When it comes to corporate ESG, most focus tends to be on the CEO. CFOs – the ones directly responsible for a company’s money and how it is used – are in the spotlight less frequently. That might be changing, however. According to this from CFO.com, on a new survey from BDO of 600 CFOs: “CFOs are bracing for a year in which ESG risks are not just a boardroom buzzword, but a critical business reality.”
“… not until now has a majority of CFOs focused on sustainability and other aspects of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) as key strategic activities… Along with that shift, companies’ top objectives for ESG programs have changed in the past year in each of the six industry sectors tracked by BDO.
In 2023, the major objectives were embedding sustainability into business strategy and managing ESG risks and compliance. In this year’s survey, the big goals are attracting and retaining talent and improving brand reputation, while compliance plummeted to the eighth most important objective.
After improving brand reputation, attracting and retaining talent and improving employee engagement are two of the top three objectives for ESG initiatives. But the mission of sustainability is not just to appease employees, or customers either, for that matter. The report notes the regulatory environment around sustainability is intensifying, thanks to initiatives including the European Union’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting directive, the SEC’s climate-related disclosure rule, and California’s requirements for corporate climate disclosures.”
That last paragraph brings to mind a blog series from a couple years ago “Who Does ESG Really Serve?” (You can read that series here – Parts 1 and Addendum on Investors; Part 2 on Customers; Part 3 on Employees; Part 4 on Stakeholders; Part 5 on Suppliers and the Conclusion).
These survey results mirror the discussions I’ve had with those in the field over the past several months. And why ESG/sustainability practitioners must do their homework on the pragmatic business value of their efforts. We have resources available to members to help you identify ESG business value and communicate those effectively. If you aren’t a PracticalESG.com member with access to this and other resources, sign up now and take advantage of our no-risk “100-Day Promise” – during the first 100 days as an activated member, you may cancel for any reason and receive a full refund.
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