More than a Buzzword - a Business Imperative: Why ESG is Your Key to Sustainable Success

The 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), adopted by all United Nations Member States in 2015, seeks to provide a call to action for the world to join together in sharing the roles and responsibilities required to ensure a happier, healthier and more sustainable future for ourselves and the planet. These goals are a large part of the reason for an increased focus on Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) initiatives in business in South Africa and globally, though they are not immune to current geopolitics.?

“The UN SDGs are focused on noble goals such as the reduction of poverty, reduced inequality, affordable, clean energy, and responsible consumption and production,” says Lindy McClymont, Head of Faculty at The LLC Academy. “And while these goals can at first glance seem lofty, the focus should be more on harm reduction and the journey towards achievement, rather that attempting to be picture perfect from the get go – much like Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (B-BBEE) in South Africa.”?

“In fact, it can be argued that we’ve been working towards a number of the SDGs for quite a while already,” says McClymont. “The work that South Africans in government and business have been doing to achieve our B-BBEE goals means that we, as a country, already have a major head start. Did you know, for example, that your company’s commitment to Skills Development in your business and the development of your employees is already directly meeting SDG 4, Quality Education?”?

“Another SDG that has been covered by B-BBEE since its inception is the move towards Gender Equality,” says McClymont. “Studies have shown that countries with higher levels of gender equality tend to have stronger economies, do better in business, and have higher levels of poverty reduction than those that don’t. This is why myself and my colleagues at The LLC Academy have developed programmes such as Women in Leadership, which seeks to help women anchor themselves in a conscious leadership space, and step into a leadership role with confidence.”?

“This focus on the various aspects of Sustainable Development, particularly those with a direct social consequence, is integral to the way that we should already be doing business in South Africa. Our national constitution is focused on equality for all, making ESG an imperative for all businesses in South Africa. Here, at the very least, the consequences for doing the right thing, though it may feel time consuming and, at times, expensive, is the worthwhile endeavour of aiming to create and enhance opportunity for all of us.?

“Like anything that requires us to change the way we do things, the implementation of an ESG focus in our businesses is initially difficult,” says McClymont. “While some of us thrive on change, the vast majority of the human race appears to be rather resistant to new ideas and transformation – mostly from the point of view that it means we risk having less than we did before.”?

“But moving towards a world that is focused on ensuring that we all have the opportunity to grow and thrive does not mean less – it means more,” says McClymont. “ESG cannot continue to be a buzzword that is considered a nice to have in an environment that is crying out for care. For truly sustainable success, we need to work together to ensure that we have a future – one that has room for all of us. Not only some of us.”?

Do you see ESG as a must do, not a nice to have? Speak to the experts at The LLC Academy for more on how to integrate ESG principles and the UN Sustainable Development Goals into the way you do business.?