Lifestyle | opinion Womanthismonth.com 94 August 2023 According to Google Trends, the term ‘sustainability’ has steadily grown in popularity worldwide since early 2022. Chartered Manager, Eman Deabil (DipESG, PfMP, IPMO-P, SIP), explains the concept and breaks down how we can create a sustainable organisation. CREATING A SUSTAINABLE ORGANISATION In my article published in last month’s edition of Woman This Month, I spoke about sustainability in general and the rise of the Chief Sustainability Officer (CSO) role. I also gave you a glimpse at the history of the GCC as far as ESG is concerned. In this edition, we will cover high-level plans on how to create a sustainable organisation by looking at the organisation’s operating model. Before I put things into perspective, let’s first explore the terminologies below: Sustainability: This is a broader concept of how to ensure driving value over a long period of time by looking at different aspects. Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG, for short): A term that was officially coined in 2004 with the publication of the United Nations report titled “Who Cares Wins”. ESG normally represents the three pillars that we need to set plans and KPIs to ensure sustainability. It became the terminology used for the reporting side of sustainability. The three pillars, along with a few examples, are: 1. Environmental: Factors related to how an organisation has an impact on nature such as climate, carbon emissions, biodiversity, water, electricity, waste, and paper. 2. Social: Factors related to how an organisation manages its relationships with its employees, customers, suppliers, and communities where it operates, such as training, inclusion, diversity, and equality. 3. Governance: Factors related to how an organisation is led and managed, such as board independence, transparency, diversity, and whistleblowing. In many publications and literature, both terminologies (i.e., ESG and Sustainability) are being used interchangeably, and here they will be used interchangeably as well.
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy Mjk0MTkxMQ==