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Best practice for Climate Action Roadmaps

23/01/2025
Hands holding a glass globe with leaves and grass, sun shining

The Government’s Public Sector Climate Action Mandate, initially approved in July 2022 and further reviewed and updated twice, in 2023 and 2024, was developed to guide public bodies that fall under the mandate of the Climate Action Plan. The purpose of the Mandate is to encourage strategic vision, coordination, organisation, mobilisation and planning by each mandated organisation. Public-sector bodies that fall under this Mandate are required to lead by example and be at the forefront of change; they are required to publish their own Climate Action Roadmap and update it annually.

The relevant public-sector bodies are required to report on four key themes:

  1. Targets;
  2. People;
  3. Ways of working; and
  4. Buildings and vehicles.

Within these four themes, each organisation that falls under the Mandate must outline how it intends to reach the targets set out in its Climate Action Roadmap. These themes are to be included within the Roadmaps, as doing so provides a clear indication of commitment.

The Government has tasked the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) with tracking completed Roadmaps and reporting compliance to the government. The SEAI has compiled detailed guidelines regarding the minimum content that is required to be covered within the four key themes mentioned above. We believe that it is paramount that the goals and plans to meet targets are clear, both internally and externally.

Crowe’s Environmental, Social & Governance (ESG) practice has put together best-practice guidance for public bodies under the Mandate to help them write and review their Roadmaps, achieve their targets, and remain in compliance with the Mandate. Our advice for public bodies is to focus on two parts of writing their Roadmaps: goals and structure.

Goals

Before writing or reviewing their Roadmaps, organisations are advised to specify their goals, capacity, achievements, and challenges in their Statements of Strategy, in order to establish a conceptual understanding of what is possible. These descriptions will help organisations to report clearly on the actions they are currently taking and will also enable the creation of a clear path in developing and advancing their environmental goals. It is important to be both ambitious and realistic when updating your Climate Action Roadmap. The Roadmap should include a list of key performance indicators (KPIs), detailing when the goals are to be achieved and reviewed and how and to whom the organisation is accountable. A good approach is to apply the SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time-based) criteria to the goals associated with these KPIs.

Structure

An effective Climate Action Roadmap should be structured according to the four key themes mentioned above and these should align with your organisation’s goals and organisational Statement of Strategy. In effect, these themes will serve as subheadings within your Climate Action Roadmap. KPIs under each subheading need to be structured in a clear and measurable way – listing or tabulating goals and measurements, for example, is necessary to ensure that progress is measured and monitored and the goals are completed within the set time frame. Goals must be quantifiable, ambitious and achievable.

Future actions

  1. The Climate Action Roadmaps are to be reviewed and updated annually in line with the Climate Action Mandate. Organisations are advised to check that they are up to date and that their Roadmap includes the minimum required content outlined by the SEAI.
  2. Stay updated on any potential changes to the minimum requirements as set out by your organisation’s parent Department.
  3. Ensure progress towards your organisation’s goals by holding regular meetings, providing periodic updates, and maintaining accountability.

The ESG landscape is evolving quickly, and compliance can often seem daunting. The expert ESG advisers at Crowe’s ESG Centre of Excellence are fully capable of assisting you with all of the above actions. If you would like assistance with your ESG journey, please contact the experts at Crowe’s ESG Centre of Excellence at [email protected].