Effective integration of the ESG factor is one of the biggest organizational challenges for companies and investors, regardless of their size. Undertaking it successfully requires a new approach: the Sustainability function is not an evolution of CSR or non-financial information management, it is a different dimension, it covers everything. There is no single organizational solution; setting up teams and budgets is a starting point, not the arrival one.
We have the recent reference of the implementation of other functions, such as Strategy and Innovation, which share their raison d'être with Sustainability: move the needle, make a difference in the value of the company. Experience tells us that high-impact areas have common characteristics:
- Genuine, explicit and ongoing support from the CEO.
- Attributions that allow them to contribute decisively to strategic development.
- Teams that are fluent in ESG and Business languages and exemplify integrity, empathy and collaboration.
- Day-to-day demonstration of the added value of the function, measured in a tangible way in terms of triple (economic, environmental and social) impact.
- Excellent market intelligence supported by an ecosystem of partners and solutions.
A current of opinion says that a company that has fully integrated the ESG factor into its business model, culture and management system does not need a specific function in this area. I share this view, although until that moment arrives a transition stage is inevitable. This stage will be shorter the greater the effectiveness of the organizational solutions of companies and investors to enhance their Sustainability.