20FIFTY conference hears case for businesses to strengthen climate resilience
The 2025 20FIFTY Partners Sustainability Practitioners' Conference heard a call for businesses to urgently strengthen their climate and enterprise resilience on Thursday (12 June).
Organised by 20FIFTY Partners and supported by Sustainable Enterprise Skillnet, the conference gathered professionals from across industry, academia, and the public sector to explore how Irish businesses can respond to growing climate and competitive challenges.
The event was held at the Midlands Park Hotel in Portlaoise and had the theme 'Building Resilience in Irish Enterprise' to focus on the importance of building resilience at an organisational level to ensure businesses remain competitive and are ready to face climate disruption.
According to the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, global climate change is projected to cost $38tn annually by 2049.
Keynote speaker Dr Matt Kennedy, global head of client transformation at IDA Ireland, emphasised the role of resilience in safeguarding Ireland’s competitiveness in an increasingly unpredictable global landscape.
He noted that global uncertainty is prompting many FDI companies in Ireland to increase their sustainability goals as they seek to "unlock competitiveness and productivity opportunities" while building resilience.
However, while progress on decarbonisation is strong, he believed a greater focus is required on supply chain emissions, resource efficiency, circularity, and biodiversity over the next two years.
Meanwhile, Dr Maximilian Schormair, assistant professor in Business Ethics at Trinity Business School, addressed the ethical tensions at the heart of corporate sustainability strategies in his talk on “Resolving Value Conflicts in Sustainability Initiatives”.
He encouraged organisations to collaborate more across all divisions and view regulatory compliance not as a burden but as a prism to understand risks and build resilience.
The event featured expert-led panel discussions on real-world experiences with climate adaptation, workforce upskilling, and organisational risk preparedness.
Among the contributors were senior representatives from the Environmental Protection Agency, HSE, Enterprise Ireland, Bulmers, Britvic, Uisce Eireann and adventure travel company Earth’s Edge.
Speaking at the close of the event, Ken Stockil, CEO of 20FIFTY Partners, said: “The first half of 2025 has been marked by increased uncertainty and the rapidly evolving global polycrisis.
"Those working in sustainability and supply chain management are grappling not only with the accelerating climate crisis and extreme weather events at home and abroad, but also with risks and uncertainty posed by wider geopolitical instability, tariff changes, and emerging regulatory reporting requirements.
The 20FIFTY Partners Sustainability Practitioners’ Conference 2025 took place in Portlaoise on Thursday.
"Resilience has become the word of 2025. At 20FIFTY Partners we will continue to engage with clients and partners across our sphere to help them build resilience and future-proof their business through sustainability competency skills, peer collaboration and our ongoing research programme.”
Photo: (l-r) Dr Maximilian Schormair; Maria Kelly, head of policy at 20FIFTY Partners; and Ken Stockil. (Pic: Supplied)
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