EY Ireland reveals sustainability holds firm on Irish boardroom agendas despite shifting geopolitics and regulatory changes

Sustainability continues to rank highly on the agenda of Irish businesses in spite of geopolitical uncertainty, economic headwinds and a shifting regulatory landscape according to EY Ireland’s latest State of Sustainability report.

The research, which was conducted with 200 senior sustainability leaders, decision-makers across Ireland, is being released as COP30 continues in Belem, Brazil. It finds that over six in ten (62%) of organisations say they have assigned responsibility for sustainability at C-suite level, up from 53% last year, with almost one in five (17%) reporting that CEOs have responsibility for sustainability. Just under three-quarters (73%) said that environmental and social considerations were now embedded in how business priorities are set, via alignment between business and sustainability strategy, while almost seven in ten (69%) said these factors are used to assess organisational performance.

However, while organisations are setting ambitious Environmental Social and Governance (ESG) targets, delivery confidence varies. While 37% of organisations report having a net zero goal, just one in four (26%) express strong confidence in achieving these targets, underscoring the gap between ambition and delivery that many organisations globally are grappling with.

Interestingly, community impact (81%) ranked as the most important sustainability area of strategic focus for businesses surveyed, followed by climate risk (74%) and water stewardship (73%). The research also finds that geopolitical developments, including the EU ‘Omnibus’ regulatory changes, U.S. policy shifts and wider geopolitical uncertainty, have influenced the vast majority (80%) of businesses’ sustainability strategies. This shift is particularly evident in areas such as supply chain risk, regulatory compliance and stakeholder engagement.

Derarca Dennis, EY Ireland Partner and Sustainability Services Lead, said: “Despite the rapidly shifting geopolitical and regulatory landscape over the past year, it’s encouraging to see Irish organisations continue to move forward on responsible growth and to prioritise sustainability. The increase in C-suite ownership is particularly noticeable, as it shows that leadership teams are taking this work seriously and building it into how they operate and assess performance, a sign that sustainability is becoming integral to how success is defined.

The research shows that sectoral differences are becoming more pronounced as organisations increasingly tailor their sustainability strategies to specific operational realities and regulatory exposure. For example, energy and utilities are focusing on emissions tracking and infrastructure planning, whereas the retail sector is prioritising supply chain due diligence and packaging regulation.

Across all sectors, technology adoption is progressing, but maturity varies. While 54% have tools to gather supply chain information for compliance, integration levels differ. These systems are helping organisations respond to regulatory change, assess ESG performance and strengthen reporting infrastructure. However, many are still building the internal capability needed to fully leverage them.

Sean Casey, EY Ireland Partner and Head of Energy, said “In the energy and utilities sectors, sustainability remains at the top of the agenda, driven through the lens of climate risk, emissions reduction and strengthening overall energy resilience. The record level of investment in energy infrastructure underway across the island of Ireland will unlock significant new sustainable energy resources for households and businesses whilst mitigating security of supply concerns.”

Organisational preparedness for Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) and International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) compliance remains uneven. Lighter regulatory pressure resulting from the delay in implementing CSRD announced earlier this year by the EU and the reduction in the number organisations deemed in scope of the Directive are likely to have impacted this preparedness.  Three out of ten (30%) respondents feel very prepared to meet these regulatory requirements, while nearly 40% remain unsure when systems will be in place and only 11% are fully ready. In terms of skills preparedness for regulatory compliance, the proportion of organisations reporting major gaps in regulatory knowledge has dropped from 46% in 2024 to 23% in 2025.

Colm Devine, EY Global Vice Chair for Sustainability, noted:
“There’s a growing fluency around the language of regulation, but the infrastructure behind it is still catching up. Organisations are interpreting CSRD and ISSB in ways that reflect their own maturity and priorities. Some are embedding these frameworks into existing systems. Others are starting from scratch. What’s clear is that progress is being made.”

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