The sustainability priority

Large corporations have a pivotal role to play in tackling climate change, as well as a range of social and environmental problems – and environmental, social and governance (ESG) criteria of a company are now becoming a key area of interest for investors, suggests research from PwC.

“US companies are driving their decarbonisation and sustainability efforts with a range of internal policies focused on reducing energy consumption, water consumption and waste generation,” says Kim McClenaghan, partner at PwC Ireland’s Sustainability & Climate Change Practice. “ESG is now a fundamental priority for sophisticated investors across the globe,” he says. “They’re questioning corporate pay, they’re poring over labour and procurement policies, and they’re thinking about how their investments affect climate change.”

A focus on environmental impact mirrors a larger social change around these issues, according to McClenaghan. “It isn’t just investors who are driving change. What employees think and what society expects are also driving change. As wealth is transferred from baby boomers to socially and environmentally conscious younger generations who also want to work for organisations that share their values, businesses will struggle to attract and retain both clients and employees if they don’t take action.”

Many US companies based in Ireland are already taking steps to introduce changes that aim to ensure a more sustainable future. “As a society, we face many shared challenges, and each individual and organisation has a responsibility to play their part in finding solutions,” says Adrian Williams, sustainability manager at PepsiCo’s beverage concentrate team, Ireland.

PepsiCo's presence in Ireland includes manufacturing, supply chain, research and development, and marketing and commercial operations across sites in Cork and Dublin. "As one of the world's largest food and beverage companies, PepsiCo has the scale, reach and expertise to help change how the world produces, distributes and consumes food and beverages to build a more sustainable food system that can meet nutrition and enjoyment needs without exceeding the natural boundaries of the planet," he says.

‘Plastic packaging waste’

“A key concern for the company is the growing threat that plastic packaging waste poses and we recognise the significant role we can – and must – play to address this,” says Williams. “We are working to ensure that 100 per cent of our packaging will be recyclable, compostable or biodegradable by 2025 and that by 2030, all our beverage bottles in the EU are made from 50 per cent recycled plastic.”

The company’s drive to reduce waste carries over to its manufacturing side, explains Williams. “Our sites in Cork have been working to more efficiently use water in our plants, increasing the efficiency by 23 per cent and saving 50.3 million litres each year. As part of our sustainability agenda, we aim to improve our water efficiency by a further 25 per cent by 2025.”

Other US manufacturers are seeing the benefits of introducing changes that ensure long-term sustainability. AbbVie operates three medicine manufacturing facilities based in Sligo and Cork, and also has offices in Dublin.

“We recognise the risk posed by global climate change and we are striving to find safer, smarter, more sustainable ways to run our business,” says Michael Tuohy, global environment, health and safety manager at AbbVie Cork. “AbbVie in Ireland is committed to going beyond the medicine we make and sell to deliver a wider societal benefit focused on improving health outcomes, operating responsibly and contributing to our communities.”

Local environment

The impact that manufacturing has on the local environment is a key concern, according to Tuohy. “All three manufacturing sites are extremely sensitive to the local environment, flora and fauna,” he explains. “AbbVie has worked on a number of projects to try to streamline the waste that is generated on site by improving segregation and by increasing the amount of waste it sends for recycling.”

“Between 2013 and 2017, AbbVie’s Ballytivnan site in Sligo undertook an ambitious programme of works to transform a facility originally constructed in the 1970s into an energy-efficient centre of excellence for medical device manufacturing,” he says. “And since 2016, all of the AbbVie sites in Ireland source their electricity from renewable sources. The feasibility of using a renewable fuel and wind energy is also currently underway.”

The company has since won several awards for energy management in Ireland, including the inaugural American Chamber of Commerce Créafóg Award for sustainability earlier this year.