ESG: action v reporting
For our event at Davos, we selected speakers from very different places to make sure we had a broad-based discussion about the relative importance of ESG action and ESG reporting:
- Christy Hoffman, General Secretary of the UNI Global Union
- Arne Cartridge, Special Adviser; Yara International
- Judy Stenmark, Director General of The Global Self-Care Federation
- Thomas Hohne-Sparborth, Head of Sustainability Research at Lombard Odier Investment Managers
We took away six learnings:
- Change is happening because of consumer and regulatory pressure.
- Regulations are creating a level playing field, meaning there is no loss of short-term returns for organisations that invest in ESG. In fact, real ESG action creates competitive advantage.
- Good ESG strategies requires creative approaches and engagement, with authenticity and the human interests at the centre.
- Successful ESG implementation also requires cross-sector and cross-discipline collaboration to deliver real change.
- Shareholder and stakeholder activism will always keep organisations honest, with the focus currently trending away from corporate greed to sustainable operations and the wider ESG agenda.
- Finally, the sad truth is that organisations that produce the best reports are perceived as having the best performance, even if their actual performance is not the best.
What do you think?
Lukasz Bochenek
Managing Director / Deputy CEO, based in Geneva
Lukasz is Managing Director for Switzerland, Belgium and UK offices as well as deputy CEO for Leidar. He oversees key international client projects and relationships. In addition, he manages external partnerships and memberships of Leidar.