Catherine McQuaid

Experience

Catherine is a Director in Grant Thornton Ireland’s Advisory practice and leads the firm’s carbon and decarbonisation service offering. She is a sustainability and climate specialist with deep expertise in carbon accounting, climate risk and the delivery of decarbonisation programmes in regulated and operationally complex environments. 

Catherine works with public and private sector organisations to translate climate ambition and regulatory requirements into credible, implementable carbon pathways. Her work spans greenhouse gas inventories, net zero and decarbonisation strategies, and the design of governance and reporting structures that stand up to regulatory, investor and assurance scrutiny. 

She is recognised for her ability to cut through technical and regulatory complexity and provide clear, practical direction to senior stakeholders. Her approach is systems‑led and delivery‑focused, helping organisations embed climate risk and carbon considerations into core decision‑making rather than treating them as standalone sustainability exercises.

Professional experience

Catherine leads carbon, decarbonisation and climate risk‑related advisory engagements across financial services, energy and utilities, infrastructure, healthcare and the public sector. Her experience includes:

• Carbon and decarbonisation leadership: Leads Grant Thornton Ireland’s carbon and decarbonisation team supporting organisations with greenhouse gas inventories, SBTI aligned target setting, carbon reduction strategies and net zero transition plans across diverse organisational and operational contexts.
• Carbon accounting and technical advisory: Extensive experience in greenhouse gas accounting and reporting in line with ISO 14064‑1, 2 and 3, supporting clients to establish robust data, controls and audit‑ready processes.
• Regulatory and assurance expertise: GRI Certified Sustainability Professional and ISO 14064 Greenhouse Gas Lead Verifier, with over 15 years’ experience as an auditor, verifier and advisor across Energy Management (ISO 50001), Environmental Management (ISO 14001), emissions trading schemes and carbon reduction programmes.
• Systems and governance transformation: Delivery of large‑scale, multi‑stakeholder programmes involving systems and process implementation, regulatory reporting and governance transformation, embedding carbon and climate risk related requirements into organisational control frameworks and decision‑making structures.