Environmental, social and governance (ESG) encompasses all important areas of responsibility for businesses. While many of them understand the impacts they have on the world, they have very little knowledge of strategising with ESG in mind.
This is where the role of a chief sustainability officer (CSO) comes into play and four of them joined the show, Sustainability LIVE London, to discuss all aspects of this umbrella topic. The speaker on the ESG Forum addressed the key points raised by each other, and the event host Scott Birch, CCO of BizClik.
What are the key drivers of ESG integration in corporate strategies?
Courtney Holm, Vice President, Sustainable Futures at Capgemini Invent, says: “What I see happening within organisations is that ESG becomes an afterthought. It becomes something that's a little bit separate, not embedded into strategies, and then by consequence it has a separate budget so it doesn't receive the same budgeting requirements as other key parts of the strategy that focus more on exponential growth.”
Carmel Giblin, CEO & President of the Ethical Toy Program, says: “I do think it's becoming a bit more central to general corporate strategy and decision-making. That's a really positive thing. It's driven, I think historically ESG was driven by stakeholder expectations that were predominantly maybe influenced by consumers and we know that consumers may say one thing but may act in a different way.”
Phil Halanen, Head of Sourcing & Sustainability at Wyndham Hotels, says: “In my prep, just before coming on stage, looking at our oWN ESG report and we were looking at all of who our stakeholders were and five years ago I would've said there were probably two stakeholders. It would've been our customers and perhaps our investors. There's now seven stakeholders. It's your employees, it's your suppliers, it's your investors, it's obviously a franchisee, it's your end guest. It's all of these people together.”
Aline Gómez-Acebo Finat, Chief Sustainability Officer at ASISA, says: “I just started this position one year ago, but when I started I had already talked with so many CSOs in other companies and some of them competitors from the company I worked for, and they always had the problem that they weren't taken seriously. So chief sustainability officer was something that companies wanted to have because it looked good, but then they would be pushed apart. So when they offered me to become one, I was like, no, I don't want to take it because I mean I just don't want to have the role.”
*************************************************
For more insights into Sustainability - check out the latest edition of Sustainability Magazine and be sure to follow us on LinkedIn & Twitter
Other magazines that may be of interest - EV Magazine | Energy Digital
*********************************************
Net Zero LIVE will be hosted live from the QEII Centre, London on the 6th and 7th of March, and streamed globally via our virtual event platform Brella. Net Zero LIVE London will feature four LIVE themes, incorporating Sustainability LIVE, EV LIVE, Scope 3 LIVE, and Energy LIVE to deliver a holistic conference and exhibition experience with opportunities to connect with like-minded peers and actively contribute to crafting a sustainable future. Following Net Zero LIVE, viewers can also sign up for Sustainability LIVE Dubai and Singapore.
Sign up to the The Global Sustainability & ESG Awards 2024, coming to London on the 11th September 2024.
*********************************************
BizClik is a global provider of B2B digital media platforms that cover 'Executive Communities' for CEO's, CFO's, CMO's, Sustainability Leaders, Procurement & Supply Chain Leaders, Technology & AI Leaders, Cyber Leaders, FinTech & InsurTech Leaders as well as covering industries such as Manufacturing, Mining, Energy, EV, Construction, Healthcare + Food & Drink.
BizClik, based in London, Dubai & New York offers services such as Content Creation, Advertising & Sponsorship Solutions, Webinars & Events.
