ESG frameworks in 2026: what UK and Irish workers expect and how businesses can respond

Summary

New data in EcoOnline’s 2026 Workplace Safety Report, reveals the following:

• 55% of workers in the UK and Ireland say their business operates to an ESG framework, up from 34% in 2025
• The UK and Ireland lead globally on ESG framework adoption (global average: 43%)
• 79% of workers in the UK and Ireland say it’s important that their company actively reduces its environmental impact
• Adoption is uneven: 56% in the UK vs 47% in Ireland
• 28% of Irish respondents are unfamiliar with ESG, compared with 22% in the UK
• The main ESG reporting standards for these regions are SECR and UK SRS in the UK, and CSRD/ESRS in Ireland

Introduction

In 2025, environmental, social, and governance (ESG) regulations have also become more complex to navigate, with evolving disclosure requirements, different reporting timelines and thresholds, and varying obligations depending on where an organization operates. California’s SB 253 and SB 261 are a clear example, introducing separate requirements around emissions and climate-related financial risk reporting

Workers have kept their expectations high through all of this. Findings from EcoOnline’s 2026 Workplace Safety Report show that employees in the UK and Ireland care more than ever about their employer’s environmental impact. More organisations are also adopting ESG frameworks. However, the data also shows gaps in awareness and communication, and those gaps could weaken the credibility of a business’s ESG work.

This blog covers the main ESG frameworks affecting UK and Irish businesses, what our survey data shows, and practical steps to make ESG and sustainability reporting mean something to your workforce.

At a glance

Table of contents

Click on a specific section below to navigate to that area:

• 1. What are ESG frameworks?
• 2. The ESG reporting landscape in the UK and Ireland
• 3. Workers want action on environmental impact
• 4. More focus on sustainability, but the message isn’t getting through
• 5. ESG framework adoption is rising, but unevenly
• 6. How to close the ESG awareness gap
• 7. How EcoOnline supports ESG and sustainability reporting
• 8. FAQs

What are ESG frameworks?

ESG frameworks are structured sets of guidelines, metrics, and disclosure requirements. Organisations use them to measure, manage, and report on their environmental, social, and governance performance. Some ESG reporting frameworks are voluntary and give businesses guidance on what to disclose. Others are mandatory ESG reporting standards set out in law, with specific data points, formats, and deadlines.

For health, safety, and environmental teams, ESG frameworks sit alongside day-to-day operations. Emissions data, chemical management, incident rates, worker wellbeing, and supply chain practices all feed into ESG disclosures. A good ESG framework turns that operational data into evidence that stakeholders can trust.

The ESG reporting landscape in the UK and Ireland

United Kingdom

In the UK, certain businesses fall under the Streamlined Energy and Carbon Reporting (SECR) framework. It requires them to disclose energy use, greenhouse gas emissions, and energy efficiency actions in their annual reports.

The UK is also introducing the UK Sustainability Reporting Standards (UK SRS). These are based on the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) standards and are designed to give investors consistent, comparable sustainability-related financial information.

Ireland

As an EU member state, Ireland requires businesses within scope to report under the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD). The CSRD uses the European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS), which cover areas such as climate, pollution, resource use, the company’s own workforce and business conduct.

Since 2025, The EU’s simplification agenda has changed both when CSRD reporting starts and who has to report:

• Stop the Clock Directive: This directive postponed CSRD reporting by two years for wave 2 and wave 3 companies. Ireland put it into Irish law in July 2025. Large Irish companies now report on the 2027 financial year, with first reports due in 2028.
• EU Omnibus Directive: This directive came into force in March 2026. It limits mandatory CSRD reporting to companies with more than 1,000 employees and more than €450 million in net turnover. The Commission estimates this removes about 80% of the companies that were originally covered. Member states must put these changes into national law by March 2027.

Many Irish companies may now fall outside CSRD. However, businesses should check the current Irish legislation before deciding that their reporting obligations no longer apply. Good ESG data is still valuable for companies outside the new scope, because investors and lenders increasingly expect it.

Why it matters

Requirements differ between the two countries and continue to change, so organisations operating in both need ESG guidelines they can apply in each jurisdiction. They also need systems that can adapt when scope and deadlines move.

Workers want action on environmental impact

Most workers want their employer to actively reduce the company’s environmental impact. In our 2026 survey, 79% of workers in the UK and Ireland said this was important to them, up from 76% in 2025.

The UK and Ireland lead the world in this expectation:

For employers, this is more than a reputational issue. Environmental commitment is increasingly part of how workers judge whether they want to join, stay with, and engage with an organisation.

More focus on sustainability, but the message isn’t getting through

More than half of respondents, 58% in the UK and Ireland (UK 59%, Ireland 53%), feel their company focused more on sustainability in 2025 than in previous years.

The country-level picture is less positive. 43% of workers in Ireland answered “no” or “don’t know” to this question, compared with 36% in the UK. That points to a communication gap between employers and workers. Sustainability work may be happening, but a large share of the workforce either doesn’t see it or isn’t aware of it.

This matters because frameworks such as the ESRS include disclosures about a company’s own workforce. If employees can’t see what their organisation is doing on sustainability, it becomes harder to show engagement and to back up ESG claims.

ESG framework adoption is rising, but unevenly

In 2026, 55% of workers in the UK and Ireland said their business operates to an ESG framework, up from 34% in 2025. That 21-point increase makes the region the global leader in ESG adoption:

The progress is not even across the region:

• Adoption is higher in the UK (56%) than in Ireland (47%).
• Awareness is lower in Ireland: 28% of Irish respondents are unfamiliar with the concept of ESG, compared with 22% in the UK.

How to close the ESG awareness gap

The following steps can help turn ESG framework adoption into workforce engagement:

1. Explain the “why” in plain language. Tell employees which ESG reporting standards apply to your business and why they matter, without jargon.

2. Link ESG to everyday work. Show how safety reporting, chemical handling, waste management, and energy use feed directly into ESG disclosures.

3. Share progress regularly. Use toolbox talks, intranet updates, and team briefings to share targets, milestones, and results.

4. Involve workers in data collection. Frontline staff often see environmental and safety risks first, so make it easy for them to report observations.

5. Centralise your ESG data. Keeping emissions, incidents, chemical inventories, and workforce data in one place makes it easier to report accurately and to communicate clearly.

6. Stay ready for change. ESG guidelines are still shifting, so review your reporting obligations regularly, especially if you operate in both the UK and Ireland.

How EcoOnline supports ESG and sustainability reporting

EcoOnline helps organisations bring health, safety, chemical, and environmental data together in one platform. Having that data in one place gives you a reliable basis for reporting against ESG frameworks such as SECR, UK SRS, and CSRD/ESRS. With accurate, auditable data, and simple tools that frontline workers can use, you can meet reporting requirements and keep your workforce involved in your sustainability progress.

Check out our 2026 Workplace Safety Report to discover more insights.