Patron News

ESG FOR EVERY

BUSINESS

ESG is fast becoming business critical and a license to operate for all businesses with Leadership Responsibility at its heart.

Our diagram explains some of the key concepts of ESG that will help you to join the “discussion”.

At its most simple, ESG refers to three core pillars of business conduct:

• “E” - How a business interacts with and impacts the environment

• “S” - How a business interacts with society creating value generation

• “G” - How an organisation is governed Stakeholders

Putting sustainable and responsible practices at the heart of your business is fast becoming a requirement and expectation for customers, clients, regulators, investors, and other stakeholders.

Customers, both B2B and B2C, may actively choose not to engage with businesses with poor practices (e.g., human rights in supply chain), or a perception of unsustainable/unsafe products. On the flip side, customers will look favourably on those who are able to demonstrate their commitment to action.

ESG extends past an organisation’s direct impact and considers where the environmental and social issues are across the whole value chain.

Some financial services organisations have started to offer ESG products to the market. For example, providing discounted lending rates in return for performance against ESG targets, such as greenhouse gas reductions.

Investors are increasing ESG reporting requirements across the ownership cycle. As part of this, many private equity investors are signed up to the ‘Principles of Responsible Investment’ and this is leading to downward pressure for their portfolio businesses to develop their own targets and track performance.

Businesses are also coming under increasing pressure from their own workforces to implement ESG strategies. Failure to act runs the risk of disenchantment and increased attrition as employees increasingly vote with their feet over this issue.

Key focus for SMEs

The sheer breadth of ESG as a subject can make it a difficult subject to begin to grapple with. Businesses often ask us, “Where do we start”? Understanding the key topics that are most important to your business can help direct efforts to the areas you can have the most impact.

Top tips

1. Baseline assessment - really understand what your organisation already does in this area, you may be surprised by what you find out about your organisation. 2. Consider what makes for a sensible strategy and policy approach given the context of your business. 3. Identify the gaps – assess what is missing in your current approach versus where you want to get to.

4. Develop a continuous improvement mindset – it is a “journey” not a tick box exercise.

The soon you start on your Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) journey, the sooner you will be well placed to take the related opportunities with your customers, your team and other stakeholders in your business.

For further information about how RSM UK can help your business contact Associate Director, Paul Callum at Paul.callum@rsmuk.com

Glass Ceilings®

Glass Ceilings® provides Business and HR consultancy services, specialising in inclusion and culture throughout the employee lifecycle to prepare businesses for The Future of Work.

• adjusting start and finish times or increasing number of breaks • implementing an agile / hybrid working model (where a role enables it)

How and where people work is changing. Businesses are facing a combination of unprecedented crises as they adjust to the Future of Work whilst emerging from the Coronavirus pandemic and in a post-Brexit era. Business that aren’t alert or adaptable to trends will lose people who find their needs met elsewhere. Glass Ceilings® is therefore more than a Business and HR consultancy. We believe work should be a place in which people can grow and thrive so that businesses grow and thrive.

In times of change, often the same people are left behind. We will point out barriers to growth and support businesses to remove them, without judgement, ensuring that nobody is left behind. We do this by working with senior leaders to develop inclusive people strategies aligned to organisational culture and values.

Our key strategic priorities for 2022-23 are: • Socio-economic Issues in the Workplace • Agile and Hybrid working • Reproductive System Health in the Workplace • Covid recovery

And we look forward to sharing our thought leadership through publications, public speaking, and the launch of our website in May 2022.

Covid Recovery

One of our key areas of focus right now is supporting businesses with Covid recovery. As we all learn to live with Covid and legal restrictions are lifted, many businesses face labour shortages from rising infections amongst the workforce, and the effects of Long Covid. Many employees are taking time off, or require flexible working arrangements, to manage increased caring responsibilities. Businesses can mitigate risks and reduce the impact of labour shortages, in turn improving attendance, productivity, and profits in the medium to longer term, by rethinking organisational strategy and policy in the following areas:

Preventing Discrimination

There may be adverse impacts on certain groups of employees who all share a characteristic that makes them more likely to live with long term effects of Covid when compared to employees who do not share the same characteristic. Reviewing people policies to reduce the risks of discriminating on any grounds, is important to reduce potential discrimination and to support employee wellbeing.

Attendance and Leave

Reviewing Attendance and Leave policies to ensure they are fit for purpose in the Covid world we now operate in, and update them to reflect new requirements.

Proactive measures could include:

• Paid time off to undergo tests or treatment, or accompany dependents • Disability Leave entitlements extended to

Long Covid • Occupational Health Assessments, on a case by case basis

Reasonable Adjustments

Employers may need to agree reasonable adjustments or temporary adjustments to role, working pattern, or work environment to support and manage employees living with Long Covid. This could include:

• flexing the amount of time spent on higher risk activities, for example driving, operating machinery, supervising activities, etc.

Strategic Workforce Planning

Assessing workforce data on Covid could help HR and Senior Leadership Teams to do strategic workforce and contingency planning. It may also highlight policy areas that need to be updated. Assessing how many positive Covid cases, Covid-related sickness absences, and isolations within their employee population offers a useful indication of the potential number of employees who may go on to develop longer term effects. Employers should also consider risk assessing roles and functions across the organisation to consider if any may be at higher risk from the symptoms or effects of Long Covid, for example driving, operating machinery, or supervising vulnerable people.

Risk Assessment

Although the legal requirement to risk assess Covid has been removed in many sectors, the general health and safety duty to reduce workplace risks as far as reasonably practicable applies. Employees who are older, disabled or living with long term health conditions, or carrying out duties that expose them to the general public, all fall into higher risk categories. Increasing numbers of employees are falling into these categories as a result of previous Covid infections. Employers should consider risk assessments for higher risk groups, to protect them as far as reasonably practicable from catching Covid in the workplace or through work activity.

enquiries@glassceilings.co.uk

Laura Evans, Founder & Managing Director

I created Glass Ceilings® because I enjoy growing inclusive organisations that thrive because their people thrive. I combine over 10 years’ delivery in Operations, Policy, and HR across public, private, and not-forprofit sectors to align people and culture to organisational strategy and business planning. I am a Chartered Member of the CIPD, Australian HR Institute, Chartered Management Institute, and the Institute of Directors. Glass Ceilings® is a member of Liverpool Chamber of Commerce. Alongside, I’m also proud to serve as Vice Chair of Governors for a Primary School and a non-executive board member of Sefton Citizens Advice, alongside a proportion of pro bono consultancy work.