A report from Business in the Community Ireland and PwC shows that 64 companies have signed up to the Low Carbon Pledge, up from 58 last year.

The pledge was established in 2018 and is now more ambitious, aligned to the Paris agreement on climate change, so that signatories must take action to help limit global heating to 1.5°C. They must work to set science-based emission reduction targets for their business by 2024.

BITCI chief executive Tomás Sercovich (pictured) stated: “Businesses are experiencing the need to evolve and transform their operations to deliver a green and socially inclusive future. This transformation will be complex and challenging beyond what we have experienced.

“It will be costly and take time to research and innovate, creating partnerships and ways of working. However, with all these challenges come endless opportunities to build the products and services of tomorrow, supporting a just and responsible transition.”

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PwC partner Kim McClenaghan (pictured) added: “The increased ambition in this year's Pledge is commendable, as is the increased number of signatories. The case studies clearly signpost that while each sector faces particular challenges when setting targets, innovative approaches exist to surmount these obstacles.

“A number of areas for organisations to consider on their decarbonisation journey include: understand your operating environment; set ambitious targets; align your corporate strategy to net-zero and obtain external validation of your non-financial data to confirm the accuracy and credibility of your reporting.”

PwC’s Net-Zero Economy Index for 2020 shows an annual decarbonisation rate of 11.7% per annum is now required to keep warming within 1.5°C — five times greater than the 2.4% achieved going into 2020.

The PwC analysis says that two-thirds of signatories are well progressed to setting science-based targets by 2024, and 30% of these have successfully set SBTs subsequently approved by the Science Based Targets initiative, with a further 38% formally committed to setting SBTs.

Signatories within the technology, retail and agribusiness/food and drink sectors are the most advanced on the journey to science-based targets. 

Other findings include:

• 42% of pledge signatories have set a net-zero ambition. For example, 56% have set their scope 1 and 2 ambitions net-zero targets to be met by 2030 or earlier. Positively, 41% of respondents have set scope 3 net-zero targets for 2030 or earlier, which is significantly more ambitious than the national trajectory of net-zero by 2050. 
• Post-pandemic, most signatories expect to see a long-term reduction in business travel and continued use of digital platforms for hybrid working. Many signatories are creating sustainable travel policies, with a more limited requirement for essential travel.
• 65% of this year’s signatories receive external verification of their emissions data, up from 53% in last year’s report.