Only a third of companies have a strategy for ESG, figures reveal.
Research carried out by analytics specialist GlobalData shows that 34% of the companies it surveyed had no ESG (environmental, social and governance) plan in place, with the same percentage being unsure whether they had one or not.
Cyrus Mewawalla, head of thematic intelligence at GlobalData, blamed the reluctance of many CEOs to fully engage with ESG on “the age-old view that it will hurt profits”.
“Companies that embrace all three elements of ESG will actually outperform their peers,” he added. “Chief executives that are too slow to improve their company’s approach to sustainability will see an exodus of customers and a drop in profits far sooner than they ever imagined.”
Meanwhile, GlobalData’s complementary Environmental Trends by Sector research reveals that financial institutions, businesses and governments stepped up their efforts to align with the UN Sustainable Development Goals last year in response to climate change and environmental issues such as heatwaves, emissions, deforestation and water shortages.
