Trend three
Getting serious about ESG
ESG is fast evolving — from its early corporate social responsibility and community value add — to a global standard of doing business. That said, progress on the E and positive climate action, and defining what and how to measure for the S is still a challenge for plenty of organisations. More organisations are setting the goal of when they want to get to net zero and many more are only in early stages of figuring out their carbon footprint path to reduction. A “measure what’s regulated” mindset is also growing as business leaders focus on recently proposed US ESG reporting rules1 and the EU Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive2 (CSDR). This growing regulation makes ESG-focused workforce strategy increasingly important.
One in three public companies now committed to net zero: While more than one-third (34%) of the world’s largest companies are now committed to net zero, nearly all (93%) will fail to achieve their goals if they don’t at least double the pace of emissions reduction by 2030. However, experts believe increasing adoption by more businesses and the introduction of new climate change reduction technology could help close the gap.3
Serious attention in the C-suite: 58% of Fortune 500 CEOs said in a recent 2022 survey that they have a plan to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 or sooner. This figure is a significant increase from 36% in 2021.4
ESG and workers wanted: Nearly eight in ten organisations have or are in the process of planning their ESG strategy, yet 94% of companies lack the necessary talent to implement their goals.5
1. US Securities and Exchange Commission 2. European Commission 3. Accenture 4. Fortune 5. ManpowerGroup Employment Outlook Survey Q4 2022 6. Accenture 7. World Economic Forum
Globally, only 6% of employers with ESG targets have the talent they need to achieve them5
ESG performance gaps can negatively impact bottom line results by as much as 21%6
Upskilling is needed as the World Economic Forum estimates 61% of the global workforce will need additional training by 2027.7
OF ORGANISATIONS DON’T HAVE THE TALENT THEY NEED TO ACHIEVE THEIR ESG GOALS5
