43 leading Irish companies agree to reduce carbon emissions before 2030

The agreement is to be announced at a Business in the Community Ireland (BITCI) summit in Dublin today.

It is the first time that Irish businesses have made a dedicated pledge to reduce carbon emissions according to the group.

Business in the Community Ireland CEO Tomás Sercovich said: “This is the first time that Irish businesses have made a dedicated pledge to reduce carbon emissions.

"According to the recent Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report, we have just 12 years to make a fundamental transformation to a low carbon economy so business has a vital role to play.”

He continued: "We work in partnership with business and industry to help them address climate change and play lead roles in their communities.

"The transition to a low carbon economy will also bring opportunities for business and will play a key role in ensuring Ireland’s future competitiveness.

“We also believe that chief executives and business leaders must be proactive in today’s world in leading from the front in tackling the major issues facing our communities, our country and our planet. Inspired leadership is what employees and consumers throughout Ireland are increasingly demanding,” he added.

The 43 companies which made the low carbon pledge are:

• ABP Foods,
• AIB,
• ALDI,
• A&L Goodbody,
• An Post,
• Arup,
• AXA Insurance,
• Bank of Ireland,
• Boston Scientific,
• BT Ireland,
• Central Bank of Ireland,
• College Group,
• Dawn Meats,
• Deloitte,
• Diageo,
• ESB,
• EirGrid,
• Fujitsu,
• Gas Networks Ireland,
• Heat Merchants,
• HEINEKEN Ireland,
• Hovione Ireland,
• Janssen,
• KBC Bank,
• KPMG,
• Lidl,
• Matheson,
• M&S,
• Musgrave,
• Permanent TSB,
• PM Group,
• PwC,
• Ricoh,
• SSE Ireland,
• Sodexo,
• Symantec,
• Tesco,
• Transdev,
• Ulster Bank,
• Veolia,
• Virgin Media Ireland,
• Vodafone
• William Fry.