These questions will not only help in designing the right measurement systems but also help the corporations keep ahead in performance reporting with the range of new disclosure norms being introduced by regulators.
The design of the ESG data capture and measurement should not be restricted to the internal operations of the corporation either. It needs to understand that the data should be measured across the extended value chain. Some places where valuable data is generated and therefore needs to be measured in real time, include:
Third parties/ Supplier Relationship Management (SRM) processes and applications
Enriching master data across key business processes with relevant ESG metrics
Procurement to Pay
Supply chain including manufacturing, warehousing and logistics
Hire to Retire processes including learning and development and health and safety data
Record to Report, risk management, tax, ethics, compliance and other corporate governance systems
Once these questions are recognized, the right technology platform for designing a proper measurement system and implementing becomes consistent. Designing and implementing the right measurement and analytics assets will help the company constantly monitor its progress and also track the ROI of various ESG initiatives being taken by the management. Additionally, it will help the organizations demonstrate to stakeholders like investors, customers, etc., about the company’s progress on the ESG path through up-to-date data. Therefore, organizations would need an integrated governance and change management playbook, embedding three key enablers:
Technology at speed
Innovation at scale
Human behavior and adaptability across the ecosystem
To sustain and thrive in this new era of accelerating transformation and stakeholder capitalism, companies should embrace ESG data as a strategic business imperative and measure in real time its impact on key value indicators.
The article was first published in ETCFO (indiatimes.com)
