Corporate social responsibility activity has evolved from a nice-to-have to a must-have element of the modern business model. Sorcha Corcoran provides a round-up of developments in Ireland over the past year

In the foreword to Innovate, Collaborate and Transform: BITCI’s Strategy for Impact 2025-2028, Tomás Sercovich, chief executive of Business in the Community Ireland (BITCI), noted that successful businesses continued to be those that understand their interdependencies within communities, nature and the environment and society at large.

“These are the businesses that manage their impacts, are accountable for their actions and promote meaningful partnerships,” he wrote. The strategy report argues that businesses need to continuously revisit their “licence to operate”.

“This is more than being a good neighbour or playing our part in the community. Consumers want to live sustainably and are looking to business to help them navigate this dilemma whilst at the same time manage cost pressures,” it stated.

“Business is also expected to lead on change and, while it may seem more complicated to do so in 2025 than before, it will remain a necessity and a clear expectation.”

Celebrating its 25th anniversary this year, BITCI is “energised and committed” to advancing all aspects of sustainability and social inclusion within its member companies and public policy, according to Sercovich.

“Failure to be ambitious and proactive now — despite and because of multiple external political uncertainties — will result in further deterioration of our planet, its species and people’s quality of life,” he warned.

Meanwhile, a new report from PTSB revealed that more and more Irish businesses saw the benefits of sustainability initiatives for both their commercial and their environmental benefit.

PTSB’s latest Reflecting Business also showed that most Irish businesses were looking at new commercial opportunities in sustainability — in areas such as energy efficiency, climate technology, circular economy, renewable energy and organic food production.

The research found that 78 per cent of Irish businesses saw the sustainability market as a major growth opportunity to win more customers and increase revenues, while 92 per cent said their customers were interested in sustainable products and services.

It also revealed that 74 per cent of business here said they had supported customers in making more sustainable choices, or planned to do so, while 73 per cent said they had engaged with suppliers to source more sustainable goods or services, or planned to do so.

Meanwhile, 80 per cent of businesses said they were interested in ‘impact lending’, where loans are offered to businesses on the basis of providing a positive environmental or social impact. Coinciding with this research, PTSB launched a new Sustainability Strategy for 2025–2027, which is aimed at accelerating its environmental and social impact.

Key priorities include financing SMEs with positive environmental or social outcomes, enhancing customer access to sustainable products, promoting financial literacy and reducing carbon emissions.

The strategy aims to support social inclusion through initiatives such as the Community Funding Programme and a partnership with AsIAm, Ireland’s Autism Charity.

At the launch, Leontia Fannin, chief sustainability and corporate affairs officer at PTSB, emphasised that sustainability is no longer optional — customers are demanding it, and businesses are adapting for competitive advantage.

Wildacres, a rewilding nature reserve and biodiversity education centre in Co Wicklow, scooped the top accolade of Green Business of the Year at the Green Awards 2025. It was also named Green Micro Enterprise of the Year.

The judging panel’s citation stated: “Wildacres is setting the standard for sustainability and corporate responsibility. Through innovation, commitment and a holistic approach to environmental stewardship, the company has demonstrated outstanding leadership in reducing its carbon footprint, enhancing biodiversity and driving meaningful change within its industry.

“By integrating sustainable practices across its operations and inspiring others to do the same, Wildacres is proving that business success and environmental responsibility go hand in hand.”

SE Systems, a national provider of energy solutions, announced that €500,000 is available for communities across the country as part of its Community Fund. Applications are open until July 18 for community projects to apply for grants of between €3,000 and €30,000 for energy upgrades.

The €500,000 in funding is for sustainable energy upgrades, specifically to help future-proof community buildings across Ireland. Among the projects that have received funding in the past three years are Cork Cancer Support, Irish Guide Dogs, Sixmilebridge GAA Club, Barretstown Kids Camp and Dalkey Sustainable Energy Community.

Staff at financial services intermediary Ask Acorn donated €20,000 to Breakthrough Cancer Research, a charity dedicated to funding scientific research that targets the most urgent gaps in cancer treatment. Breakthrough was selected through a company-wide nomination process, with employees putting forward causes that hold personal meaning.

The funds raised by Ask Acorn staff will directly support research into poorer-prognosis cancers, with a five-year survival of less than 25 per cent and currently very limited treatment options.

“At Ask Acorn, protection is at the core of what we do,” said Mark Lane and Pat Phelan, branch managers in Galway. “It’s not just about financial protection — it’s about safeguarding futures in every sense.”

Ahead of Earth Day on April 22, Too Good To Go, the marketplace for surplus food, highlighted the fresh wave of Irish businesses joining its fight against food waste. These include Greenville Deli, Dubray Coffee, Vada Café, Bakers + Baristas, and Iciar French Cheese Bar at Whelehans Wines in Dublin and J.M. Reidy’s in Killarney, Co Kerry.

On the Too Good To Go app, consumers are connected with local businesses to rescue unsold surplus food, packaged as ‘Surprise Bags’, at a discounted price.

“To date, we’ve saved over 1.5 million Surprise Bags in Ireland, working with more than 2,000 partners across all counties,” said Machaela O’Leary, sales manager at Too Good To Go Ireland.

Eddie Murphy, country director for Ireland and Northern Ireland at Marks & Spencer (M&S), presented a cheque for €150,000 to Dr Joseph Duffy, chief executive of youth mental health charity Jigsaw.

The significant sum was raised through donations from M&S employees and customers on the island of Ireland. This was to mark the first year of a three-year partnership aimed at supporting Jigsaw in increasing mental health literacy, raising awareness and breaking down barriers to seeking support.

M&S has committed to raising a total of €350,000 to support Jigsaw’s crucial work and ambition to reach over 1.5 million young people and their families by 2026. The second year of the 2050 Accelerator, run by Dogpatch Labs, kicked off with ESB, Kerry Dairy Ireland and Coillte working alongside nine sustainability-focused start-ups from Ireland, the UK, Europe and the US to develop pilots for their new technology.

Supported by the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications, the 2050 Accelerator aims to leverage Ireland’s sustainability assets in energy, agriculture and forestry to drive real-world impact. It will conclude withs a showcase day in the CHQ building, Dublin 1 on June 19 to an audience of international investors, corporate partners, industry stakeholders and the wider sustainability community.

A new pilot project was launched involving businesses funding the creation and management of wildlife ponds, hedgerows, woodlands and species-rich grasslands across Irish farms.

Named ReFarm, it’s a collaborative effort between Trinity College Dublin, Burrenbeo Trust and local and international businesses. The aim is to make sustainable “farming for nature” a reality, while allowing businesses to support nature-positive initiatives that can be reported under new EU sustainability reporting directives.

ReFarm has secured over €1m in funding to support nature-positive actions on Irish farms, alongside an accompanying research programme.

Key funders include RWE Renewables Ireland, John Paul Construction, CIE Tours, BiOrbic, Trinity Business School and Community Foundation Ireland.

AIB announced an investment of over €20m in sustainability-focused education and research, half of which is going to the AIB Trinity Climate Hub at Trinity College Dublin. The new hub brings researchers together to address challenges around maintaining a stable and liveable climate, securing biodiversity and reversing water degradation.

AIB will be the lead industry partner supporting research on solutions needed for climate and nature crises, and for developing capacity for addressing these challenges through the AIB Climate Leaders programme. As a founding partner, AIB has also committed €10m to support PhD research through Innovate for Ireland.

Nine companies completed BnM’s 2025 Accelerate Green GROW programme, which ended with a showcase in Co Offaly in May.

The participants were Easydry, Circular Food Co, BioSense, Watt Footprint, Plaswire, The Planted Way, Novelplast, JTM Energy and Pulse Market. They cover sectors from foodtech and sustainable hospitality to the circular economy, biodiversity, renewable energy storage and sustainability-focused software. Since 2022, a total of 60 alumni companies have completed Accelerate Green.

The flagship accelerator for early-stage companies and SMEs in climate action and sustainability is organised by BnM in conjunction with Resolve Partners.

Speciality pet retailer Maxi Zoo distributed €90,000 worth of products to 32 animal charities across the country via its 34 stores in 17 counties. All of the organisations in receipt of the stock are voluntary and rely on donations to continue operating.

The campaign is one of many ways in which Maxi Zoo Ireland is involved with the welfare of animals. It recently donated over €6,500 to the Irish Blue Cross as part of its Together for Pets campaign, while its customers granted 2,564 wishes to animal welfare organisations in 2024 through its annual Shelter Wishes campaign.

The Airbnb Community Fund donated hundreds of thousands of euro to four Irish non-profit organisations selected as recipients this year. This includes a continuation of Airbnb’s long-standing partnership with Safe Ireland and additional funding distributed to the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre and the Milltown Malbay Development Company.

Launched in 2020, the Airbnb Community Fund is a US$100m initiative to directly support local communities and the people who live there up to 2030. Each year, Airbnb donates to organisations that are supporting and strengthening communities around the world, including donations made in partnership with local hosts in many of these communities. Since 2021, Airbnb has donated over US$1.7 million to organisations across Europe working to end gender-based violence and abuse.

Food processor ABP partnered with ESB to reduce carbon emissions by 80 per cent at its site in Clones, Co Monaghan with the installation of an innovative, state-of-the-art water heating system. The project is part of an extensive decarbonisation plan that aims to reduce Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions by 42 per cent from 2021 to 2030 across all ABP sites in Ireland, the UK and Europe.

The heating system at the Clones site recycles the lost heat generated by refrigeration units, using it to heat the water used for cleaning, processing and hygiene on site. The result is that only a small amount of water needs to be heated using a new, smaller and efficient gas boiler.

Dublin-headquartered Ecocem signed a partnership agreement with TITAN Group, a leading international business in the building and infrastructure materials industry, to co-develop and deliver innovative low-carbon cements.

Focusing initially on the Greek market, TITAN and Ecocem will work together to co-develop and deploy a bespoke version of ACT, Ecocem’s scalable, low-carbon cement technology. The new low-carbon cement will be created by replacing a substantial portion of clinker with locally sourced, supplementary cementitious materials, which will reduce the carbon footprint of cement by up to 70 per cent, while still meeting materials performance targets.

For the sixth consecutive year, Intel is donating over €1m to community organisations across the country, thanks to the hours volunteered by its employees in Ireland. The donation is made possible by the Intel Matching Grant programme, which sees a grant of US$10 paid by the Intel Foundation for every hour that an Intel employee volunteers at an approved organisation.

In 2024, Intel Ireland employees volunteered over 143,000 hours that were eligible to be matched through this initiative, resulting in a total payout of €1,436,292 for 307 organisations across the country.

These include charities such as Tiglin and No Name Club, a variety of sporting clubs and other organisations such as animal sanctuaries, schools and scouting groups.

Law firm Mason Hayes & Curran partnered with Rethink Ireland and the Department of Rural & Community Development to launch a €1.5m fund to foster inclusive, resilient communities and strengthen social cohesion across Ireland.

The Connected Communities Fund 2025-2028 is open to organisations committed to scaling innovations that bring people together, promote belonging and empower marginalised communities to shape solutions that work for them.

Mason Hayes & Curran previously partnered with Rethink Ireland on four consecutive Engage & Educate funds, which expanded access to education for marginalised groups, including migrants, former prisoners, those facing socioeconomic barriers and the Traveller community.

Bank of Ireland raised €750m from a new green bond to finance more climate action projects in renewable energy and green buildings. There was strong demand from investors with orders in excess of €4.6bn and more than 220 investors participating.

The bond, which was issued with a seven-year maturity and a fixed coupon of 3.625 per cent, brings Bank of Ireland’s total green bond issuance to date to €5.6 billion. Bank of Ireland’s sustainability-related lending grew by almost a third last year to €14.7bn, putting it on track to deliver its end2025 target of €15bn earlier than anticipated.

Supermarket retailer Lidl launched a new €100,000 Green Fund to support local projects that aim to tackle key environmental challenges across climate and biodiversity, the circular economy and sustainable living. Charities, primary and secondary schools and community groups from every county were invited to apply.

Developed in partnership with BITCI, the new fund is part of the retailer’s overarching sustainability strategy and commitment to creating ‘A Better Tomorrow’.

Elaine O’Connor, head of sustainability at Lidl Ireland and Northern Ireland, said: “With a network of over 180 stores in Ireland, we want to use our reach into local communities as a real force for good.”

Employees of Gas Networks Ireland and Deloitte planted 1,200 trees on the grounds of one of Gas Networks Ireland’s aboveground installations in Baldrumman, near Lusk, Co Dublin. The initiative was part of a partnership formed last year when Gas Networks Ireland appointed Deloitte as delivery partner for its Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive project.

In 2022, Gas Networks Ireland launched a significant rewilding and biodiversity project at the Baldrumman site, with a promise to plant over 14,000 native Irish woodland trees in 2023. With the recent addition of 1,200 trees, the total number of trees planted at the site now exceeds 15,300.

Cork-based food production group Carbery launched the next phase of its FutureProof bonus scheme that rewards farmer suppliers for adopting sustainability measures. Building on the success of this scheme since its launch in 2022, Carbery is increasing the sustainability fund to 1.25c per litre bonus — a 25 per cent increase on 2023 — to farmer-suppliers who meet five sustainability criteria.

To date more than €12.2m has been paid to farmers through FutureProof and 93 per cent of the milk supplied to Carbery in 2024 came from farms implementing FutureProof measures. These new measures will make a further €7.2m available in 2025.

Having successfully supported Simon Communities for three Christmas campaigns — raising a total to date of €58,000 — Cork-based preserves, jams and relishes producer Folláin expanded its initiative beyond the festive season.

A ‘Donate Now’ button was added to Folláin’s website, giving customers the opportunity to continue supporting the homelessness charity all year round. In addition, Folláin will match every euro donated by a customer.

Mícheál Ó Lionáird, Folláin family member, said: “Home has always been at the heart of what we do — from our family kitchen to the tables of our customers across Ireland. We are proud to have continued to improve our support for Simon Communities, helping to provide warmth, comfort and hope to those who need it most.”

Following its rebrand and integration into US-headquartered Brown & Brown Inc, Irish insurance brokerage Brown & Brown (Ireland) — formerly O’Leary Insurances — awarded €230,000 to six local charities.

Donations were made to the Alzheimer Society of Ireland, Cork Counselling Services, Pieta House, Jigsaw, Barnardos and Family Carers Ireland to support projects from dementia education in schools to suicide prevention.

Diarmuid Nolan, chief executive, Brown & Brown (Ireland), said: “Our 200-plus teammates across Ireland are committed to the communities we serve. These donations reflect extensive efforts to support those facing mental health challenges. The goal wasn’t just to raise money — it was to drive awareness and reach those who need support the most.”

Photo: At the launch of the Rethink Ireland Connected Communities Fund were (l-r) Will Carmody, managing partner, Mason Hayes & Curran; Dr Ebun Joseph, special rapporteur, National Action Plan Against Racism; and Deirdre Mortell, CEO, Rethink Ireland.