ESG transformation in financial services

With the power to mobilize capital in its hands, the financial services sector has a crucial role in the transition to a more environmentally and socially sustainable world.

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Focus on Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) factors is rightly increasing, due to shifts in corporate values and strategy, heightening regulations, and customer and investor priorities.

However, intertwined with the focus on sustainability is the ever-present spectre of risk. Climate change and social factors, for example, are monumental and often unpredictable forces that represent serious liabilities for firms, in terms of their potential impact both on assets and on reputation.

As a result, the ESG journey is a multi-faceted and mammoth task for financial institutions. The first major hurdle is identifying both where and how to start — a challenge this whitepaper exists to address.

It unpacks the three elements essential to building solid ESG foundations in the financial sector:

  1. An ESG data platform 
    Fit for the multidimensional scale of ESG transformation, and extending beyond each institution’s internal data: Downstream to financed activities and upstream to products and services acquired through the supply chain.

  2. Green IT 
    A double-edged sword, given the finance sector’s high, energy-intensive use of IT systems and digitization’s simultaneously vital role in data-driven ESG transformation.

  3. An integrated delivery plan 
    Balancing top-down and bottom-up action for institution-wide understanding, buy-in, momentum, and adaptation. Clarifying priorities and areas for maximum impact, from top-level strategy through to daily interactions across customers, products, and suppliers. 

Request your whitepaper copy for the context, guidance, and concrete first steps you need to shape these three foundational elements within your financial services organization.