The Panel and Green Team Networks ESG Breakfast Event

‘Bridging the gap between climate financial risk and sustainability education’ was presented by Madeleine Murray and Dr Ciarán O’Carroll of Change by Degrees in the wonderfully rustic Marshall Room at The Dean Hotel Dublin.

Opening the event was The Panel’s ESG & Sustainability Senior Consultant, Darina Heavey, followed by a brief introduction by Aedín O’Leary from the Green Team Network.

After the introduction, CEO and Co-Founder of Change by Degrees Madeleine Murray introduced their company and asked attendees to not only consider the environmental impacts of climate change but also the economic and social throughout their presentation.

After this, she handed over to her colleague Dr Ciarán O’Carroll who gave an incredibly insightful talk about everything from what is currently happening to our climate, the timeline for seeing these changes happening, and how it is affecting our environment.

Dr Ciarán spoke of the impact these global changes have on Ireland, currently and in the future. Not merely what is believed to happen, but what will happen.

“It is not a matter of what, but when it will happen.”

– Dr Ciarán O’Carroll –

He also spoke of the economic impact and how organisations such as the European Commission are working to implement change. Change through the implementation of Corporate Sustainability Directives such as the:

• Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD)
• Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence (CSDD)

Directives with an aim to help organisations, suppliers etc. identify the unsustainable from the sustainable. Information that will require organisations to fulfil certain standards and disclosures. Something which in the future will be key for all organisations, no matter the size.

The takeaway: organisations need to ask themselves if they are ready for CSRD, and if they aren’t, how can they become ready? Also, nobody knows all of this straight away, training is essential and key.

“What we are looking to do, is to demystify sustainability.”

– Madeleine Murray –

Following on from Dr Ciarán’s talk Madeleine spoke of how Change by Degrees achieved their recent “B Corporation” rating and what they had to go through to achieve this certification. She went into more detail concerning the importance of an organisational integrated plan and approach, as this is not a Chief Sustainability Officer (CSO) standalone plan, but an all-team one.

Madeleine went through the obstacles of the CSO in achieving a successful organisational change, with lots of eye-opening pointers.

• The importance of management involvement.
• Legacy building for all organisations.
• The importance of learning to all stakeholders
• Team engagement is vital to the implementation of your sustainability strategy – they are the wheels on the car!

We would like to take this opportunity to thank Madeleine and Dr. Ciarán for sharing their experience and expertise in this constantly changing area.

Courtesy of Change by Degrees here is a useful guide to: “Questions to Ask Yourself to Prepare for CSRD“.

If you are looking for an opportunity within this field and would like recruitment expertise, or are looking to recruit a skilled ESG and sustainability professional, please contact our colleague Darina Heavey at darina@thepanel.com.

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