A group of business leaders in Ireland have pledged to broaden their carbon emissions cuts.
A total of 54 businesses in Ireland have signed up to the low carbon pledge, up from 43 last year.
Under the agreement companies will have to provide carbon data under the customs agreed with Business in the Community Ireland (BITCI).
Last year, the inaugural report showed that major progress was made in meeting targets set for 2030, with average Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions intensity cut by 36%.
Scope 1 emissions are the greenhouse gases produced directly from sources that are owned and controlled by the company, such as fuels used in vehicles, boilers and furnaces while Scope 2 emissions relate to indirect greenhouse gases from purchase of electricity.
Now the group has expanded its targets to include indirect carbon emissions.
Companies will now be asked to include business travel as well as waste generation and water consumption in their data.
BITCI CEO Tomas Sercovich said reducing emissions from business travel was a new challenge, particularly as many companies are major travel consumers.
He said: "We will be asking signatory companies to start the next step in understanding the spread of their carbon impact by probing what are the major significant indirect carbon emission sources within their supply chain.
"They will be expected to ensure that their suppliers have to fulfil a low carbon approach to their operations. This will have a multiplier effect in cutting emissions, promoting efficiency and preparedness for a de-carbonised economy,” he said.
He added: “In order to address the climate crisis, we ultimately want business to set targets based on science and help Ireland achieve its ambition of being a carbon neutral economy by 2050 and help support the wider EU ambition of being a carbon neutral continent by 2050”.
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