“My CEO just asked me to start an ESG program. What do I do?.”
I am receiving questions like this from more and more in-house counsel. Hearing them always gives me flashbacks to 2018 when “Chief Sustainability Officer” was added to my CLO responsibilities.
I didn’t know where to start. I read everything I could, fretted a lot, and used the “phone a friend” option more than once. Gradually things fell into place. I figured out how to focus on the few ESG measures that were true difference-makers for our company. Now I have a practical approach for reducing the period of overwhelm to a few weeks.
Here is the secret.
You have to focus. And to focus, you need a finite and prioritized list of ESG actions.
You can build this list in 3 steps.
Step 1: Create a Master List of ESG Actions
Your company is probably being asked to do a lot of things on ESG. You need to identify and organize these asks. Create a master list starting with these sources:
· Requests for ESG data that you have received from clients
· Requests for ESG data that you have received from investors
· Commitments you have made in contracts
· Items that you need for third-party ESG assessments (like Ecovadis)
· Requirements from any new or upcoming regulations
Check your list against the items in this article on 8 Elements Every ESG Program Must Have.
As you are creating this list, keep track of where the requests came from and note overlaps. Use this information to prioritize later.
Step 2: Inventory your Current Practices Using the Master List
Once you have your master list, reach out to the relevant departments across your organization to collect information related to each item. For example, you may need to:
· Ask your human resources department for information related to labor and employment and health and safety.
· Check legal and compliance records to determine if your governance policies are complete
· Look at how your operations team manages suppliers
· Review (and verify) what is on your website
You will probably discover that you have more pieces of an ESG program than you thought. Often ESG efforts are siloed and not well known across the company. You can use this as an opportunity to assemble the relevant information to respond to future questionnaires.
Step 3: Prioritize Potential ESG Actions
At this stage, you will know your gaps. You will probably have a lot of them. Great. So what do you do with that information? Organize ESG actions into four categories:
1. Completed (Well done!!!)
2. Quick wins
3. Strategic considerations
4. Items for the future
Quick wins are easy items you can complete to make your stakeholders happy and items that you must complete to be a responsible business. These could include things like filling gaps in your ethics and labor policies and documenting existing responsibilities for ESG.
Strategic considerations are items that depend on the strategy developed by your executive team. For example, you will likely need an executive decision on your approach to climate and DEI.
Items for the future are things you don’t apply to your business today. If your current business does not touch on an ESG item, put it on a watch list for the future and focus on what you can impact now.
Make it Practical
If you follow these steps, you can create an ESG action plan in a few weeks. Start knocking things off the list one at a time, and you will be amazed by your progress 12 months from now.
This step-by-step approach is how I built an ESG program into a competitive differentiator. You can do the same.
And whenever you’re ready, here is how I can help:
ESG Launch Program: Start your ESG program with the tools, training, and support you need to accelerate success.
Workshops and Training: Create company-wide understanding, alignment, and buy-in on ESG goals and objectives through customized board, executive, and cross-functional training.
Advisor Services: Receive support for your ESG goals from a trusted advisor who has done it before.
Interested in learning more? Book an ESG strategy session using the link on my website christineuri.com. During your strategy session, we will discuss your current ESG challenges and look for solutions. No fluff. No sales pitch.
