Globally, leaders within the public and private sectors plan to take advantage of the opportunities that environmental, social and governance (ESG) provides their organisations.
The process of achieving this is where the challenge lies for many.
Translating an organisation’s ESG or sustainability strategy into the broader its impact or growth strategy can be demanding for many leaders.
Therefore, understanding the why, what, and how of ESG strategy implementation is critical to achieving this goal and ensuring that ESG is ingrained in the organisation’s purpose.
Organisations must understand and articulate clearly what the ESG agenda or sustainability conversation means for their short, medium, and long-term viability to unravel the considerations of ‘why’.
This includes how ESG provides and maintains the organisation’s long-term competitive advantage and contributes to its future viability.
This understanding of ‘why’ should then be applied in defining the organisation’s purpose and strategic choices. As such, the organisation’s role within society becomes transparent to its stakeholders based on the purpose and strategy.
Defining the ‘what’ of the ESG strategy implementation is a collaborative process that involves engaging stakeholders.
Their demands and expectations regarding the sustainability strategy are not just considerations but integral to the process. By understanding these, organisations can set strategic targets and ambitions that align with their strategic priorities.
This process also helps identify the specific plans to achieve the set strategy, provides the organisation with its aspiration, and ensures alignment with stakeholder expectations.
Finally, organisations must solve the ‘how’of executing the ESG strategy, which entails several considerations. First is to cascade the ESG strategy across every functional team with clear roles and responsibilities that ensure accountability.
This clarity in roles and responsibilities provides security and confidence in the execution. Also, ensure a proper governance process that provides the necessary leadership to drive the strategy at all levels.
In addition, organisations must implement the right systems, policies, and controls. Implementing systems includes ensuring the availability of the correct data to the right teams that aid decision-making and support reporting, as well as an assurance process for accuracy. The successful implementation of an ESG strategy provides a long-term competitive advantage to organisations.
