By: Caroline Blight
For the past few years Environmental, Social, Governance (ESG) has been a hot topic, with companies adding new dedicated departments to decide strategies and training. But many are finding that this is not providing the impact it should – and in worst case scenarios, it’s become just another burden for employees.
This is often because ESG policies are seen as an add-on to an existing organization, without changing underlying, long-standing skills, mindsets and behaviours within those organizations. A company creates a true culture of impact when ESG is viewed as a tool for transformative change.
“If you really want to create a sustainable culture of impact, you need to work on three dimensions in parallel,” says Arnaud Mourot, VP at Ashoka and Global Head of Changemaker Companies¹. “They are: empowering employees at large to become drivers of social impact, encouraging change across the corporate ecosystem, and exploring innovative ways to engage with social entrepreneurs and non-conventional partners. It’s not just one or the other, you need to be able to articulate all three,” he explained at the 2023 edition of the Making More Health Together² global event, hosted by Boehringer Ingelheim.
