By Business & Finance 
The ESG Awards, organised in partnership with Grant Thornton, recognise emerging and established leaders who are helping to build a more sustainable future.
In the previous edition, SMBC Aviation Capital was named the winner of the Social Impact Award, in recognition of its strong commitment to delivering measurable positive social outcomes alongside its core aviation leasing business.
The company was recognised for its wide-ranging community investment programme, which focuses on education, inclusion, and support for disadvantaged communities.
Pictured (L-R): Conor Irwin, Senior Vice President of Communications, SMBC Aviation Capital, Therese Coveney, Co-Founder and CEO, Together Academy, and Denise Charlton, CEO, Community Foundation Ireland.
From the very beginning, we wanted the Together Academy to be more than simply based in our building, we wanted its students and team to become part of our daily lives. When we designed our headquarters at Fitzwilliam 28, we deliberately included a community hub to ensure social impact was embedded into our workplace, not set apart from it.
I am particularly proud that the Together Academy was the first organisation to call that hub home. It provides young adults with Down syndrome with certified vocational training, practical work experience, employment opportunities, and a vital support network. Their presence has transformed the building; friendships have formed, connections have deepened, and inclusion has become something we actively experience every day.
That experience captures what social impact should look like. At SMBC Aviation Capital, our Sustainability Strategy – Proving Progress Is Possible, is grounded in the belief that long-term success requires creating value not only for our business, but for society. Social impact is not a peripheral activity; it is an important element of how we operate and how we lead.
Our approach to creating a positive social impact in the communities we connect is focused on three clear priorities: education, equality and inclusion, and disadvantaged communities. These priorities reflect the values of our staff, our customers and our shareholders. They also align with global frameworks such as the UN Sustainable Development Goals, particularly SDG 4 (Quality Education) and SDG 10 (Reduced Inequalities), ensuring that our efforts contribute to broader societal progress.
What we have learned, through years of building real partnerships, is that authentic, purposeful community engagement requires commitment, courage and patience. It is not a campaign. It is a culture.
Our partnership with Together Academy shows exactly what this looks like in practice. By hosting a fully operational training café and dedicated learning space within our headquarters at Fitzwilliam 28, we have provided Together Academy with the platform to give their students genuine, hands-on experience in a live professional environment. This is not a simulated setting or a peripheral initiative – it is woven into the fabric of our working day. Students develop skills in customer service, food preparation, workplace communication, time management and teamwork. They connect with our staff and with the other occupants of our building, and real friendships have grown from those daily interactions.
The context makes this work even more important. Approximately 90% of adults with Down syndrome in Ireland are unemployed. Together Academy exists to change that reality, and our role is to provide the environment and the stability that makes their model possible. Therese Coveney, the Founder of Together Academy, captured it well when she described our partnership as “a brave path forward for inclusion in the workplace in Ireland.” I would add that it has also been one of the most rewarding decisions we have made as an organisation. The cultural change it has generated internally, in how our teams think about disability, capability and inclusion, is as significant as the direct impact on the students themselves.
We were proud to see this partnership recognised at the Business and Finance ESG Awards with a Social Impact Award, but the greater reward is the evidence of lasting change. Students demonstrate increased confidence, independence and employability. Families speak of transformation. And our own people have grown through the experience of working alongside the Together Academy community every day.
This is one of several partnerships through which we bring our sustainability strategy to life. Through our work with the National Gallery of Ireland, we support the SMBC Aviation Capital Schools Programme, the Gallery’s flagship initiative connecting children in primary, post-primary and alternative school settings with Ireland’s national cultural institution. The programme reaches schools across Ireland, with particular focus on DEIS schools, children with special educational needs, and young people in areas of socio-economic disadvantage. The programme helps the Gallery to advance their ambition to encourage all children across Ireland to learn through and about art.
Our commitment also extends globally reflecting the interconnected nature of the aviation industry. Each year, members of our team travel to visit partner organisations in Malawi, India, Eritrea and Ethiopia, communities where our support contributes to education, healthcare and opportunity in some of the world’s most challenging environments. These visits matter. They ensure our partnerships are grounded in genuine relationship rather than remote philanthropy, and they deepen our people’s understanding of global inequality and our collective responsibility to address it.
Importantly, we also focus on social impact that is directly aligned with our industry. Our partnership with Airlink, a global humanitarian organisation, enables the rapid delivery of aid and personnel to communities affected by crisis. It demonstrates how aviation can be a force for global resilience when its capabilities are mobilised with intent.
What ties all of this together is a simple belief, positive social impact and business performance are not at odds. The organisations that earn lasting trust from their employees, customers and wider stakeholders will be those that show their values rather than just state them. The Together Academy café in our building is visible to every person who walks through our doors. The children who spend a residency week at the National Gallery carry that experience with them for life. The impact of our global partnerships reaches far beyond what any report can capture.
I am often asked what advice I would give to other business leaders who want to make their CSR activity more meaningful. My advice is simple, choose partners whose mission genuinely aligns with your values. Commit for the long term. Embed the work within your organisation and be willing to be changed by it.
At SMBC Aviation Capital, we recognise the responsibility that comes with our position. Through our Sustainability Strategy – Proving Progress Is Possible, we are committed to demonstrating that meaningful social impact can be delivered in ways that are authentic, measurable and aligned with global priorities.
We will continue to lead by example, because positive social impact is not defined by what we say, but by the progress we are prepared to deliver.
About the author: Peter Barrett is the Chief Executive Officer of SMBC Aviation Capital, a Dublin-based global aircraft leasing company. He has led the business since 2004 and has over three decades of experience in the aircraft leasing industry, having started his career at Guinness Peat Aviation (GPA). Under his leadership, SMBC Aviation Capital has grown into one of the world’s largest aircraft lessors, financing and managing a large portfolio of modern commercial aircraft for airlines worldwide.
Read more:
Business & Finance ESG Awards 2026: Winners
The evolution of European ESG strategy and its remaining gaps
From perception to proof: how ESG transparency is reshaping reputation in Ireland
