Developing and reporting on ESG is a demonstration of strong corporate leadership and governance. This positively impacts a company’s brand, legal liability, and financial position. But how do you get one off the ground?
We’ve listed out 5 steps to developing your ESG strategy, and we’ll be going through each of these in more detail to get you started.
Any ESG project will fail unless supported by a framework that lays out your company’s ambitions, goals, and milestones. This framework gives you a roadmap that ensures accountability for critical initiatives and provides stakeholders with a comprehensive view of your company’s strengths and objectives.
Boiled down, you’re asking, “What does success look like when we achieve our goals?”
What will a successful end result look like? How will you know when you’ve gotten where you’re going?
Three Questions to Ask When Developing Your ESG Objectives and Measurement Plan
Which KPIs will you use to measure success?
A great place to get started is to take a look at your peers. Who are they, and what are their sustainability goals? There’s something to be said for “Keeping Up with the Joneses.” Your stakeholders will be using this as a metric when evaluating your organization, so you should as well. During this process, you want to review industry peers’ reporting, messaging, disclosures, and ESG ratings.
What are your drivers for ROI?
There are three P’s to consider, not just one. This is about Planet, People, and Profit, not just Profit alone.
What’s your data collection plan?
Remember the question above, “How will you know when you’ve gotten where you’re going?” Answering this question helps you determine the data points you’ll need to collect going forward.
This is a great time to review general ESG reporting frameworks, as well as industry-specific frameworks or standards. This will help you compile your list of data points to collect. Layer your financial and timeline targets on top of this list of data points to help determine both what and how often.
So you’ve answered the question, “What does success look like when we achieve our goals?”
From here, you’re well on your way to tackling the next steps of your ESG journey.
How KPA Helps Support Your ESG Goals
KPA’s here to help by providing consulting, software, and training to align with your ESG mission.
Environmental
KPA provides consulting and training to help ensure you’re minimizing your impact on your local environment. This can span ensuring compliance with environmental regulations, to helping develop strategies and best practices for reducing your environmental waste streams.
Social
KPA’s 35 years of health and safety experience are here to help you develop an initiative that shows you put people first. Rely on safety program data, comprehensive training library, and usage metrics to demonstrate your organization values people both inside and outside the company.
Governance
Lean on KPA’s comprehensive policy and training libraries along with in-depth reporting to demonstrate your organization follows good governance practices. This is governance that spans ethical sales practices, adherence to a comprehensive code of conduct, and audit trails that demonstrate your commitment to good governance.
KPA’s technology and expertise can help you make successful strides toward fulfilling your ESG mission.
