ESG has become essential to the way everyone does business. Yet many sustainability professionals struggle to make the case to the C-Suite to get what their organization needs to achieve their ESG goals. If you find yourself in a position where you are struggling to convey the importance of a strong ESG initiative to your leadership team, this article will help you communicate the benefits of ESG in terms that the C-Suite will understand.
Know your Audience
Understanding the roles and responsibilities of the leaders who make the decisions that impact your ESG budget and team will help you evaluate what is important to them. If your company doesn’t have a Chief Sustainability Officer, then consider who will take on each aspect of this role.
- Your CEO will likely be the public face of your sustainability initiatives.
- The COO will be interested in the benefits of operational efficiency and is a key shaper of protocols.
- The CFO will be more concerned about the financial impact of ESG initiatives.
- The Board of Directors may want to know how ESG will impact investor relations.
Make sure to be aware of your audience’s baseline level of ESG knowledge so that you can use terms they’re familiar with and explain things as you talk.
Communicate Benefits to the Bottom Line
Tracking ESG data and initiatives is great for the planet, but it has plenty of business benefits to highlight as well.
1. Regulatory Compliance: The increase in ESG-focused regulations is a key driver in tracking and reporting ESG data. Focus on regulations that may affect your business in the future, such as the SEC or CRSD regulations. For many companies, it’s not a matter of IF but a matter of WHEN.
2. Minimize Risks: Assessing the potential risks that may threaten your assets is an important part of your ESG journey. Because ESG initiatives assess many different aspects of the organization, it makes it easier to identify and mitigate risks, as well as put governance into place to manage risks in the long term.
3. Increasing Efficiency, Decreasing Costs: One facet of ESG initiatives includes identifying and reducing operational inefficiencies that use extra energy or resources. This inherently reduces costs as energy use costs decrease. When discussing this with the C-Suite, it’s important to emphasize that ESG initiatives bolster the bottom line.
4. Brand Equity: As the world faces the climate crisis, ESG is becoming an increasingly important topic for consumers, employees, and investors. According to a recent PwC study, 83% of consumers think companies should be actively shaping ESG best practices and 86% of employees claim they would prefer to support or work for a company that cares about the same issues they do. 89% of investors consider ESG issues as part of their investment approach according to a Capital Group study in 2022.
Focus on the Long Term Gain
Intelligent leaders focus on how their strategies will affect not only the day-to-day but in the long term. Appeal to the C-suite by emphasizing the long-term benefits that ESG initiatives will create for your organization. For each company this will vary, but some examples of long-term benefits include:
1. Increase Top Line Growth: A solid ESG proposition allows businesses to tap into new markets and expand market share by facilitating innovation. A reputation for ESG compliance also builds strong community and government relationships, creating more potential for new growth opportunities and faster approvals.
2. Preempt Regulatory Compliance: Getting ahead of ESG regulations and complying early enables your organization to avoid costly fines and restrictions, as well as gaining government support and eligibility for subsidies. Preemptive compliance also facilitates better strategic decisions through a solid understanding of the regulatory environment.
3. Attract Talent and Increase Productivity: As employees and consumers increasingly prioritize ESG as an inherent part of company culture and operations, the organizations that are quick to launch their ESG programs are likely to attract more talent. A strong social purpose also boosts motivation among employees, leading to better team buy-in and productivity.
4. Optimize Investment and Asset Performance: Sustainability is not a fad. The more that a company invests in sustainable assets, the longer those assets will create value rather than being prematurely written off due to nonviability due to environmental risk. Embedding ESG into your organizational strategy enables enhanced investments through better allocation of capital for the long term.
Once your company’s leaders grasp the importance of ESG initiatives for the long-term health of the organization, partner with Green Impact to create a data-driven ESG strategy. We meet you at the intersection of technology and sustainability to empower your ESG initiatives through data governance, analytics, and scenario planning. Our team of sustainability and technology experts is eager to help you reach your ESG goals through greenhouse gas accounting, informed decision-making, and ESG reporting. Schedule a free discovery call with us today to get started!