Let’s talk ESG…
At Achieving Greenness we LOVE helping businesses with their green journey towards net zero and a reduced environmental impact, and we make sure ESG is always part of the discussion.
What is ESG?
Often ESG is terminology that isn’t familiar to those outside of the financial sector, but it is such a useful approach for any business to adopt. It originated as an investment philosophy which considered the standards of social responsibility when evaluating a company for investment and stands for Environment, Social and Corporate Governance (ESG).
ESG is fast becoming recognised as an essential way of evaluating the social conscience of every business, areas of operational and enterprise risk that may not have previously been considered, and way of accessing a new client base…
In basic terms it is an evaluation of a company’s collective conscientiousness for social and environmental factors using three main pillars. By thinking about these three ESG pillars and integrating them into your business strategy you will directly impact the survival and longevity of your business and outlast the majority of your competitors who don’t…
ESG Talk vs ESG Action
Talking about ESG within your business is important. Talking will uncover the potentially huge ESG risk to your business.
But talking ESG needs the right people within your business to be involved… talking is just talking if those doing all this talking and planning have little or no understanding of ESG or Climate issues, or have no involvement or impact in the overall running and strategy setting of the business.
For a business to have any chance of ESG success, the talking, discovery and strategy setting stage has to involve those who have a say in the running of the business alongside those who have knowledge of and a passion for ESG and Climate issues. Without this, ESG will become a talking shop with no real impact and result in small isolated pockets of success and achievement. Obviously, some small achievements are better than none, but a joined up planned approach with real impact and outcome is far more desirable.
It is the moving from ‘talking about ESG’ into the next step of real ESG action which trips so many businesses up.
ESG Action
ESG is something that increasing numbers of businesses want to associate themselves with as they recognise its potential to add value and attract clients, but it is very easy to fall into the trap of talking about ESG only to ‘commit’ to some vague ESG statements and promises without ever taking any real action.
ESG is no longer just an ‘investment consideration’ for financial services. It is so easy just to talk about ESG, what is might mean in your business and what you should be ‘committing’ to as a business that it can easily turn into another tick box exercise and regulatory demand.
Talking through ESG as a business and really understanding what it means will expose and identify the very large gaps in the current state. And this should be seen as positive progress and a real business opportunity from which to develop and become market leading, the kick start into taking ESG action, and not something to hide from, try to cover up, or try to distract from with a bit of greenwashing.
By being open, honest, and transparent as business about your current ESG state, being at the start of your green journey, fully understanding the problems you face, and dedicating real time and resources to develop an ambitious yet achievable roadmap will move you away from greenwashing and tick boxing and into real ESG action.
Taking Action
After talking comes action… businesses require a planned and joined up approach and roadmap.
Developing a clearly articulated ESG Strategy and strong Roadmap which includes current state as a starting point from which to improve from, robust achievable yet challenging goals and targets which are measurable, and clear deadlines with concrete accountability is essential.
A scattergun approach with a few vague loose commitments that can’t be measured, and no accountability will ultimately fail.
Committing real time, resources and accountability in developing an ESG Roadmap will deliver real change and impact to be proud of and celebrated.
Working with companies that really want to change the way they operate is both energising and inspiring. Businesses that not only want to talk about ESG to fully understand their current state, but also want to take action now within their business are the ones that will be successful and market leading on their green journey.
With the climate crisis in ‘full swing’ worldwide and the global warming limit of 1.5 degrees about to be breached, we need ACTION and we need it NOW.
The time to ESG within your business is NOW… make sure you don’t get left behind!
An ESG Strategy is essential to reduce and improve the environmental impact of your business. If you are looking for help to take action and implement an ESG Strategy and Roadmap then get in touch, we offer bespoke Green packages for all your requirements.
For more green, sustainable tips and articles take a look at our other blog posts, or pop over to Instagram and LinkedIn and check out @achievinggreenness where we provide you with the motivation, evidence, and tools you may need to become greener.
