Establishing a Global Standard for ESG Reporting: Is a Common Ground Possible?

Effectively treating environmental, social, and governance issues is becoming a strategic imperative both for large and public organizations, as well as for the middle-business companies. The ESG mandate is, however, quite challenging to embrace, since the business requirements are only gaining momentum now.

Companies globally are increasingly reporting on the environmental, social, and governance (ESG) impacts of their operations and supply chains. Some business leaders sit at the forefront of ESG activism and disclosure, while others are facing tough questions from stakeholders about how they are proactively addressing ESG to avoid financial material impacts and controversies. It is no surprise then that investors, from large institutional investors to individual retail investors, are also paying keen attention to ESG to better understand their exposure, as well as capture undervalued market opportunities.

The key challenge here is how the “green” industries, like tech, can agree with high-emission sectors, like heavy production, aviation, and mining on establishing a common standard for ESG data disclosure and monitoring the accuracy of meeting the new common standard.

In the panel discussion, you are going to hear a productive debate between representatives from different industries on the following:

• Applying an ESG lens to investments and M&A

• Retargeting sustainability reporting to an investor-friendly format for higher-quality data

• Defining and tackling material ESG issues with the help of middle management

• Finding a common ground between industries with different levels of sustainability and CO₂ emissions on ESG reporting