Is ESG more than just a tick box exercise?

ESG (environmental, social & governance) from a procurement perspective is very much still a trending topic; but is it more than just a tick box exercise and how can we do more than just wave our pumpkin spiced lattes in reusable coffee cups around?

It’s fair to say that ESG is no longer the ugly sister to the procurement process, once nodded at and now fully bear hugged in everyone’s day-to-day workload. In a recent discussion with the glorious Oliver Agency, a focus around sustainable process got me thinking about whether ESG should and could be more than just an obligatory ask in due diligence for procurement.

We all know that at the heart of the acronym we should be looking at three core areas:

✅ Environmental: responsibility for our carbon footprint, waste management and natural resource use. 

✅ Social: impartial treatment of employees, fostering diversity and inclusion, and having fair supplier relationships. 

✅ Governance: adopting transparent practices, ethical business behaviour and stakeholder engagement. 

Why do we know this? Well 1) because it’s the right thing to do and 2) frankly, we’re asked to. But while we’re ticking all the boxes shouldn’t there be something more integral that leaves an impact aligned with your business, rather than keeping this area so isolated?

With this in mind if ESG is so important how can we approach this genuinely, making it integral to our DNA, overall decision making and keeping an eye on the long-term benefits across key areas; How do we embed core business values like the below turning them into actionable insight?

✅ Reputation, Resilience and Regulation

✅ Collaboration and True Partnerships.

✅ Positive Change and Emerging Opportunities

✅ Decision Making & Value Creation

This is the just beginning of an ESG trilogy from me, so for more thoughts on tangible environmental, social and governance in procurement, hang tight for my next post with an expert in this area - my sustainability guru (trust me, she's mega).

In the meantime, I'd love to hear about what you’re doing in your area and whether you think we can do more or if simply ticking boxes is enough?

This was part of a mini series on sustainability, check it out here