Best Practices: Weaving Social Into ESG And Sustainability Strategies
Priyanka Bawa
Kim Knickle
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Executive Summary
As firms struggle to incorporate an increasing range of concerns into their ESG and sustainability strategies, social issues remain notoriously complex and ambiguous, often presenting more subjective and nuanced challenges compared with environmental and governance issues. This report is designed to support the C-Suite and sustainability teams in integrating social concerns into their ESG and sustainability strategies, by spotlighting emerging best practices.
Firms are struggling to incorporate social concerns into their ESG and sustainability strategies
Addressing social factors is essential for businesses to achieve long-term stability and success
Firms are prioritizing a myriad of social factors through different approaches, as part of their sustainability strategies
Organizations face significant challenges when integrating social concerns in their sustainability strategies
Best practices for firms weaving social factors into ESG and sustainability strategies
An intentional and programmatic approach is essential for firms to translate social performance ambitions into effective actions
Buy-in from stakeholders at all levels drives sustainability performance improvements
Firms should leverage external frameworks, digital tools and consulting expertise for social sustainability
Figure 2. Snapshot of social regulations across the world
Figure 3. Human rights investigations and litigation: 2022-2024
Figure 4. Cheat sheet for integrating social into sustainability strategies
Figure 5. Questions firms should ask themselves
Figure 6. Examples of corporate social initiatives tied to business concerns
About the Authors
Priyanka Bawa
Principal Analyst
Priyanka is a Principal Analyst at Verdantix, where she leads research to enable sustainability leaders and services firms to analyse shifting market dynamics and evaluate inn...
Kim Knickle
Research Director
Kim Knickle is a Research Director at Verdantix, bringing more than two decades of analyst experience to the evolving world of sustainability. Her current research spans ESG a...
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