Fifteen Questions to Consider
Vision and Impact – do you understand your purpose, motivations and your end-game?
Quick wins – what are you already doing well and are there other areas you could address quickly and easily?
Savings - have you reviewed operations for efficiencies, reductions and savings?
Team – now engage your team – they know the company and will have a host of great ideas – have you asked them – staff survey?
Carbon – the minimum requirement in any ESG data request, 40% of SMEs have already been asked – can you calculate this?
Risk – have you considered the impact of climate and resources on your organisation?
Finance and Insurance – have you identified risks and taken any mitigation to ensure you retain funding and remain insurable?
Data – ESG requires non-financial data & KPIs which enable action – do you understand and have easy access to this data?
Engage – ask your value chain and other stakeholders about their understanding and approach. Have you mapped supply chains?
Sector – are there specific conditions, requirements or support within your industry?
Timescale – how quickly do you want to change and do you have the mechanism and resources to achieve it?
Resilience – can you focus on profit with purpose to enable other benefits to be fully realised and build business resilience?
Strategy – can your current governance and strategy deliver the full benefits of ESG reporting and action?
Roadmap – are there other priorities that might prevent this and is the programme realistic?
Transformation – are you reactive or proactive? Own the initiative: sponsors, buy-in, plan, resources, governance & comms.
*The above list is based on feedback from key stakeholders and clients. Priorities may change depending on the size, nature and sector of your business.
ESG Transformation Journey
Roles You May Need To Consider
1. ESG Lead / Partner - Sponsor
Without proper sponsorship to lead and champion the programme, any transformation will struggle to gain traction and momentum. There should be at least one senior, board-level sponsor for your sustainability and ESG programme.
2. ESG programme / Project Lead
An ESG / Sustainability programme must be run like any other programme of work with the proper leadership, management, governance and reporting. All of this will be coordinated and managed by the ESG programme manager.
3. ESG Compliance Officer
If there is a regulatory element to your ESG programme, there should be an SME on the team who knows the regulations and can make decisions to ensure the correct prioritisation and planning of compliance deliverables is made.
4. ESG Data Manager / Analyst
ESG is all about data and reporting and is only as good as the underlying data. However, it is important not to become bogged down in the data and reporting as they are only enablers for action and positive change. A data manager will ensure the data does not become a purpose in its own right.
5. Sustainability Officer
Aside from the formal programme and transformation, there are specific initiatives regarding such things as the use of resources, social and diversity projects that need specialist understanding and knowledge of the areas concerned and KPIs requiring data which is not part of the usual process. A sustainability officer will be required to have a more in-depth understanding of these initiatives and specialist requirements.
PurePath Advisory can help support you throughout your ESG journey and help with recruitment for resources in the fields of ESG and Sustainability.