The business case for sustainability consulting
What started out as a voluntary practice by leading companies, sustainability reporting is now required by certain governments and is demanded by investors. Leaders in their industries use sustainability as a strategy tool to improve decision-making, standardize processes, stay accountable to stakeholders, and build more resilient businesses.
There are many topics covered under sustainability that range from health, education, and agriculture, and span into environment, governance, gender, and biodiversity. To better understand the issues covered under each topic, the United Nations created a list of 17 goals called the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Each goal has targets that need to be accomplished to build a more fair, just, and prosperous world for all by the year 2030. While the goals were originally focused on governments, they have been adopted by companies and are utilized across all industries, companies, and geographical locations.
Businesses have organized sustainability and its many topics into three categories: environmental, social, and governance (ESG).
Environmental include issues regarding natural resources, biodiversity, waste production, and others.
Social is focused on diversity, equity, and inclusion, the communities in which the business operates, and the impact it has across its entire supply chain.
Governance is about standardizing data collection, improving management, reducing corruption, and making the business-making process more efficient.