategy to support the development of innovative, data-driven technology solutions to Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) challenges has been officially launched. Overseen by Sustainable Finance Ireland and the Fintech and Payments association of Ireland, the Sustainable Finance Fintech Strategy has been developed in collaboration with stakeholders across financial services,...

Wednesday October 19th: The CEO of the California Public Employees Retirement System (CalPERS), Marcie Frost, was last night named winner of the 2022 International Climate Leadership Award at the official Climate Finance Week Ireland gala dinner which was held in the National Gallery of Ireland. The International Climate Leadership Award,...

Monday October 17th: Minister Simon Harris has today launched the International Sustainable Finance Centre of Excellence, to deliver the skills necessary for the financial services community to finance a net-zero future. The Centre will be an international hub from which the Irish-located finance community will develop its response to sustainability...

Climate Finance Week Ireland, Ireland’s premier and only government-affiliated event aimed at advancing the sustainable finance agenda gets underway this Monday, October 17th. Climate Finance Week Ireland (#CFWI22) is once again delivered by Sustainable Finance Ireland, in partnership with Department of Finance and proudly sponsored by AIB. This year’s event...

Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Michael McGrath, has announced a number of measures aimed at upskilling and reskilling the workforce in the areas of sustainable finance, green tech and climate change as part of budget 2023. Minister McGrath announced the creation of over 2,000 Skillnet places as part of...

We are feeling the heat. Record temperatures are being recorded across the globe with heatwaves sweeping the UK and mainland Europe. It goes without saying that should such extreme weather anomalies become more frequent, we could see our economies, our ecologies and our societies collapse under the weight of the...

Sustainable Finance Skillnet (SFS), IFS Skillnet and the Compliance Institute (formerly the ACOI) have awarded the contract to design and deliver a new Professional Diploma in Sustainable Finance for Compliance Professionals to the IOB (Institute of Banking). Supported by Skillnet Ireland, the new Diploma, the first of its kind globally,...

Courtnee Kyle, is under no illusions about the size of the role the financial sector has to play in combatting the climate crisis. As a senior manager in Sustainability and Sponsorships at Permanent TSB (PTSB), she leads the bank’s sustainability programme as it pursues its goals of a 60% cumulative...

This week’s Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) Conference, organised by Sustainable Finance Ireland and hosted by AIB at their Dublin Headquarters, has established a “tremendous foundation” upon which Irish industry can develop strategies and responses to their mounting obligations when it comes to reporting around climate and nature...

Neil Menzies outlines property company’s pioneering efforts to make transparent disclosures around carbon emissions and climate-related governance A lot has changed at Hibernia REIT during Neil Menzies’ two years with the company. As the incoming Sustainability Director of the real-estate investment firm with a €1.4billion property portfolio based mainly around...

Head of Responsible Investment Kathy Ryan outlines finance firm’s moves to progress the climate agenda Kathy Ryan has witnessed first-hand the culture shift in the financial world, with companies now taking account of environmental, social and governance concerns in their day-to-day operations. One such firm, Irish Life Investment Managers (ILIM),...

Head of Sustainability Lorraine Fitzgerald reveals that cuts to emissions and disclosures of climate data are now the top of the construction firm’s agenda Lorraine Fitzgerald took on the inaugural role of Head of Sustainability at Glenveagh, Ireland’s leading homebuilder, in October last year. “I’m less than a year in...

Group Sustainability Officer Caoimhe Donnelly reveals firm’s plans to transform fleet and improve infrastructure The path to a greener and more sustainable future is complicated for a public transport company with a mostly diesel-powered fleet. For CIÉ Group, the umbrella organisation made of five companies with nearly 11,000 employees that...

Chief Sustainability Officer with Smurfit Kappa, Garrett Quinn, opens up on how packaging giant’s ‘inherently sustainable product’ and in-depth disclosures of climate data are paving the way for future success As one of the world’s leading providers of paper-based packaging solutions, operating across 36 countries with around 48,000 employees on...

Sustainable Finance Ireland provides funding for ground-breaking ESG data project to First Derivative and Corlytics

Over 30 Irish based firms have adopted the framework of the Financial Stability Board established Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD).

New programme for compliance professionals on tackling key climate-related financial reporting and disclosure issues.

Michael Bloomberg presented with Climate Action Award 2021 at Climate Finance Week Ireland

Ireland to establish international centre for sustainable finance in partnership with UN-convened network

Minister Donohoe announces dates for 4th annual Climate Finance Week Ireland 2021