DCU and Business in the Community Ireland launches first climate action scorecard
The Climate Transition Plan Scorecard report assessed how companies (10 in total) in BITCI’s Accelerate Pact for Climate and Nature were developing and implementing credible Climate Transition Plans aligned with the Paris Agreement. It was developed by Dr Aideen O’Dochartaigh, Dr Jimmy O’Keeffe, and Emma Comerford of DCU, with funding from BITCI.
Key Findings
- Companies scored an average of 62% for enabling actions such as governance, finance, and decarbonisation, compared to 51% for measurable transition outcomes.
- Most companies have science-based climate targets covering all emission scopes, yet absolute emissions reductions are not happening at the required pace.
- Few companies have measurable targets for nature or just transition, despite growing recognition of their importance.
- Sustainability oversight is now embedded in most boards, though few include climate or nature specialists or link executive pay to environmental performance.
Dr Aideen O’Dochartaigh, co-author of the study said:
“With the rollback of sustainability reporting regulation, it's more urgent than ever that companies voluntarily take ambitious climate action and achieve results. Thankfully, most companies are still taking the climate and biodiversity crises seriously and the Accelerate companies are among many who have reaffirmed their commitment to addressing climate and nature challenges. Progress on emissions reduction is not at the pace required, at corporate or country level, and nature and just transition are not typically engaged with in depth. However, some measurable progress on absolute emissions reduction is observed, and the foundation for improved performance has been laid.”
Dr. Jimmy O’Keeffe, co-author of the study said:
“This first Climate Transition Plan Scorecard shows that Irish businesses are beginning to step up to climate change and biodiversity loss. The companies assessed have demonstrated real ambition—setting science-aligned climate targets and putting in place strong governance and risk management structures. But ambition alone is not enough. While Irish businesses are making important strides on climate, action on nature lags behind. Companies rely fundamentally on healthy ecosystems—whether through supply chains, resources, or resilience to climate risks—yet this dependency is rarely reflected in their transition plans. If businesses are to thrive in a changing climate, protecting and restoring nature must move from the margins to the centre of corporate action.”
Meghan Carmody, BITCI Senior Adviser and Accelerate Pact Manager:
“In general over 90% of a company’s emissions footprint is in Scope 3, making it a critical area of change. The report shows some very positive actions, from encouraging suppliers to set science-based targets and integrating climate measures into procurement practices. However, some companies do not yet have clearly defined Scope 3 targets, or measure and report only a small percentage of the fifteen Scope 3 categories. We also see an absence of supplier engagement strategies and metrics for impacts, and only a small number report on services or initiatives to help customers decrease emissions.”
The Scorecard found increasing emissions among some companies with strong climate commitments, and in some cases with several years of measurement and reporting experience showing that target setting does not necessarily result in reduced emissions. However, setting clear science-based net zero targets does tend to support climate outcomes, with 86% of the 171 companies recently surveyed by the Science-Based Targets Initiative reporting it led to acceleration of the company’s decarbonisation.
Companies especially appear to be struggling to sufficiently reduce emissions across their value chains, so-called ‘Scope 3’ emissions, which include for example purchases goods and services and use of sold products. Some companies are achieving sustained emissions reductions in this area, but these reductions are not occurring fast enough.