UL360 advises businesses on the post-pandemic ESG actions

Sustainability LIVE was a huge success for BizClik Media Group and welcomed a whole host of sustainability speakers both in-person and digitally. Discussions took place around decarbonisation and net-zero, renewable energy adoption, circular economies, diversity; equity; inclusion (DEI), and environmental; social; governance.

Evelyne Saelens, Head of UL 360 Advisory Services at UL Environment & Sustainability, joined Scott Birch, Chief Content Officer at BizClik Media, on the digital stage to delve into post-pandemic ESG, and how businesses are looking to implement this into their wider strategies.

Creating long-term ESG strategies 

Early in the session, Saelens mentions the important topics embedded in ESG, such as the demand for decarbonisation and strategies for zero-carbon business, but also highlights that the pandemic created a cultural shift, putting social and governance principles higher on the agenda. 

“Although the environmental topics might have already been on the forefront, pre-pandemic, with a lot of focus on climate change, energy, and carbon, the pandemic brought the social and governance topics to the forefront,” says Saelens.

The cushion the blow of the pandemic, businesses implemented temporary, short-term solutions to counteract some of the issues surrounding ESG, but Saelens explains how businesses can take some of those initiatives and embed them into long-term strategies. 

Saelens uncovers some of the things that businesses can focus on both in the short-term and long-term to tackle all three areas of ESG. 

To close the session, Birch rejoins the talk for a short Q&A session, which helps to provide answer some of the burning questions that businesses may have when implementing ESG and tapping into Saelens to create more insights for the viewers.  

“Companies that had an all-inclusive ESG strategy were able to adapt to the pandemic a little bit [faster],” says Saelens. “The companies that were able to do that had very robust governance and ESG structures in place.”

• Join global business leaders and sustainability experts taking meaningful action at Sustainability LIVE EXPO, held at the Business Design Centre, London, 7-8 September 2022. Register to attend today! Click here to learn more.