How do you perform an ESG?
3 Core Elements of ESG Strategy
After a preliminary understanding of ESG, one will immediately think about one question: how to start implementing ESG? Before thinking about how to do ESG for the first time, you can ask yourself 2 Ws and 1 H to understand your company's internal situation better.
Why
Why can the existence of enterprises exert positive environmental and social impacts on the world? Why are employees motivated to create value and revenue for the company? It is necessary to find out the development goals from the core values of the enterprise.
What
What is the core business strategy? In which markets and product categories do you mainly compete? In addition to product advantages, what value can you provide to customers? What responsible commitments can be made to people and the planet? Only by looking at the sustainable development of stakeholders and the enterprise itself, finding highlights, and combining core capabilities and industrial characteristics can a win-win situation be created.
How
How to implement the enterprise's core purpose in the organization, lead sustainable actions, and consider business behavior? When an enterprise establishes an ESG strategy, the foundation is to first include the setup and system, establish a dedicated committee and executive team, etc., and select important ESG issues based on the company's core values and operations, which fit the characteristics of the industry, and combining the value and culture that the company itself values.
Strategic Deployment
New business opportunities will be generated through the sustainable generation of influential business models that solve social and environmental problems. At the same time, new generations of workers will be attracted to join the company, which will drive a sense of mission and create a new vision. So, it is ESG in the medium and long-term business plan.
Advanced Deployment
Enterprise risk identification and management and supervision units require the establishment of a management system to form an industry front-end class and, at the same time, let consumers understand our infrastructure and efforts in sustainability.
Questions we have when implementing ESG
How to convince supervisors or colleagues to agree and be willing to promote the implementation of ESG jointly?
A basic idea to be established is “the idea of regarding sustainability as the foundation of the enterprise and creating the value of enterprise resilience”.
Build a Mission-Oriented Organization
Help find the place where the heart is, integrate the industry in, play the global dilemma to be solved in the United Nations' sustainable development indicators, and lead the company's colleagues to understand that everyone may spend 10 or 20 years in this company, not just to produce superior performance and results, but also for ourselves, the next generation, and those who will enter the company in the future, what kind of foundation should we build? Let our society, environment, and workplace culture generate new value and become the change we want to see. Combine the expertise of each department in the core industry, and at the same time, look further into the social issues that the 17 SDGs focus on, to think about how to make money while solving problems and creating value.
Incorporate ESG indicators into management salary assessment
By appointing external professional board members to improve the team's professional level and requirements for sustainability, there are more and more global sustainable development benchmark companies, and the salaries of senior and senior executives are tied to sustainable development performance.
The ESG indicators include the use of renewable energy, reduction of carbon emissions, tolerance of multiculturalism, etc. By linking compensation, the goals of the management level are consistent with the company's ESG sustainable development strategy. More and more evidence shows that outstanding ESG performance can positively impact shareholders. Therefore, the more senior executives are willing to jointly think about the dilemma of sustainable development, the more they can maintain and demonstrate the long-term value of the enterprise.
Establish feasible ESG vision and goals
Brainstorm a simple, inspiring vision and driving purpose that creates shared social value and drives shared beliefs. Through quantitative statistical tools, on the one hand, it demonstrates the importance of sustainable development of the enterprise. So that managers and colleagues can clearly understand the results of the combination of sustainable development and operating strategies, and also reveal the financial status of climate change, becoming a true, objective, basis for impartial judgment.
Combining internal and external forces to maximize team effectiveness
Use various channels to transmit sustainable information internally and externally, especially for key stakeholders such as investors, customers, and opinion leaders, and release appropriate sustainable goal-related information. More importantly, find colleagues from various departments willing to participate and have great influence in the enterprise organization, provide them with the tools and resources they need, and exert the team strength to achieve the sustainable goal jointly.
Questions we face when managing ESG
Excessive focus on ratings
Assuming that the company's attitude towards ESG is to focus on improving the company's rating, common problems will exist: most of the resources will be spent on getting more to-do items ticked, comparing whether the number of ticks in your company is more than that of competitors in the industry, Instead of trying to formulate a unique prospect suitable for the company and a strategic plan to reduce risks.
View ESG only as a communication tool
Communication can help a company amplify its message but is no substitute for sound management mechanisms that address significant risks.
Out of touch with business sales strategy
Regardless of the company's strategic goals, simply executing for the sake of execution will not achieve the original intention and purpose of the three aspects of company management.
The method is oriented towards conforming to the standards
ESG management method that focuses on compliance with rules and regulations can be easily seen by the outside world. All action plans seem to be passive, and the goal is to achieve a low standard.
Inconsistency across the company
A lack of company-wide strategy and coordination leaves companies with significant gaps in, and potentially at risk for, ESG management programs.
Just ticking off all the key actions in E, S, G
In addition to listing what has been done, it is important to lead the company in what direction after the end. What kind of information does this give us? What promotes the importance of ESG is not how many different fireworks we have set off, but “on the issues that only we can contribute to, long-term efforts to accumulate changes and exert the influence of the industry”.
Case Study Zuellig Pharma: Corporate ESG
Over the past three years, Zuellig Pharma has joined hands with employees and families to continue to amplify the heart of sustainable environmental protection, and actively align with the SDGs; from 2020 to adopt windbreak forest land in Guanyin, Taoyuan, and in 2021 to adopt the friendship in Heshe, Nantou Environmental ecological afforestation land, this year they will invite colleagues to work together to carry out afforestation, mowing and weeding and tending work such as vine removal, promoting the concept of environmental protection from work and daily life, and driving internal colleagues to establish environmentally friendly green actions from their daily lives. Since then, they have planted sustainable thinking and encouraged employees to go out of the office to participate in green actions. The tree planting initiative has so far called on nearly 1,200 employees and their relatives and friends and planted more than 2,300 saplings. They are not just planting trees, they are planting the green hope of children's future.
In the face of extreme climate, Zuellig Pharma invites employees and their families to join hands every year to leave a touching impression in everyone's hearts, as well as a sense of recognition and belonging to the company. Every tree planted by oneself supports the company's practice step by step with the concept and commitment to environmental sustainability. Let's work together to improve global warming. Just like investing in our health, the daily trickle-like accumulation will be the best foundation for the future.
Case Study DBS (Taiwan): Leading the Charge Towards Net Zero with Power To Change
DBS (Taiwan) has taken a pioneering step in the realm of corporate sustainability through its collaboration with DOMI's Power To Change, focusing on the innovative "Energy Prosperity Project". This project aims to address the challenge of net-zero carbon emissions by assisting enterprises in understanding and managing their scope 1, 2, and 3 carbon emissions. By targeting the reduction of paper-based billing, DBS (Taiwan) has not only minimized its environmental footprint but also leveraged savings to support low-income families affected by energy shortages, illuminating their homes with energy-efficient appliances. This dual approach exemplifies a novel pathway to achieving net-zero emissions while fostering social and environmental welfare.
The partnership between DOMI and DBS (Taiwan) highlights the transformative potential of integrating sustainability into business models. Through the Power To Change project, DBS (Taiwan) has effectively engaged its customers in the sustainability journey, converting traditional paper bills into digital formats to conserve resources and support disadvantaged communities. This initiative has sparked a broader conversation on sustainable consumption and production, aligning with the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals and positioning DBS (Taiwan) as a leader in sustainable banking practices. The success of this project underscores the importance of collaborative efforts in driving meaningful change toward a more sustainable and inclusive future.
Case Study Shiangcheng's: Journey of Sustainable Transformation with AGC
Shiangcheng, a premier lubricant distributor in Southern Taiwan, has taken significant strides towards integrating sustainability into its business operations, inspired by a vision to become a B Corporation. With the support of DOMI Earth, Shiangcheng embarked on a journey of sustainable transformation, launching initiatives aimed at enhancing employee sustainability awareness, revamping its brand to reflect its commitment to environmental and social values, and establishing a dedicated department for sustainability strategy development. These efforts fostered a culture of sustainability within Shiangcheng and set a new standard for the industry, illustrating the company’s leadership in sustainable development.
Central to Shiangcheng’s transformative journey was the AGC Consensus Workshop facilitated by the Adaptive Game Changer Transition Institute by DOMI Earth, which served as a catalyst for embedding sustainability into the company's strategic framework. This workshop engaged employees in deep reflections on the role of sustainability in their business and industry, empowering them to translate sustainability concepts into concrete corporate strategies and actions. By fostering a shared understanding and commitment to sustainability, the workshop has been instrumental in enabling Shiangcheng to align its operational goals with broader environmental and social objectives, positioning the company as a model for sustainable development in its sector.
Is ESG an operational challenge or an opportunity for transformation?
The key to corporate ESG actions lies in human thinking. Only by considering ESG as an opportunity for enterprise transformation can we have a way to drive business transformation. From the perspective of creating business value, let ESG become a brand differentiation capability and establish a company's competitive advantage. ESG is also a strategic opportunity. When the company is currently small in the market, it can accumulate sustainable thinking and methods in its operation mode; in addition to the value of caring and the fulfillment of corporate social responsibility, there are more opportunities to cooperate with enterprises to form a good partnership and move towards the 17th goal of the UN sustainability index.
In today's era of rapid change, there must be a new generation that adapts to the challenges. DOMI Earth regards ESG as a transformation opportunity for enterprises. Enterprises should work hard for sustainable business value, and truly make sustainability corporate competitiveness; cultivate an ESG awareness culture, take active actions in concepts and actions, and promote ESG. When strategically planning, empower teams with adaptive leadership to change. The most important point is to connect core operations to create social and environmental values that are beneficial to the social vision. At the same time, values can be accumulated into corporate culture, deeply rooted in the main body of the company, and become the key driving force for corporate brand marketing.
