ESG Transformation: Maximizing Value in Sustainability Projects

Companies have historically viewed Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) activities as, at best, a gesture of goodwill or, at worst, a costly compliance exercise. The market is now, however, experiencing a seismic shift in perspective thanks to reams of evidence correlating a company's sustainability proposition with its bottom line. Globally leading professional services network PwC has commented on the recent blurring of the responsibilities between the CFO and Chief Sustainability Officer. This shift places increasing pressure on CFOs to present to the market as ESG-savvy and able to respond to questions about the impact of the company's ESG strategy on its value. Those who get it right enjoy tangible financial benefits such as top-line growth and reduced operating costs, as well as benefits that are more slippery to quantify, such as less legal interventions and reputational risk, or improved employee productivity.

How are you measuring the value created by your ESG initiatives?

Armed with a solid understanding of the close alignment between clear ESG outcomes and improved profitability, you probably have several sustainability projects on the go. These might include a waste management strategy, a carbon emissions reduction project, and initiatives to save water and phase out plastic. These projects may have clearly defined targets, and you probably spend a considerable amount of time analysing metrics and compiling reports to demonstrate to internal stakeholders that you're on or offtrack.

What you might find more difficult and laborious to quantify is the bottom line value of all this effort and spend.

Your ability to measure and effectively communicate the return on investment of your sustainability projects rests on how you manage them.

Sounds obvious, right? Yet you'd be surprised how often we speak to a program lead who knows how important a sustainability management framework is but isn't effectively executing one.

What sets our market leading customers apart from the rest is their accountability-driven sustainability management framework; They plan, govern and deliver their various sustainability projects as one integrated program of work.

Experienced leaders  will immediately recognise the benefits of putting a transformative program framework around their otherwise siloed sustainability efforts in this way.

For one, grouping initiatives into programs of work enables you to maximise resource efficiency while controlling costs.

It also shifts the focus from basic, generic and fragmented mandatory reporting metrics to the metrics that matter to your company; Metrics pertaining to strategic and unified company objectives, that measure positive impact on your company's bottom line.

Bundling your initiatives up as one transformative program also helps you talk more effectively about them. You can create a single narrative about your projects that hooks into your company's vision, mission and values, giving your initiatives a far more compelling 'why' in the eyes of your Board and investors than talking about them as isolated pieces of work.

And, most importantly, monitoring, tracking and reporting on your projects as a program of work will enable you to very quickly and far more effectively demonstrate the financial value of those projects to your Board and investors.

We can help. Some of the world's top ranking companies for sustainability management are using Amplify to manage their ESG initiatives.

For example, a global organisation rated in the top 2 percent for sustainability management in engineering is using Amplify to easily track its sustainability KPIs and quickly report to shareholders and the market. Amplify has enabled the company to plan and track multiple initiatives, each linked to performance metrics at a strategic level.

With the right management framework and our software, you'll be able to effectively measure and communicate the bottom line benefits of your sustainability projects while remaining focused on delivering them.