IS YOUR COMPANY ALREADY IN OR PLANNING TO COMMIT TO THE SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS?
Our ESG focused Executive Coaching supports Companies successfully onboard the essentials of ESG to involve executives and teams in navigating sustainability and fruitfully meeting the accelerated pace.
What an ESG-centered Executive Coaching help decision-makers do:
- Incorporate ESG issues into Company’s analysis and decision-making processes.
- Be active owners and incorporate ESG issues into their ownership policies and practices.
- Seek appropriate disclosure on ESG issues by the entities that invest in their Company.
- Promote acceptance and enhanced effectiveness of the sustainability pillars within their industry.
- Duly report on activities and progresses.
Here are a few questions to start your dialogue on ESG Strategies.
1) Increasing public awareness and stakeholders’ expectations are driving business leaders to be more proactive on the Sustainability agenda. What changes did you see in your industry during the last 3 years? What are the 2-3 priories you would focus on within your Company?
The argument for global companies to reduce their emission footprint is clearer than it has ever been:
- Businesses (large and small) around the world are now subject to greater climate and transition risks.
- Consumers are clamoring for eco-friendly products and responsible corporate behaviors.
- Funds and investors are increasingly embracing capital-allocation strategies to take environmental, social, and Governance (ESG) issues into account.
- Policymakers and government organizations are exploring the regulations not only of carbon emission-footprint GHG (Greenhouse House Gas) but not only. Other critical elements include, for example, water management in all sectors of usage: human (10%), industrial (20%), agricultural (70%).
In 2020, more than 4.500 companies worldwide self-reported their GHG emission for public disclosure, and about 40% of those companies have formally committed to specific emission targets as part of their strategic and financial plans.
2) In face of any major change organizations are told to “Get all stakeholders on board”. Whom do you consider to be a relevant stakeholder to think of in undertaking an ESG strategy within your Company?
Your relevant stakeholders may be more that you think of at a glance.
The Board, to define the Vision
CEO & Executives to drive and protect the business amid this transformation, to support the efforts of an ESG action plan, to get back on track if needed, and prevent or mitigate the compliance risks.
IT & Legal for the guidance in collecting procedures, defining classification and the custody on sensitive data
HR, Finance & ESG appointed responsible/committee, to ensure commitment and correctness thought the ESG journey. To provide proper retention and disposition of the accessible data and ESG reporting. Trust and Transparency are fast becoming the new paradigm for conducting business. Trust is vital for any business, while Transparency underlies Target 12.6 of the SDGs. The Goal is to encourage companies to adopt sustainable practices and integrate sustainability information into their reporting. Through better reporting, organizations can understand, communicate, and better manage their contributions to the SDGs.
Employee & Consumers Both Consumers and Employees are holding companies to higher standards. In the UN/Accenture CEO Study on Sustainability 2019, CEOs recognized Consumers and Employees among the top stakeholders for their Organization, 53% and 44%, respectively.
Local Communities and Institutions: what you do with your business and where you do it matters. Proactive dialogue with local communities and institution proves to be a great opportunity to prevent, mitigate, monitor or, if they occur, better diffuse problems on the territory where the business impacts.
3) How resilient is today your company’s data management?
Nearly 75% of senior executives believe the volume of data that organizations deal with will increase at least threefold in the next years (AIIM survey 2020) *. ESG indicators will consistently add elements to your files. It is not a small task to appropriately manage, govern, retain and dispose of all this content.
Integrating from scratch an ESG overarching view provides the opportunity to update and have full governance of information management, a crucial asset for healthy integration, seamless data management, effective business and ESG reporting and communication.
* https://info.aiim.org/aiim-blog/overcoming-the-challenge-of-unstructured-information
4) Do you have listed companies among your Client’s list? Do you have a prospect client sensitive to the sustainability issues you want to be better equipped to approach?
An ESG project has to start from the top. CEOs and Board members have the needed vision and the authority to be decisive over business strategies and valuation.
For listed companies, the sustainability path today is well channeled and traced by financial rules and regulations. Yet, companies selling and providing goods or services to their listed clients should start looking for paring their clients’ standards and sustainability compliances needs.
There is already substantial empirical evidence to suggest that the “G” aspect of ESG ultimately yields better corporate returns.
TO RECAP
Companies need to start observing which of the 17 Goals of the Un 2030 Agenda are more directly tied with their business,
Get all their stakeholders on board,
Reflect upon which indicators may provide a real transformation,
Analyze impacts of externalities that are not currently reflected in financial accounting, but which, over time, may have the potential of becoming priced in. *