Six industry sustainability leaders have revealed their top tips on how others can get started for a new ‘ESG Unwrapped’ report.
Billed as an “indispensable guide to getting started with ESG”, the report is designed to support efforts to build a sustainable technology channel community. It was commissioned by Nebula Global Services.
Offering advice on how to get started are Mundus Consulting’s Jo Ballard, KOcycle’s Oliver Mason, Stone Group’s Sheryl Moore, CAE’s Natalie Hailey, Telefónica Tech’s Janice Phayre and Highgate IT Solutions‘ Jenny Latimer.
“You’re not alone – get help when you need it”
Jo Ballard, Managing Director, Mundus Consulting
What’s your piece of advice?
Venturing into the world of sustainability for the first time can be daunting, but it doesn’t have to be and nor should it be. Technology firms need to take a practical approach to building a more sustainable business, identifying what aspects are best for them and implementing a baseline for the journey ahead. For those businesses without dedicated internal resource, there is plenty of support out there from sustainability and ESG experts who can work with you to identify your sustainability goals.
“ESG is the differentiator you’re looking for”
Oliver Mason, Founder and Managing Director, KOcycle
What’s your piece of advice?
Incorporate sustainability into your agenda. Begin with baby steps, but start! ESG is here to stay and, given its trajectory over the past six years, it will become even more crucial in the coming decade. Consider adding sustainable tech options to your portfolio and use them as a differentiating factor
“Start small, with commercial, sustainable decisions”
Sheryl Moore, Director of Sustainability, Stone Group
What’s your piece of advice?
Start tracking everything you do. It doesn’t require a sophisticated app or a tool, just track everything in a spreadsheet. This will not only help you better understand your actions, but also identify areas where you can make savings – whether it’s reducing carbon emissions, energy consumption, or costs. Once you start tracking, you become part of a sustainable community and value chain.
“Get passionate people involved from the start”
Natalie Hailey, CAE
What’s your piece of advice?
Find people who are genuinely passionate about ESG and avoid doing this as a box-ticking exercise, otherwise there’s a risk that it will demotivate them and without them, it’s much harder to get buy-in across the business. Help these people break ESG into bite-sized chunks and don’t try and do too much all at once.
“Track your ESG data to attract the right investors”
Janice Phayre, Telefónica Tech
What’s your piece of advice?
Get senior leadership buy-in. Phayre stresses the importance of being honest, upfront and transparent with all ESG Initiatives and activities and encouraging and supporting everyone in the organisation to get involved from the board down. Phayre says she is very lucky with the level of interest, engagement and supportive leadership at Telefónica Tech. Securing commitment from top management and ensuring the ESG strategy aligns with the company strategy is pivotal to ESG success.
“Engage with your peers and set goals from the start”
Jenny Latimer, Head of Alliances and Operations, Highgate IT Solutions
What’s your piece of advice?
Focus on your business and do what’s right for you. Latimer says chatting with peers is useful, but it’s vital to make your strategy work for your business and your business goals. She says she found a lot of help available through distributors, many of whom are working out their own ESG strategies and are happy to support with advice and guidance.
This article was produced in association with Nebula Global Services and is classified as partner content. What is partner content? See more here.
