Sustainable Supply Chains
A sustainable supply chain is one that aims to mitigate all negative environmental and social impacts to ensure the protection of people and the environment. Presently, businesses experience the largest volume of emissions within their Scope 3 and are proactively trying to calculate and respond to this. But negative social impacts in a supply chain can go unaccounted for due to a lack of traceability and transparency.
The shift to jointly assess the environment and social risks is occurring due to the EU legislation such as the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD) and the EU Green Claims Directive. These now require companies to be able to demonstrate sufficient evidence to support any sustainability claim across both social and environment.
BITCI support members to create more sustainable supply chains through:
- Using our Business Working Responsibly Mark as a framework, support member companies to map their supply chains, increase due diligence and transparency. Identify potential risks and provide guidance to mitigate.
- Provide feedback on policies and procedures that are in place and identify any gaps.
- Provide support with stakeholder engagement such as facilitate supplier engagement meetings and events or support internal working groups or committees.
- Provide training for employees and or other stakeholders on human rights, modern slavery or climate action.
Many of our members have a complex value chain that includes many SMEs and while we do not offer a direct service for SMEs, we recognise that we can support SMEs indirectly through our members.
Evolve | Future Ready SMEs
The Evolve: Future Ready SME Programme brings together member companies and the SMEs in their value chains to drive meaningful sustainability action. It supports collaboration to accelerate decarbonisation, deliver positive impacts for communities and society, and improve outcomes for nature — while helping SMEs align with the Voluntary Reporting Standards for SMEs (VSME).
SMEs make up 99% of businesses in Ireland and provide c.70% of employment. Yet many face barriers to progressing sustainability, including limited time, resources and in-house expertise. Recognising both their critical role and the responsibility of larger organisations, Business in the Community Ireland is supporting SMEs to take practical steps towards net zero.
Building on the success of its 2024 Climate Action Programme, and delivered in partnership with the Carbon Literacy Project, this programme is designed to meet SMEs where they are. It provides accessible, practical support to help businesses take action on climate, nature and social impact — while strengthening collaboration across supply chains.
The focus is on action and outcomes. Through targeted training, expert guidance and tailored support, SMEs build their knowledge and confidence to understand their impacts, reduce emissions and identify opportunities to create long-term value.
Just as importantly, the programme equips SMEs to measure and communicate their progress. By supporting clear, credible sustainability reporting, it helps businesses respond to growing expectations from customers, partners and regulators.
To date, 60 SMEs have taken part — gaining Carbon Literacy accreditation, developing climate action plans, and building practical skills to measure emissions, improve reporting and unlock cost-saving opportunities. As the sustainability landscape evolves, so too does the programme — ensuring SMEs are ready not just to adapt, but to thrive.
You can read the full report for Phase 2 here
Watch the videos below to understand how effective this initiative was for those involved in 2025.
And follow us to see highlights and insights from phase 3 in 2026.
Climate Action Programme for Small and Medium sized Enterprises (SMEs) Insights Paper
Join a growing network of companies supporting their SME value chains to take climate action
Contact Eadaoin to learn how Evolve: Future Ready SMEs can help your organisation build capacity, drive impact and stay ahead in the transition to a low-carbon economy.
eboyletobin@bitc.ie Find out more about our work with business
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