Best Practices: Weaving Social Into ESG And Sustainability Strategies

Report

Corporate Sustainability Leaders

Priyanka Bawa

Kim Knickle

14 Aug, 2024

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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.

Table of contents

Summary for decision-makers
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

Table of figures

Figure 1. Ambit of social concerns
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

Organisations mentioned

Advancement Project National Office, Alphabet, Ansell, Apple, B4SI (Business for Societal Impact), Baker McKenzie, Ben & Jerry’s, Benevity, Boohoo, Brightway Holdings, Business & Human Rights Resource Centre (BHRRC), BYD, Canadian Ombudsperson for Responsible Enterprise (CORE), Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA), Capital Group, Coca-Cola, Consumer Goods Forum (CGF), Dell, Dior, Disney, Dyson, GIST, Google, Holdfast Collective, IKEA, Impact Genome Registry, International Labour Organization (ILO), Kimberly-Clark, Lego, Lindt, LVMH, Meta, Microsoft, Milwaukee Tool, Nestlé, Nike Canada, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), Parker Review Committee, Patagonia, Pew Research Center, Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi), Securities Commission Malaysia, SHEIN, Shiseido, Starbucks, Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD), Task Force on Inequality and Social-related Financial Disclosures (TISFD), Task Force on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD), Tesco, Tesla, The Verge, Ulula, UN, US Department of Homeland Security, US House of Representatives, US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), US Supreme Court, Volkswagen Group, Walk Free, World Benchmarking Alliance, World Economic Forum (WEF), Yeezy, Zara, Zoom

About the Authors

Priyanka Bawa

Senior Analyst

Priyanka is a Senior Analyst at Verdantix, where she leads research to enable sustainability leaders and services firms to analyse shifting market dynamics and evaluate innova...

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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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