Creating an ESG strategy that can withstand the test of time, stakeholder demands and organisational culture, can be overwhelming. In order to deliver impact, organisations need to clearly define their measurable objectives from the very beginning.
A materiality assessment is the process of understanding what is important to your organisation and should be the foundation of any ESG strategy. Materiality assessments are created to consider more than just the business impact, so financial and non-financial, a concept known as double materiality.
Materiality is continuously evolving and is scaled to provide the correct level of insight to start strategy planning. The importance of ESG topics varies by industry, company and stakeholders.
Creating and implementing successful sustainability and ESG strategies and reporting are not without their costs. The key is to define and establish budgets that give a clear understanding of the implications involved in the levels of resourcing required to effectively embed the strategy. CBG will deep dive into your companies entire ESG requirements and history to assess risk and competitive advantage needed and evaluate budget for each step of an organisations ESG strategy.
There is no single way to report and the best solutions will differ from one business to the next. It is a complex but essential tool for managing ESG impacts and a requirement for responding all stakeholders and the investment community, which has become increasingly demanding about the ways of ESG impact value creation.
Understanding what drives your organisations need to report is the starting point and this can be one sole reason or a mixture of different pressures to satisfy different stakeholders needs.
One of the main reasons for reporting ESG is to meet compliance with the ever changing global regulations, for example, all UK companies are now expected to disclose against TCFD by 2022 and the EU Reporting Directive outlines rules on disclosure of non-financial information for all large EU companies. Disclosures are also being demanded more often by investors, lenders and insurers due to increasing awareness of the impact that non-financial risks can impose.
Reporting can also be a key method for an organisation to tell its value creation story and disclose statements on how non-financial risks and opportunities are being managed. Organisations need to understand who is requesting non-financial disclosures, the specific disclosures they require and what they are using them for.
Disclosures and reporting are time-consuming and resource intensive so organisations need to report the most relevant content in an effective way for key stakeholders. Different frameworks target different stakeholder groups so only once you have acknowledged what your stakeholder wants, can you choose the relevant framework.
Social value is a desire to generate long-term positive impacts for local communities, the environment, and other stakeholders – while generating profits and financial success for a company. For businesses to meet the scale of the social and environmental challenges we face, and thrive amidst changing demands from consumers, employees, investors and policymakers, we need a focus on social value that puts people at its heart.
Social value, ESG strategies and brand trust are closely connected, and one of the best ways of powering all three is by supporting local community causes that have the potential to deliver quickly on the social value model, from the ground up. Thriving communities mean thriving businesses and a thriving economy. So finding ways to implement, measure and sustain a localisation strategy is essential for the future of any business. To deliver big goals, you need to think local.
Similar to reporting and selecting frameworks, there is not a ‘one size fits-all’ approach to communicating ESG. Regardless of the standards, frameworks or guidance used to tell your story, the most important component of reporting is communicating your information out in a comprehensive and clear manners. To develop communicating an ESG report, organisations first need to decide what they want their report to accomplish. Ideally it should be a combination of:
Communicating ESG strategy to stakeholders whilst demonstrating alignment to business objectives
Highlighting ESG policies and programmes already in place
Sharing company-specific ESG goals and metrics
Evaluating progress and engagements in key ESG areas
In addition to deciding what to report, organisations also need to consider how. Information needs to be disclosed ensuring businesses report on topics most material to them. Stakeholders need to easily access the information so a PDF on the organisations websites and/or landing page would be a first step to signal commitments to clear and timely communications. As reporting expands and matures, organisations may wish to integrate key information into broader company reporting such as annual reports, investor presentations and customer communications.
In addition to external communications, regular internal updates are needed to reinforce the importance of ESG to the organisation and acknowledge contributions employees have made towards achieving goals.
CBGhave a team of dedicated bid professionals, including bid managers, writers and strategists, all of whom have extensive knowledge in the preparation of major bids and tenders and a detailed specialist knowledge of Social Value and ESG across a broad range of industry sectors. We provide flexible solutions to meet your needs, ranging from full teams/bid management to providing individual specialists to cover specific needs. Our bid specialists work with you to help manage, craft and deliver carefully considered responses that will not only demonstrate your achievements, but will develop strategies that will exceed your client expectations, helping you to secure bids.
