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Investing into environmental, social and governance initiatives and strategies delivers measurable value to the organisation over the long and the short term. However, initial investment hype alongside so-called ‘greenwashing’ has left many companies and investors wary of ESG initiatives and approaches. The connection to the ESG value proposition blurred by limited visibility and mistrust. A survey undertaken by Workviva found around 50% of investors across all markets don’t find it easy to trust in a company’s ESG actions and claims with 68% citing a need for ESG data that they can trust.
It has become critical to create foundations withing ESG reporting and management that are transparent, aligned with clear mandates, and that can support an organisation’s ESG presence and investment convictions. Globally, the survey revealed that 70% of respondents wanted companies to take responsibility for their ESG performance and 64% of investors will demand information that proves an ESG posture before making any decisions. These percentages only underscore the growing need to ensure that ESG is accompanied by rich data that’s easily accessible and that’s intensely reliable. A fact underscored by a recent analysis of ESG best practice in the Harvard Law Review’s ESG Global Study 2021.
The latter report also emphasises the importance of consistency in the data and the methodologies used to access and analyse it. Investors are increasingly inclined to believe that sustainable ESG practices and investments come hand-in-hand with transparent reporting and rigorous processes. As the World Economic Forum points out, ESG has moved on. It’s no longer reporting on the progress of initiatives but on embedding ‘ESG metrics into core business strategies’ to ensure that progress is measured correctly and actions are transparent.
“Using international standards such as ISO 14001:2015, you can create a comprehensive, accessible and relevant environmental management system (EMS) that allows your business to align every data point and process to your ESG objectives,” says Simone Samuel, ISO Consultant at WWISE. “Using these smart standards, you can create solid foundations for ambitious and bold ESG strategies as you will be leveraging the latest in legislative, regulatory and social parameters every step along the way.”
With ISO 14001, you can measure the effectiveness of your ESG strategies and processes using applications, monitoring and measuring equipment, policies, processes, procedures and other established toolsets. This ISO standard can be applied to organisations of any size or from any sector, and essentially ensures you have the right processes in place to ensure that you can actively engage with suppliers that have better environmental approaches as you integrate them into your systems. It allows you to create a measurable ESG ecosystem that filters down from the top of the chain right down to the links to all its connections.
There has been numerous research done into how ISO 14001, alongside other ISO standards, provide companies with a strong foundation from which to then embark on innovations and alternative pathways that could potentially up new product lines, new supplier channels and so much more. Currently ISO 14001 has measurable benefits for companies that are looking to shift their ESG footprints and build strategies that are aligned with local and global regulations and that provide investors with the transparency and visibility they need.
Using this ISO and the support of World Wide Industrial and Systems Engineers (WWISE), a third-party service provider that ensures your business is on track to follow the global ISO standards and principles, you can improve your company image and credibility and the confidence of stakeholders through strategic communication and ensure that every one of your company’s touchpoints is measured against improved environmental performance. It’s a smart metric and tangible toolset that puts ESG promises into ESG data and proven metrics.
WWISE
Launched in 2009, Centurion-headquartered WWISE employs 35 fulltime consultants who specialise in more than 40 industries, both locally and abroad, training, and implementing ISO standards and programmes for a broad range of small, medium and large-scale business and organisations. The company has a solid local and international client base, with 590 clients in 16 countries, implementing more than 30 standards and achieving a 100% record when clients are certified. Its training programmes are accredited with SETA and various international bodies, and it offers an e-Learning portal through which 12 000 people in 40 countries have been trained so far.
The 70-year-old International Organization for Standardization (ISO) is an independent, non-governmental international body that develops business management standards to ensure the quality, safety and efficiency of products, services and systems across a multitude of industries. It aims to uphold consistency and quality in an increasingly globalised marketplace.
