IBM
corporations are working towards impactful ratings and consequently investments .
“ ESG risk ratings have been very diverse . In that level of granularity , it ’ s been ranging from the 50 to 100 mark , through to 300 , depending on which rating agency has been leveraged . That ’ s going to be the next one where this secondary data source – which has been good in front or perfect for the last number of years – will change .”
“ More importantly , it ’ ll provide that holistic , quadruple bottom line that the people , planet , prosperity , and purpose lens for the consumer can be included in .”
He continues : “ Some organisations talk about ESGI [ Environmental Social Governance Impact ] – that quadruple bottom line is intrinsic and linked to our UN SDGs . It ’ s not just about making a return on investment over five or 10 years . It ’ s about having something that ’ s regenerative , that has a positive impact on society .
“ But when it comes to the industry as a whole , I think we ’ re at a crossroads . You have those who are really embracing sustainable finance – based on my own dialogue with institutions , this certainly happens in Europe a lot more than in the US to date .
“ Potentially once we have clarity on the US Security Exchange Commission in terms of regulations , this dynamic might change . But right now , it has been regulatory driven . But what is also clear generation-wise , from a consumer spending perspective , this is also changing the trend and the focus of ESG adoption .”
Digital partners driving the ESG movement . IBM is naturally not alone in its efforts to deliver this ESG message and works with a wide network of technology giants globally to innovate and deliver new products , services , and ideas within the ESG and sustainable
finance markets , including AWS , Celonis , Microsoft , Oracle Salesforce , SAP , Workday .
“ If we ’ re talking sustainability performance management , a lot of corporations obviously have a book of record . So , with our Partners SAP , Oracle and Workday , absolutely we will work hand in glove together , and we complement one another , whether it be embracing their integrated sustainability software capabilities , or a co-innovation of new assets , or indeed where we take some of our own sustainability software portfolio offerings such as Envizi to provide a holistic solution jointly to our clients .
“ In terms of the social element , we work market leading companies such as FRDM , where we actually look at the whole endto-end value chain and environmental factors , but also take into account a multitude of social factors from employee welfare , diversity and inclusion , and working conditions for all those from tier one to tier X suppliers .”
62 May 2023