Sustainability PulseClimate Action
Cover Story

The Woman Who Helped Shape Europe's Clean Energy Laws Says ESG Strategy Still Has Gaps — And She's Right

Marie Donnelly helped shape the Clean Energy for All Europeans package and chaired Ireland's Climate Change Advisory Council. Her analysis of what European ESG strategy has gotten wrong — and what still needs fixing — is clear-eyed, technically grounded, and uncomfortable in the right places.

SP
Sustainability Pulse
Thought Leadership · 20 June 2026 · 5 min read
Latest Stories
Circular Economy
Your Phone Has a Right to Be Repaired. Ireland Is About to Make That Law.
5 min · Feature
Circular Economy
Ireland Is Making Fashion Brands Pay for Their Waste — Here's What That Means
5 min · Feature
Circular Economy
Ireland's Circular Economy Strategy 2026–2028: The Plan to Transform How the Country Uses Its Resources
3 min · Feature
Climate Action
Ireland Is Retrofitting Its Schools — Here's the Full Scale of What's Actually Being Built
5 min · Feature
Thought Leadership
Dalata Hotel Group Won the ESG Grand Prix in 2026 — Here's What They Actually Did to Earn It
5 min · Feature
Energy & The Environment
Large Energy Users Now Account for 31% of Ireland's Electricity — And the Number Is Still Rising
5 min · Feature
Thought Leadership
From Oxford to the EPA: The Career That Has Put Dr Eimear Cotter at the Centre of Ireland's Environmental Future
5 min · Feature
Climate Action
Ireland's EV Revolution Is Real — But the Road to 2030 Has Some Serious Potholes
5 min · Feature
ESG
Data Centres in Ireland: The Benefits Are Real, the Costs Are Real, and the Decisions Can't Wait
5 min · Feature
ESG
How Agentic AI Is Changing the Way Sustainability Teams Work — And Why Irish Businesses Need to Pay Attention
5 min · Feature
Energy & The Environment
The Irish Scientists Reading the Earth to Help Save It — Inside UCD's School of Earth Sciences
5 min · Feature
ESG
The EU-US Trade Deal Is Signed. For Irish Sustainability and ESG Leaders, the Work Is Just Beginning.
5 min · Feature
Climate Action
Ireland's Climate Watchdog Maps Out the Fix for Transport Emissions, and the Numbers Show It's Already Working
5 min · Feature
Energy & Environment
Alltech Opens Landmark EU Applications Laboratory in Co. Meath — And It Could Change How Ireland Powers Its Farms
3 min · Feature

Other live stories of interest

View all →
Energy & The Environment

The Retrofit Programme That Could Decarbonise a Million Irish Homes — If We Fix It

Ireland has the most generous home energy upgrade grants in the country's history. It has a €558 million budget, a clear 2030 target and genuine political will. What it does not yet have is the pace. Here is what is working, what is not, and what needs to change.

Feature · 5 min
Climate Action

Great Big Green Week 2026 Is Happening Right Now — And Here Is Why It Matters

More than a million people took part in 2025. In 2026, the theme is Together for Good. From community clean-ups to repair cafés, tree planting to renewable energy workshops — the UK and Ireland's biggest community climate event is in its final days. Here is what it is and how to get involved before Sunday.

Feature · 3 min
Climate Action

World Oceans Day 2026: Ireland's Seas Are in Crisis — And the Solutions Are Within Reach

Today the world marks World Oceans Day under the theme REIMAGINE. For Ireland — an island nation with 2,500 km of coastline and 880,000 km² of ocean jurisdiction — the call to reimagine our relationship with the sea has never been more urgent. Inside Ireland's marine emergency, the EU's formal action over missing MPAs, the new High Seas Treaty and what 30x30 will actually take.

Feature · 5 min
Energy & Environment

Ireland's Electric Vehicle Revolution: Record Sales, A Growing Network and a 2030 Target Under Pressure

Ireland registered more electric cars in 2025 than in any previous year. Sales are accelerating sharply in 2026. But with 204,000 EVs on the road against a target of 936,000 by 2030, the gap between ambition and delivery remains significant.

Feature · 5 min
Energy & The Environment

Ireland's Offshore Wind Revolution: The Targets, The Projects and The Race Against Time

Ireland has some of the strongest wind resources in Europe, a legally binding 5GW offshore target by 2030 and planning applications submitted for 3.8GW of Phase One projects. Inside the Action Plan 2026, the Codling and Greystones builds, the south coast Tonn Nua substation package and the €18.9bn grid investment that will make or break the timeline.

Feature · 5 min
Climate Action

World Environment Day 2026: Ireland's Progress on Climate Is Real — But the Pace Is Not Enough

New CSO data gives Ireland its clearest picture yet. Over 99% of new homes hold an A energy rating, solar has nearly tripled and EV sales are up 73%. Yet the retrofit programme is behind by over 400,000 homes and the 4.8% annual emission cuts required to hit 2030 remain elusive.

Analysis · 5 min
ESG

CSRD in Ireland 2026: What Has Changed, Who Is Affected and What Your Business Needs to Do Now

Omnibus 1 is in force. Stop-the-Clock has delayed Wave 2 and Wave 3 reporters by two years. The ESRS standards have been simplified, the CSDDD deadline pushed to July 2027 — and Irish-listed SMEs face a transposition anomaly all of their own. Inside who is still in scope, who has been deferred and what SMEs face from value chain pressure.

Report · 5 min
Energy & The Environment

Cork & South West: The Region Powering Ireland's Energy Transition

A new KPMG report puts hard numbers on what Cork and the South West already contribute to Ireland's energy transition — and what is needed next to unlock the region's full potential as a renewables and decarbonisation hub.

Report · 5 min
Energy & The Environment

Ireland Opens Call for Evidence on Underground Hydrogen Storage — A Quiet Step With Big Implications

The Department has opened a Call for Evidence on underground hydrogen storage in Ireland. It looks technical, but it is one of the most consequential pieces of long-duration energy storage policy the country has put on the table.

Policy · 5 min
Carbon
Footprint
Calculator
Tap to start →