Setting SMART Goals For ESG Implementation

Written by Kristin Brubaker , Education Manager at Green Badger

In our blog series on ESG, we have spent a lot of time identifying relevant priorities, data to collect, and benchmarking where you currently stand on various ESG metrics. Only once you have completed and ESG benchmark that you can set ESG goals. You will need the data from your ESG benchmark to set goals focused on what is important to your organization.?

History of SMART Goals

One way? to do this is by using the SMART Goals method. SMART goals were developed by George T. Doran to create meaningful goals for a business. This method can be applied to ESG goals and other business objectives.

What are SMART Goals?

SMART goals are:

• Specific—outline what needs to be accomplished and the steps to make it happen.
• Measurable—goals need to be quantified to track progress.
• Achievable—goals shouldn’t be too easy but also shouldn’t be too difficult to accomplish. Set a goal that is challenging yet realistic.
• Relevant—goals should be aligned with the mission and vision of your organization and ESG.
• Time-Bound—there should be a deadline to complete the goal.

Examples of ESG goals using the SMART goal method

In this scenario, an ESG benchmark shows there is currently an average of 10% local subcontractor participation across projects. This company would like to increase this percentage, so a SMART goal may look something like this:

Increase Local Subcontractor Participation

The average local subcontractor participation (local is defined as companies based within 50 miles of the project site) rate on our projects is currently 10%. We will get this average up to 15% by December 31, 2025, and 25% by December 31, 2030. This aligns with our company’s mission of employing small businesses and putting money into the economy of the communities we work in.

We will work to increase this number by implementing the ESG tactics listed below (Part of goal-setting includes implementing tactics that will help you make progress on your goals. Tactics are going to look different for each company, and you can implement more than one tactic per goal. This is where your company has the opportunity to be creative in your impact).

? Setting a companywide minimum local participation goal that each project has to meet

? Providing incentives to project teams that have higher local participation

? Helping local subcontractors get qualified

? Donating money to nonprofit organizations in the community that support getting people into the trades?

(This is by no means a definitive list of tactics that could help an organization meet its local participation goals!)

Let’s break down what made this a SMART ESG Goal

Specific—outline what needs to be accomplished and the steps? to make it happen.?This goal is detailed, more than just a bullet point on a huge list. It includes tactics for how this goal will be accomplished.

Measurable—goals need to be quantified to track progress. In this scenario, the company knows their local subcontractor contract value is averaged at 10% across all projects. The goal clearly has two measurable milestones to meet – 15% and 25%.

Achievable—goals shouldn’t be too easy but also shouldn’t be too difficult to accomplish. Set a goal that is challenging yet realistic. Since the current benchmark for this goal is 10%, it will certainly take effort and policy changes to get to 25% in a couple of years, but not impossible for this company’s size.

Relevant—goals should be aligned with the mission and vision of your organization and ESG. The goal refers to why this is an important goal – this company wants to make sure their projects stimulate the local economy to the greatest extent possible.

Time-Bound—there should be a deadline to complete the goal. Dates are set in which this goal should be accomplished.

Take the next steps

This process can be repeated for each ESG metric you have. Progress made on these goals will need to be tracked. Green Badger’s ESG platform helps you not only benchmark your ESG metrics, but allows you to see real-time progress on meeting your goals. For more information on Green Badger’s ESG platform, click here.