COVid 19 ACCELERATED EVERYTHING, AND ESG

ESG...rushing toward a new normal

It’s week two of 2021, and ESG is evolving daily. 
Each week at ESG Café  we share three things to keep you abreast of ESG and sustainability trends that could impact your business – and the investors you attract. 
 
In 2020, it was challenging to keep up with the pace of change, but possible. In this era of unknowns, the one thing we do know is that 2021 will be a year of hyper-responsiveness, hyper-accountability, and hyper-competitiveness, and that applies to your customers, employees and investors.  

So, in 2021 we will need even more nimble corporate leadership to respond to the evolving sustainability trends that investors, employees and customers are driving.  

Which brings us to the acceleration of ESG reporting in companies. By moving off the sidelines of sustainability and ESG performance, companies that report their ESG performance have used reporting as a platform for communicating how they are adjusting to systemic change, and the value their company provides to their key stakeholders beyond the products or services they provide. The intensity of investor interest in this information has intersected, for the first time ever, with a desire by corporations to share this information as a way to differentiate their brand, compete for customers and employees, and secure cost-efficient capital.  
 
Watch 2021 become the pivotal year in sustainability performance and ESG disclosure in companies of all sizes, including small and mid-cap companies. Staying on the sidelines of ESG disclosure is no longer a low-risk strategy, it's a high-risk gamble where access to capital, customers, and skilled employees is at stake.
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