Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Wednesday, 22 March 2023

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation

Start-up and Scaling Environment in Ireland: Discussion

Mr. Brian Caulfield:

The area of ESG in general and sustainability in particular is a key concern for us. As Dr. Saunders pointed out, it will become increasingly difficult for companies to raise external capital if they do not have an ESG plan which covers not just sustainability but also issues in respect of diversity and inclusion. We have a sustainability working group but it is a concern for us that only a small percentage of companies have such a plan in place now. We must encourage them to do so.