The importance of ESG, by Anthony Whyte

By Anthony Whyte General Manager, Talent APSCo Australia Vice-Chair

You’ve more than likely heard the term ESG being spoken about within the walls of business, but let’s take a good look at why in this candidate short market, companies need to be prioritising this in order to retain and attract top talent.

Don’t think of this as another policy. This is a chance for your business to create brilliant opportunities for your people. It’s the ability to create and sustain value in an ever-growing and changing world of work, as well as being able to manage risks and opportunities associated with these changes. ESG is also not something just for big businesses to adopt. There are many small businesses doing brilliant things in this space.

The events of the past two years have essentially opened quite a few doors in this space. As we have seen with ‘The Great Resignation’ , COVID, and a whole heap of social issues, the world of work has a new focus – playing a bigger part in what morally and socially matters – and the pressure is on for businesses to deliver. If you are a business though, there are a stack of reasons why a brilliant ESG strategy will benefit you and your business in the long run which include:

1. Attracting and retaining top talent

2. Engagement and culture

3. Brand presence and reputation within your industry

4. Long term business value and opportunity management

Think of initiatives like your parental leave policy, office recycling, employee engagement, and DEIB; the list is endless. Your P&C team will usually be the ones leading the charge, but more and more team members are becoming vocal and insisting this is pushed to the forefront of business strategies, especially the Millennials and Gen Z'ers.

With Gen Z entering the job market at a rapid pace, and statistics from McCrindle stating that by 2025 they will make up 27% of the workforce, both Gen Z and Millennials are fueling the fire on ESG plans and are holding businesses accountable for it. More and more people are demanding worklife balance, things other than drinks on a Friday afternoon, and above all to feel that they are valued within an organisation. These are easy things to work on and the outcomes are invaluable.

So, the question is posed, what does a great ESG strategy look like for your company?