WEALTH July 11, 2026 0 Comments

Why Most Corporate Social Responsibility Efforts Fail Miserably—and What Truly Moves the Needle in 2024

Ever noticed how Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has morphed from a checkbox on a company’s to-do list into a full-throttle engine driving real change? It’s like CSR finally got the memo: cutting carbon footprints, championing biodiversity, and fostering community inclusion aren’t just feel-good extras — they’re the backbone of modern business success. But here’s a kicker: how many organizations are truly walking the talk versus just greenwashing their image? From Bank of Ireland’s slick new EV marketplace to Danone’s deepening partnership with FoodCloud, Irish companies are showing that genuine commitment can spark measurable impact — and yes, it’s a breath of fresh air. Whether it’s pro bono legal work, investing in women in STEM, or buzzing beehives at solar arrays, these recent initiatives paint a vibrant picture of how business can not only survive but thrive by syncing with the environment and society. Ready to dive into the inspiring ways industry leaders are reshaping their CSR playbooks? Let’s get into it. LEARN MORE

Corporate social responsibility is leaning further towards carbon reduction, biodiversity and community inclusion. Sorcha Corcoran provides a flavour of recent activity

In June, Bank of Ireland launched a new digital marketplace aimed at making it simpler and quicker for consumers to switch to electric vehicles (EVs).

Developed in partnership with dedicated EV platform Nevo, it brings together EV education, tools to compare models and options and the ability to arrange a test drive, alongside integrated Bank of Ireland finance solutions.

Bank of Ireland’s EV lending grew by 46 per cent in 2025, while its latest credit and debit card spending data, for May, shows an increase in spend on EV charging of 84.53 per cent when compared to the same period last year. The digital marketplace is accessible via the Bank of Ireland website.

Food and beverage company Danone Ireland has announced a two-year extension of its partnership with FoodCloud, until 2028. Over the past three years, the partnership has redistributed 174 tonnes of surplus food and supported 685 community partners with nutritional guidance.

Danone is continuing to deliver its nutrition education programme alongside an expanded volunteering initiative in 2026, supporting FoodCloud’s kitchens, hubs and gleaning activities nationwide. The renewed partnership will include evolving the education programme to address emerging needs identified by community partners, as well as supporting organisations to make the most of an increasingly diverse range of surplus food.

Corporate social responsibility — Hildegarde Naughton TD, Minister for Education and Youth on a visit to St Patrick’s National School, Galway to launch The Pollinator Project. Photo: XPOSURE.ie

A&L Goodbody’s first Responsible Business report, launched in October, shows that 80 per cent of its lawyers participate in pro-bono work, with over 41,100 pro bono hours delivered in the past three years. Half of the partners promoted in the firm over the past five years were women.

Regarding social impact, firm donations to community partners totalled €540,000 between 2022 and 2024 and €158,000 was raised by over 650 employees engaged in fundraising and volunteering. A&L Goodbody’s new Dublin headquarters is powered by 100 per cent renewable energy. In April, the firm sponsored the ESG & Sustainable Business Summit in Croke Park.

Fidelity Ireland is investing €184,000 in a two-year research project in collaboration with Dublin City University to uncover the barriers and opportunities that influence females’ engagement with STEM subjects in schools. The goal is to better understand the interventions that may positively impact the participation gap in STEM education and careers.

This new collaboration builds on Fidelity Ireland’s ongoing Women in STEM Scholarship Fund with DCU, which offers financial and developmental supports designed to inspire and enable more young women from diverse backgroundsto pursue related studies and careers.

Killian Barry, Danone Ireland’s country director, Aoibheann O’Brien, director of development and innovation at FoodCloud, and Brendan Dowling of Whitefriar Community Centre, FoodCloud’s hub in Tallaght, Dublin

The Pollinator Project, a schools-based initiative raising awareness of the importance of insects, birds and mammals, and how they can be protected, returned for 2026.

Delivered by education organisation Biodiversity in Schools in partnership with fibre broadband operator SIRO, it works with schools across Ireland to train students as pollinator ambassadors and support them in delivering ‘bee-positive’ actions such as creating ‘no-mow meadows’ and reducing the use of sprays on school grounds.

Since 2023, the Pollinator Project has engaged more than 144,000 students from early-years education through to primary and post-primary schools nationwide. Over 600 no-mow meadows have been created and students have planted more than 32,000 pollinator-friendly sunflowers.

AIB Group announced that it is officially recognising the Hidden Disabilities Sunflower in its 177 AIB branches and 66 EBS offices across the island of Ireland. Recognised in over 95 countries, the subtle, voluntary sunflower symbol signals a need for support.

This is the latest initiative as part of the bank’s wider commitment to inclusion and accessibility. All of its ATM and cash and cheque lodgement machines have now been upgraded to provide increased functionality for people who are visually impaired. Language interpretation and translation services have also been made available in branches and offices. In 2025, AIB was announced as the first Irish bank to receive nationwide autism-friendly accreditation from AsIAm, Ireland’s national autism charity.

Office supplies and solutions provider Codex renewed its partnership with AsIAm for 2026 following the success of the Thrive collection, a range of office furniture for neurodiverse individuals that they developed together. It was launched at the Autism Europe International Congress in Dublin last year.

At the heart of the range is the ‘Balance Booth’, an acoustic pod that provides employees with focus, privacy and self-regulation in a busy, open-plan office environment. Other products include a selection of seating and chairs — both sensory-avoiding and sensory-seeking — as well as sit/stand desks, noise-reducing headphones, fidget tools and other accessories.

The RedClick team supporting the Irish Wheelchair Association’s Fitness Inclusion Games

Dalata Hotel Group raised over €40,000 last September during Dalata Difference Makers Month, an annual company-wide fundraising campaign to support its three charity partners — The Marie Keating Foundation, Leukaemia Care and Air Ambulance Northern Ireland. Following the renewal of these partnerships last year, Dalata has set a fundraising target of €1m to the end of 2028.

Dalata’s Difference Makers Month features over 200 charity events across 56 hotels and the central office. It includes headline events such as The Great Dalata Cycle, which last year involved staff doing a 500km challenge from London to Amsterdam, and The Great Dalata Charity Run, where employees took part in registered races to reach a group goal of 3,000km.

Ballynahinch Castle Hotel in Connemara won the Green Tourism and Entertainment Award at the Green Awards 2026 in recognition of its holistic approach to sustainable tourism, which makes environmental stewardship part of the guest experience.

On the infrastructure side, investment in on-site renewables, advanced water treatment and low-carbon heating has driven waste and emissions down to levels well below sector norms. The organisation has restored woodlands and habitats as well as removed invasive species on the 700-acre estate.

The overall Green Business of the Year 2026 award went to IFF Plastics, a small business in Co Clare, for demonstrating strong leadership in sustainable manufacturing through innovative recycling solutions and circular economy practices.

Another Green Awards 2026 winner, Monaghan-based Activ8 Solar Energies, has partnered with SSE Airtricity to launch an all-island, funded solar initiative for businesses. Worth a total of up to €200m, it will help Irish businesses to install on-site solar systems without upfront costs.

Activ8 and SSE will invest in funding, installing and maintaining the solar photovoltaic (PV) system while businesses will pay for the electricity they generate on site, at an agreed and attractive rate, through power purchase agreements.

Available nationwide, the initiative is expected to appeal to sectors with high and consistent energy demand, including manufacturing, logistics and large-scale commercial operations. Projects may also qualify for support through the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland commercial grant scheme. 

Irish energy transition specialist Astatine is rolling out a beehive biodiversity initiative at the company’s solar PV installations across Ireland. This will involve up to 300,000 native Irish honeybees thriving at each Astatine site during peak summer months.

The first installation of six beehives at a solar energy site located at a Ballina-based beverage company in Co Mayo was unveiled in February. There are plans to plant native wildflowers and install ‘bug hotels’ at project sites nationwide.

Tom Marren, chief executive officer of Astatine, said: “This biodiversity initiative really shows how renewable energy infrastructure can work hand-in-hand with nature, creating benefits that extend far beyond energy-expenditure reduction.”

Property and casualty insurer RedClick was the main partner of the Irish Wheelchair Association’s (IWA) second Fitness Inclusion Games at the Sport Ireland National Indoor Arena on May 7. The games support people with disabilities and mobility challenges to engage in structured gym-based programmes that improve strength, coordination and overall wellbeing. Around 150 athletes took part this year.

The flagship event of IWA’s pioneering Fitness Inclusion Project, the games were created as the inclusive equivalent of fitness competitions such as CrossFit and Hyrox, with all workouts adapted to suit each participant’s ability. Otherwise, RedClick is entering into its sixth year of sponsoring the IWA’s Run ‘n’ Roll inclusive race.

Builders’ merchant Chadwicks Group is currently engaged in its biggest project to date for the IWA — the refurbishment of four apartments at its Carmel Fallon Centre in Clontarf in Dublin. Expected to be finished in mid-July, the retail value of the project is around €35,000.

The work includes the replacement of kitchen units, bathrooms and flooring and the provision of equipment to carry out refurbishment of the exterior of the building.

Chadwicks Group also has a partnership with the Julian Benson Cystic Fibrosis Foundation (JBCFF). As well as providing materials, many of Chadwicks Group’s team volunteered to help complete the construction work for JBCFF’s Tranquility House, which was featured on RTE’s ‘Room to Improve’ last year.

Dublin-based JFOC Architects has unveiled a housing design it claims could help solve the housing crisis. Called the ‘compact green city’, the three-storey, medium-density design delivers four times more dwellings than existing estates of semi-detached houses.

The developments, predicted to save 30 per cent on apartment-building costs, minimises roads, with cars parked in a perimeter shape or underneath the homes.

“Solving the housing crisis is not just about delivering units, it is about creating communities. Great public spaces are just as important as high-quality houses,” Claire McManus of JFOC Architects and housing spokesperson for the Royal Institute of the Architects of Ireland, said.

In May, Ford Ireland launched its official Transit Team Directory (TTD), an initiative intended to celebrate the skilled tradespeople who keep communities across Ireland running every day.

Following a national nomination process, the five tradespeople selected to join the TTD each received access to a fully-electric or plug-in hybrid Ford Transit for 12 months to support their work and wider businesses, as well as getting an Ohme home charger installed at their residences.

Coinciding with the launch, the assembled team is inviting charities, community groups, youth clubs and local organisations across Dublin to put forward projects in need of practical support as part of this new nationwide initiative.

Grant Thornton’s environmental, social and governance (ESG) report, released in May, highlights the professional services firm’s ongoing efforts to foster a supportive workplace through learning and well-being initiatives, as well as targeted investments in environmental stewardship and strong governance.

In 2025, the firm in Ireland was reaccredited with Investors in Diversity Gold from the Irish Centre for Diversity and named as the ESG Best Performer of the Year (+1000 employees) at the Green Awards for its innovative approach to advancing sustainability and efforts to reduce carbon emissions. Grant Thornton is also one of Ireland’s Sustainable Development Goals Champions for 2025-2027.

Left to right: Patrick Murphy, chief executive, and Emily Harnett, head of marketing, Codex, with Adam Harris, founder and chief executive, and Niamh Mellerick, director of operations, AsIAm

A record 12 Irish companies achieved the highest grade from the CDP Ireland Network for their environmental transparency and performance.

Of the 903 responding companies headquartered or operating in Ireland, Accenture, CRH, Cairn Homes, DCC, Eaton Corporation, Glenveagh Properties, John Sisk & Son, Johnson Controls International, Kerry Group, Ryanair, Trane Technologies and Version 1 were the only firms to achieve an A rating.

An additional four companies attained an A- score, namely C&C Group, Experian Group, Kingspan Group and the National Treasury Management Agency, reflecting increasingly strong performances across the construction, FMCG, insurance and financial services sectors.

Photo: Pete Hubbert, Lorna Martyn, CIO, Corporate Services Technology, Fidelity Investments, Dr Maura Coulter, Associate Dean for Research, DCU Institute of Education and Dr Aisling Twohill, DCU School of STEM Education, Innovation & Global Studies. ©Fran Veale