The Green Team Network (GTN) celebrated its one year anniversary with an in-person event hosted by Niall Cribben - Managing Director in Kroll. It was a sunny evening which allowed for networking drinks overlooking Stephen’s Green from the fabulous Kroll conference room and balcony.
Niall kicked off the event with welcome remarks and a passionate speech on the importance of working sustainably to play our part in protecting the future of our planet. This was followed by our key note speaker Pat Lardner, CEO of Irish Funds who recalled the reasons why GTN was chosen as the winning team of Sustainathon 2020, focusing on the importance of collaboration and networking on this key topic for the Irish funds industry and how GTN fills that gap and need.
Aedín O’Leary, one of GTN's co-founders, followed with a quick update on the GTN journey so far.
Ann Shiels (FinLexSus) as moderator, proceeded to open the panel discussion on the Green Pledge in Action. Panellists included Ken Owens (PwC), Grace Killeen (Arthur Cox), Suzanne Senior (BlackRock) and Ian Martin (HSBC).
Aisling McCaffrey, GTN co-founder, wrapped up the formalities with a round-up of the key takeaways from the panel, including:
Benefits of taking part in the Green Pledge
The Pledge provides a framework to baseline sustainability actions;
The wide range of individual pledges within the overall Pledge framework means there are quick wins and actionable items that can help build momentum;
The Pledge encourages dialogue and accountability;
The results and output of the Pledge are a good way of providing oversight on a firm's sustainability journey to its key stakeholders.
Common Challenges identified across the firms
Travel is a key carbon output for the industry. Travel should be on needs basis - it requires real focus and meaningful offsetting to reduce the footprint of travel.
Energy is another key factor – it's especially a challenge when the firm doesn't own the building; it's important to work with the landlord/other building occupants to improve sustainability collectively
Working from Home and the Return to Office – a period of re-learning and reversing bad habits is required during this transition stage.
A consensus view emerging from the evening was that while achieving meaningful impact is of course the ultimate aim, the decarbonisation journey itself is also very important. Everyone needs to start somewhere and the Green Pledge provides an entry point to all. Furthermore, all submissions are confidential and results only shared with each participating firm. The Green Pledge is designed to help all firms raise their sustainability game, whether they are early on or well advanced in their efforts. The key messages are (1) Don't Delay and (2) There is Plenty of Support available.
All in all the Green Team Network Anniversary event was a highly insightful and interactive evening, with guests leaving encouraged as they considered their own sustainability journeys and knowing they can turn to GTN and like-minded industry peers any time to support them in their endeavours. Stay tuned for information on more GTN events by following our LinkedIn page or subscribing on to our mailing list.